Science Inventory

Using Sediment Profile Imagery (SPI) to Quantify Relationships Between Water Quality and Benthic Habitat Condition

Citation:

Blackwell, B., J. Nestlerode, Jim Hagy, J. Lisa, B. Jarvis, AND M. Murrell. Using Sediment Profile Imagery (SPI) to Quantify Relationships Between Water Quality and Benthic Habitat Condition. To be Presented at Joint meeting of Benthic Ecology Meeting Society and Southeastern Estuarine Research, Myrtle Beach, SC, April 12 - 16, 2017.

Impact/Purpose:

The work presented here is in support of better indicators and endpoints and will help improve quantitative relationships between nutrient pollution and ecosystem condition. The audience that would be interested in this presentation includes scientists and managers from across the southeastern United States.

Description:

We present the results of monthly sediment and water quality surveys to evaluate the impact of intermittent, seasonal hypoxia on benthic habitat condition. This study was conducted in the Pensacola Bay (Florida) estuary across nine sites extending from the mouth of the Escambia River down-estuary to the outlet into the Gulf of Mexico. The sites span the full salinity gradient and cover a range of sediment types and dissolved oxygen statuses. Monthly sediment profile imagery (SPI) was captured from each site in conjunction with water column conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiles and sediment grabs to evaluate sediment characteristics and macrobenthic community composition. The results of this study will be used to evaluate the use of SPI to determine effects of water quality on the health of benthic communities in Gulf Coast estuaries. Whereas recent water quality management efforts in Florida (e.g., numeric nutrient criteria, marine dissolved oxygen standard) assumed linkages between dissolved oxygen and aquatic life use attainment based on laboratory tests, SPI methods can potentially provide an assessment of these relationships in realistic field settings.

Record Details:

Record Type:DOCUMENT( PRESENTATION/ SLIDE)
Product Published Date:04/12/2017
Record Last Revised:06/01/2017
OMB Category:Other
Record ID: 336398