IAN eNewsletter

The role of benthic communities in the health of Maryland's Coastal Bays
In collaboration with the University of Maryland's Cooperative Extension Service at the Wye Mills Research and Education Center, EcoCheck (NOAA - UMCES partnership) has produced a newsletter on the history and current trends of benthic communities in Maryland's Coastal Bays. Aquatic grasses and shellfish are important components of a healthy ecosystem because they provide a variety of ecosystem services, improve water quality, and are commercially valuable.

Newsletter examines effects of land use on water quality in Maryland's Coastal Bays
Coastal lagoon ecosystems across the Delmarva Peninsula are rapidly evolving due to changing land use patterns and shifts towards intensive agriculture, particularly poultry production, and intensive rural-residential development. These changes in the coastal lagoon seascape are especially evident in the northern Coastal Bays watershed of St. Martin River. This region is intensely developed in areas such as the Ocean Pines canal community, is composed of a high percentage of crop agriculture, and contains a number of poultry feeding operations. Water quality degradation continues to be an important issue in the watershed. This newsletter examines how upstream land use affects water quality.

Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card 2009
The aim of this report card is to provide a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of 2009 Coastal Bays health. Coastal Bays health is defined as the progress of four water quality indicators (TN, TP, Chl a, DO) and two biotic indicators (seagrass, hard clams) toward scientifically derived ecological thresholds or goals. The six indicators are combined into one overarching Coastal Bays Health Index, which is presented as the report card score. Detailed methods are available at www.eco-check.org/reportcard/mcb/2009. The overall score for the Coastal Bays was a C+ in 2009. While the northern bays and western tributaries continue to struggle, there are signs of improvement in some areas. However, the southern bays—historically the more pristine of the Coastal Bays—are showing signs of degradation.

2010 Maryland Coastal Bays report card
The aim of this report card is to provide a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of 2010 Coastal Bays health. Coastal Bays health is defined as the progress of four water quality indicators (TN, TP, Chl a, DO) and two biotic indicators (seagrass, hard clams) toward scientifically derived ecological thresholds or goals. The six indicators are combined into one overarching Coastal Bays Health Index, which is presented as the report card score. Detailed methods are available at www.eco-check.org/reportcard/mcb/2010/. The overall score for the Coastal Bays was a C in 2010. All regions declined in overall health when compared to 2009.

Ecosystem health report cards: An approach to integrated assessment
Integrated ecological assessment of the world’s coastal ecosystems is essential for effective management and remediation. The integration of management, monitoring, and science is required to solve the major environmental problems that are occurring in coastal zones around the world. Effective monitoring requires a significant investment of resources. Field work is expensive, data analysis is time-intensive, data integration requires high level scientific input, and recurring costs are subject to inflationary pressures. Integrated ecological assessment provides feedback on these monitoring investments by measuring the effectiveness of management actions. Societal momentum can then be created by successes in assessment and communication. This poster presents processes and approaches to performing integrated ecological assessments, using an example from the Coastal Bays of Maryland.

Biological indicators enhance water quality monitoring in Maryland's Coastal Bays newsletter
Nutrient point sources such as wastewater treatment plants and non-point sources including agricultural runoff degrade the water quality of Maryland's Coastal Bays through excessive nutrient loading. Identifying specific sources is difficult due to their variety and mixture. Biological indicators can identify nitrogen sources, integrate nitrogen from these sources over time, and detect biologically important nutrients. Mapping identified sources can provide targets for nutrient reduction management actions, monitor management effectiveness, and evaluate the need for increased efforts. This newsletter summarizes data from the 2004 and 2006 water quality surveys of Maryland's Coastal Bays, incorporating the macroalgae Gracilaria sp. and the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica as bioindicators.

Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card
This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of 2008 Coastal Bays’ health. Prepared annually, the report card rates six reporting regions of the Coastal Bays, using six indicators combined into a single overarching index of health. Health is defined as progress towards established scientifically derived ecological thresholds or goals. The overall health of Coastal Bays was moderate in 2008, obtaining a grade of C+. The highest ranked region was Sinepuxent Bay (B), while the lowest ranked regions were Newport Bay and St. Martin River (D+). The report card website enables you to explore the report card in more detail via the regions and indicators.

Characterization and Comparison of Stream Nutrients, Land Use, and Loading Patterns in Maryland Coastal Bay Watersheds
This paper, published in Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 221(1-4): 255–273, discusses land use and its relation to nutrient concentrations and loading via streams in the Maryland Coastal Bays. The most significant correlation was with the land area of feeding operations. A similar relationship was also found with anthropogenic land area (cropland + urban + feeding operations). Wetland area was positively associated with hydric soils. Watersheds with the most crop agriculture had the highest nitrogen export coefficients, while the highest phosphorus export was in a watershed containing a non-operational chicken hatchery. This suggests that agricultural development, especially animal feeding operations, and landscape characteristics are important factors to understand nutrient loading.

IAN continues its involvement in the Maryland Coastal Bays
Bill Dennison has taken over as the new chair of the Maryland Coastal Bays Science and Technology Advisory Committee (Coastal Bays STAC), succeeding Dr. Tom Jones of Salisbury University. UMCES graduate students, Kris Beckert and Ben Fertig continue their study and synthesis of Maryland's Coastal Bays. At the recent STAC meeting, they presented summary water quality and oyster bioindicator findings from their 2007 field surveys, and a data report will be available shortly. Jane Thomas presented the latest version of 'Shifting Sands', a synthesis book about the coastal bays.

Report on nitrogen source assessment for Maryland Coastal Bays available
IAN graduate student Ben Fertig assessed nitrogen sources in Maryland's Coastal Bays. Partnering with the Maryland Coastal Bays Program and the Department of Natural Resources, this study focused on four regions—St Martin River, Public Landing, Johnson's Bay, and Chincoteague Island, which were found to be nitrogen 'hotspots' by a 2004 assessment. Two biological indicators, the macroalga Gracilaria and the native oyster Crassostrea virginica, were used to integrate nitrogen over short and long term time periods, respectively. Ben is exploring the potential of these indicators to determine and monitor nutrient sources to augment conventional water quality monitoring. This report details the study's findings.