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Estuarine Biotope Mosaics and Habitat Management Goals: An Application in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA
Citation:
CICCHETTI, G. AND H. Greening. Estuarine Biotope Mosaics and Habitat Management Goals: An Application in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA. Estuaries and Coasts. Estuarine Research Federation, Port Republic, MD, 34(6):1278-1292, (2011).
Impact/Purpose:
This paper describes a system-wide management framework that was pioneered and successfully used by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) to develop estuarine habitat restoration and protection goals based on supporting estuarine-dependent species and the habitat landscapes they require (for example, the extent of seagrass beds, mangrove forests, oyster reefs, or oligohaline marshes) within an estuary. The paper also proposes a set of standardized statistics as a method to help managers in other estuaries set system-wide ecological goals, and to allow comparisons among estuaries. Finally, the paper discusses various applications of these concepts within existing management infrastructures, including bioassessments through the U.S. EPA Office of Water’s Biological Condition Gradient program, as well as ecosystem services work in Tampa Bay through the U.S. EPA. This paper is intended to assist environmental management groups such as National Estuary Programs by providing tools to evaluate large-scale changes to estuaries over historic time periods.
Description:
Many types of anthropogenic stress to estuaries lead to destruction and conversion of habitats, thus altering habitat landscapes and changing the “arena” in which the life history interactions of native fauna take place. This can lead to decreased populations of valued fauna, and other negative consequences. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program pioneered a system-wide management framework that develops estuarine habitat restoration and protection goals based on supporting estuarine-dependent species and the habitat landscapes they require (for example, the extent of seagrass beds, mangrove forests, oyster reefs, or oligohaline marshes) within an estuary. We describe this framework and provide related statistics as methods to help managers set system-wide ecological goals using larger conceptual approaches that are easily communicated to stakeholders and the public. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program and partners used this framework to combine a simple and unifying vision with a diverse and complex set of management tools, resulting in greatly improved environmental conditions within Tampa Bay.