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Modeling of the nearshore marine ecosystem with the AQUATOX model
Citation:
Park, R., J. Clough, D. Blancher, AND B. Rashleigh. Modeling of the nearshore marine ecosystem with the AQUATOX model. CERF 24th Biennial Conference, Providence, RI, November 05 - 09, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Most models applied to coastal systems do not represent the full ecosystem, and include higher trophic levels, which are important providers of ecosystem services. The AQUATOX model produces outputs such as water clarity, beach water quality, fish and shellfish population density, and habitat and resource productivity that can be directly used in calculations of benefits.
Description:
Process-based models can be used to forecast the responses of coastal ecosystems to changes under future scenarios. However, most models applied to coastal systems do not include higher trophic levels, which are important providers of ecosystem services. AQUATOX is a mechanistically-rich model that can be used to compare baseline and perturbed conditions due to physical, chemical, biological, and ecotoxicological stressors in a wide variety of aquatic ecosystems. Recent modifications have been made to address the nearshore environment, including: size classes of oysters and crabs, stocking/harvest of oysters, trophic-level calculations, representation of complexity of reef and marsh edge as refuge from predators, and reorganization of guilds to better reflect marine biology conventions. The model output can be used to quantify endpoints, such as water clarity, beach water quality, fish and shellfish population density, and habitat and resource productivity, that can be used in the calculation of final ecosystem services (expressed in biomass/area/time). As an example, AQUATOX was used to estimate natural resource injury for Mississippi and Alabama Coastal areas, and support restoration priorities in the Deepwater Horizon oil release and subsequent Gulf coast restoration initiatives.