Grantee Research Project Results
2002 Progress Report: Integrated Assessment of Estuarine Ecosystems
EPA Grant Number: R828684C001Subproject: this is subproject number 001 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R828684
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: EAGLES - Atlantic Slope Consortium
Center Director: Brooks, Robert P.
Title: Integrated Assessment of Estuarine Ecosystems
Investigators: Whigham, Dennis F. , Rheinhardt, Rick D. , Gallegos, Charles L. , Varnell, Lyle M. , Brinson, Mark M. , Marra, Peter P. , Hines, Anson , Havens, Kirk
Current Investigators: Whigham, Dennis F. , Gallegos, Charles L. , Hines, Anson , Marra, Peter P. , Hershner, Carl , King, Ryan , DeLuca, William , Bilkovic, Donna Marie
Institution: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center , Virginia Institute of Marine Science , East Carolina University
Current Institution: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center , East Carolina University , Virginia Institute of Marine Science
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: March 1, 2001 through February 28, 2005 (Extended to February 26, 2006)
Project Period Covered by this Report: March 1, 2001 through February 28, 2002
RFA: Environmental Indicators in the Estuarine Environment Research Program (2000) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Water , Aquatic Ecosystems , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration
Objective:
This research project is one of four subprojects under the Atlantic Slope Consortium (ASC) center. The overall objective of the estuarine component of the ASC research project is to develop indicators for elements of hydrologically linked estuarine ecosystems, including aquatic animals, estuarine and coastal wetlands, and coastal waterbirds. The development and testing of biotic indicators will be conducted in two types of sampling units: estuarine wetlands and nearshore shallows, which are units analogous to small watersheds being sampled to develop and test Indices of Biotic Integrity (IBIs) for aquatic fauna and Habitat Suitability Indices (HSIs) for species that use these habitats. Estuary segments, which are large units that include deep water habitats, will be used for developing HSI models for highly mobile species, where direct sampling of organisms is difficult and data often are unreliable.
Progress Summary:
This subproject has been broken down into a number of interactive teams, each focusing on a different component of the estuarine system. Activities of each of these teams are discussed below.
Estuarine Faunal Team (Smithsonian Environmental Research Center [SERC]): Hines, King, Craige, Sparks; 2002 Interns: Sean Sipple, Sarah Grap, William Jackson, Ben Carswell
Data Collection and Analysis. The objective of the estuarine faunal team is to identify attributes of biological assemblages and related abiotic factors that can be used to assess the condition of an estuarine segment. The focus during summer 2002 was to characterize fish and benthic invertebrate assemblages and their environments among the subestuaries of 19 SERC estuarine segments.
The upper regions of each subestuary were targeted for sampling to increase the likelihood of detecting watershed-estuary linkages. Sampling stations were stratified by land use in proportion to shoreline land use, as computed in a geographic information system (GIS). Following a pilot study to determine the appropriate level of sampling effort for each station, a total of 114 stations were sampled in the 19 segments in July and August. The following data were collected in the field or will be generated following laboratory analyses during winter 2002 and spring 2003: (1) water quality measurements; (2) sediment texture; (3) land use, bank condition, and habitat; (4) fish and other macrofaunal assemblages; and (5) benthic invertebrate assemblages.
A preliminary analysis of station assessment data, bivalve data from benthic cores, and fyke-net data using Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis has indicated that shoreline wetlands and watershed land use may have important effects on species along the estuarine salinity gradient.
Synergy and Integration With Other Working Groups and Institutions. The SERC estuarine team has been closely working with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) estuarine team of the ASC to coordinate estuarine sampling methods and develop and implement a shoreline assessment plan, so that many data will be compatible for integrated analyses and publications. To further integration, a subset of estuarine segments is being studied by both VIMS and SERC. This overlap will allow comparison of indicators developed by each institution and ultimately link results among all estuarine segments. Moreover, these data are compatible with many existing data sets, which will allow both groups to apply existing indices of estuarine condition and link to data spanning much larger spatial scales.
The Great Lakes Environmental Indicators (GLEI), which is probably the most similar of the five Estuarine and Great Lakes Indicator Development (EaGLe) projects to the SERC in their field approaches to indicator development, has been very helpful in providing the SERC's estuarine faunal team with lists of indicators and protocols for several of their field methods developed during Project Year 1. As data analyses progress, the SERC and the GLEI will be in a position to contrast similar indicators between two very different estuarine environments.
The SERC estuarine working group also has been active in developing other synergistic relationships. In Maryland, the SERC team has collected white perch tissue that will be analyzed for PCB's by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). These data will be useful to both the MDE and the ASC project. In another example of synergistic activity, a SERC intern studying predation rates on juvenile blue crabs as part of a separately funded project, coordinated his sampling with the SERC estuarine team’s fish and invertebrate collections, which provided estimates of predator abundance.
Avian Research Team (SERC): Marra, DeLuca, Studds
Data Collection and Analysis. The objective of the avian research team is to develop indicators of estuarine condition using individual, population, and community-level attributes of wetland bird assemblages. To this end, a large amount of effort was put forth into sampling the estuarine segments in Project Year 2. The types of sampling undertaken included: (1) point count surveys, (2) intensive quantitative sampling, (3) water-foraging bird surveys, and (4) avian habitat sampling. In addition, vegetation measurements were taken at each of the 108 point-counts. Measurements included species composition, horizontal structure, and vertical structure.
The avian team has completed data entry and quality-assurance (QA) checks, and presently is analyzing data. As part of his M.S. Thesis, Bill DeLuca has put considerable effort into developing a Wetland Bird IBI. Preliminary results suggest that land use in relatively close proximity to the wetlands is most strongly correlated to the IBI, but least correlated at the scale of the complete watershed.
Synergy and Integration With Other Working Groups and Institutions. The SERC avian team and the SERC estuarine faunal team have been coordinating all of their efforts. In Project Year 2, both teams sampled the same estuarine segments to facilitate integration of indicators. One planned integration between these groups is the linking of water-foraging bird data to fish abundance estimates.
The SERC avian team also has been working closely with Tim O'Connell from the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) watershed group. Tim has provided expertise on avian IBI development, and both groups have discussed ways to integrate their IBI results from a variety of different habitats.
Wetland/Stream Assessment Team (SERC): Whigham, King, Sparks; Intern: Sipple
The objectives of the wetland/stream team are to: (1) develop indicators of watershed condition and aquatic health using site-level abiotic and biotic attributes of riparian corridors, wetlands, and coastal streams; (2) develop quantitative relationships between site-level measurements and Level 1 landscape assessments, which largely will be conducted by PSU and the watershed/spatial analysis team; and (3) link watershed indicators to estuarine condition.
To these ends, the SERC wetland/stream team participated in a number of research activities during Project Year 2.
Stream Bioassessments. As part of a collaborative effort with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR), SERC sampled 60 streams from the 19 estuarine segments in the Spring of Project Year 2 using protocols developed for the Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS). SERC is using the MBSS data set to characterize the condition of streams in the estuarine segments, and to calculate the coastal plain benthic IBI.
Wetland Vegetation Sampling. Data on macrophyte species composition in brackish wetlands collected by the SERC avian research team will be used by the SERC wetland/stream team to develop wetland vegetation indicators. Phragmites leaf samples will be analyzed for nutrients and metals to help identify potential causes of Phragmites expansion.
Preliminary results indicate that N and P concentrations in Phragmites are highly elevated in developed estuarine segments, but are similar among forested, mixed land use, and agricultural segments. A similar trend was observed in the water chemistry data, suggesting that the drought experienced across the region in Project Years 1 and 2 may have reduced watershed discharges and nutrient loads typically linked to nonpoint sources (e.g., cropland), while increasing the relative importance of point sources (e.g., sewage effluent) in developed segments. However, this hypothesis needs further testing.
Riparian-Assessments. Two meetings were held at SERC to develop a unified field protocol for conducting riparian, wetland, and stream condition assessments for all ASC personnel. SERC then tested the preliminary field protocol in the Southeast Creek and Back River estuarine segments.
Synergy and Integration With Other Working Groups and Institutions. The SERC wetland/stream team is working closely with the SERC watershed/spatial analysis team to develop linkages between spatial data and site-level stream assessment data. One current activity is the application of a variety of distance-weighting schemes to land cover data to identify the most influential scales and patterns of watershed land cover on stream biological condition. A second planned activity is the integration of results from the SERC spatial team’s nutrient export models with the SERC wetland team's Phragmites nutrient data.
The SERC wetland/stream team also anticipates integrating with the PSU GIS team to explore the relationship between their Level 1 spatial assessments and the SERC stream assessments. This integration will be one of the key pieces of information that will link PSU’s data from non-estuarine small watersheds to SERC's estuarine segment data.
Within the subestuary portion of the estuarine segments, SERC's wetland team will integrate the site-level Phragmites data with VIMS extensive shoreline assessment data, documenting both the linear extent of shoreline wetland habitat, as well as the presence and extent of Phragmites. Ultimately, these data will allow the concatenation of the SERC spatial team's watershed models, the SERC wetland and avian teams' site-level data on Phragmites invasion and nutrient content, the SERC faunal team's site-level water quality data, and the VIMS's shoreline assessment of Phragmites invasion.
A significant synergistic activity outside the ASC has been the collaboration with the MD DNR and the integration with the MBSS, as previously described. MD DNR has provided guidance on using much of the public-domain data, and has been quick to provide SERC with in-house data not yet publicly available. This working relationship has been mutually beneficial.
Estuarine Shallow Water Fish Team, VIMS
The approach of the estuarine shallow water fish team is to sample selected hydrologic unit code (HUC) units within shallow reaches of mainstem estuary systems to characterize fish habitat (structural components and water quality), fish communities, and prey communities (benthic and zooplankton). Indicators based on characterizations will be developed and assessed, such as Habitat Quality Indices and IBI for estuarine fish communities in the Mid-Atlantic Slope.
From June to August 2002, we surveyed 16 watersheds with varying land use within the Chesapeake Bay estuarine region. Our sampling protocols targeted zooplankton, macroinvertebrate and fish communities, water quality measures, sediment type, and shoreline and physical habitat assessments. Within each watershed, we sampled five sites that corresponded with historic beach seine locations when present.
Fish, macroinvertebrate, and zooplankton communities were quantified with count and biomass values. Suspended sediment analyses and sediment typing were completed. Data preparation for calculations of fish and benthic community indices is complete.
Several current and potential indicators that describe fish community and habitat condition were preliminarily examined for applicability over spatial scales (site-watershed level) in three major tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay.
Preliminary indices assessments from recently acquired 2002 field data and historic datasets on fish, benthic, and zooplankton communities in shallow estuarine waters were presented at the annual ASC-U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) EaGLe Meeting in Williamsburg, VA, November 2002.
Wetland Assessment Team, VIMS
A three-level protocol for wetlands assessment has been developed at VIMS. The protocol focuses on identification of potential aquatic system stressors and restricts structural observations to only a few parameters. The Level 1 assessment involves comprehensive coverage of all mapped wetlands, achieved with a GIS-based analysis of remotely sensed information. It provides a first order evaluation of the condition and functional capacity of wetlands based on their landscape position. The Level 2 assessment uses an analysis of a digital ortho quarter quad (DOQQ) for the site and an onsite evaluation of identified stressors. This approach allows for differential weighting of the various stressors based on their presumed deleterious effect and proximity to the wetland. The onsite (Level 3) assessment is conducted to validate the stressor relationships to aquatic health, and includes identifying stressors involving hydrologic modification, toxicity/acidification/nutrification, distance from human activity, sedimentation and channel alteration, and vegetation alteration.
From June to October 2002, 16 wetlands with varying land use were surveyed within the Ware River Watershed in the Chesapeake Bay estuarine region using the VIMS protocol.
Reference sites will be intensively studied to determine stressor impacts on both the amphibian and avian community. Data also will be collected on plant communities and water quality. Multivariable analysis will be used to compare avian and amphibian population dynamics and concentrations of dissolved nitrogen and phosphate species among wetlands with different stressor levels.
Future Activities:
Estuarine Faunal Team. The spring of Project Year 3 will be used to finish processing benthic samples, data entry, QA/quality control (QC), completion of a SERC estuarine-segment database, data analyses, and preparation for the Year 3 field season. Year 3 will be used to resample the nine “intensive” estuarine segments to allow assessment of year-to-year variation in indicators and implications for indicator development. Bottom trawl sampling also will be undertaken in these nine segments. In addition, 13 estuarine segments that were not sampled in Year 2 will be added.
Avian Team. Year 3 will be used to resample the nine intensive estuarine segments, which will allow an assessment of year-to-year variation in indicators and implications for indicator development. In addition, 13 estuarine segments that were not sampled in Year 2 will be added. The spring of Year 3 largely will be dedicated to preparing a manuscript on the Wetland Bird IBI.
Wetland/Stream Assessment Team. Stream bioassessment sampling in Year 3 will follow the plan developed in Year 2. Using the MBSS protocol, approximately 60 additional streams will be sampled in 13 new estuarine segments; resampling will occur in a few streams in the 9 intensive segments to assess year-to-year variation. Phragmites sampling in Year 3 also will follow the field plan used in Year 2. The SERC is planning to hire a temporary biologist to conduct riparian assessments in a few selected estuarine segments. This work will be coordinated with PSU's GIS team to identify sampling locations and ultimately develop a linkage to their Level 1 assessment. During the spring and summer of Year 3, the SERC wetland/stream team will prepare two manuscripts using the MBSS dataset.
Estuarine Shallow Water Fish Team. Twelve watersheds have been selected for survey in the summer of 2003 following similar protocols as 2002. Of these watersheds, two that were sampled in 2002 will be reassessed in 2003 because of the lack of historic data in these regions. Watershed sampling locations will be in estuarine segments of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Many of the watersheds selected will coincide with efforts at SERC and PSU in assessing the health of estuarine wetland systems.
Technical Report:
Full Final Technical Report (PDF, 96pp., 2.88MB, about PDF)
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other subproject views: | All 37 publications | 6 publications in selected types | All 5 journal articles |
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Other center views: | All 166 publications | 51 publications in selected types | All 44 journal articles |
Type | Citation | ||
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King RS, Richardson CJ. Integrating bioassessment and ecological risk assessment: an approach to developing numerical water-quality criteria. Environmental Management 2003;31(6):795-809. |
R828684 (2002) R828684C001 (2002) R828684C001 (Final) R828684C003 (2003) |
Exit Exit |
Supplemental Keywords:
ecological indicator, estuary, wetland, fish, invertebrates, zooplankton, birds, vegetation, Phragmites, Indices of Biotic Integrity, IBI, Habitat Suitability Indices, HSI, water quality., RFA, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Water, ECOSYSTEMS, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, estuarine research, Water & Watershed, Ecosystem Protection, exploratory research environmental biology, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Aquatic Ecosystems, Ecological Monitoring, Ecological Indicators, Risk Assessment, Watersheds, bioindicator, coastal ecosystem, degradation, water sheds, ecological risk assessment, biogeochemical study, estuaries, aquatic biota , ecosystem assessment, nutrients, integrated assessment, ecological assessment, ecosystem indicators, estuarine ecosystems, environmental indicators, environmental stress, coastal ecosystems, integrative indicators, water quality, ecology assessment models, watershed assessmentRelevant Websites:
Full Final Technical Report (PDF, 96pp., 2.88MB, about PDF)
http://www.asc.psu.edu Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractMain Center Abstract and Reports:
R828684 EAGLES - Atlantic Slope Consortium Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R828684C001 Integrated Assessment of Estuarine Ecosystems
R828684C002 Development of an Optical Indicator of Habitat Suitability for Submersed Aquatic Vegetation
R828684C003 Integrated Assessment of Watersheds
R828684C004 Socioeconomic and Institutional Research
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.
Project Research Results
5 journal articles for this subproject
Main Center: R828684
166 publications for this center
44 journal articles for this center