Linking water quality to living resources in a mid-Atlantic lagoon system, USA
This paper synthesizes water quality data for the MD Coastal Bays and concludes that decadal improvements have now changed to recent declines in water quality. Strong spatial trends between water quality and seagrass abundance within the MD Coastal Bays are also presented. This effort was a collaboration between Cathy Wazniak and Matt Hall (MD DNR), Brian Sturgis (NPS), Bob Orth (VIMS) and IAN's Bill Dennison, Tim Carruthers and Jane Thomas. The article appears in Ecological Applications 2007: 17(5): Supplement S64-S78
Protecting Palau's natural heritage
The Republic of Palau, in the western Pacific Ocean, was the site of a workshop to develop conceptual frameworks for ecosystem-based management. IAN staff Bill Dennison, Ben Longstaff, and Jane Thomas worked with scientists, resource managers, and stakeholders to develop conceptual diagrams and management, monitoring, and research recommendations for Palau. These diagrams examined key features, threats, and management objectives of the Palau ecosystem. This Palau regional initiative is the second of three Packard Foundation ecosystem-based management projects (the other two are Morro Bay [California] and the Sea of Cortez [Mexico]) with whom IAN will partner to produce conceptual frameworks.
The challenge of communicating monitoring results to effect change
The National Park Service now has a strong ecological perspective as a basis to natural resource management. This article discusses a visual and web based approach to synthesizing and communicating monitoring data that is currently being undertaken by staff from NPS Inventory and Monitoring in the National Capital Region in collaboration with UMCES faculty and staff from IAN. The article appears as Carter et al. 2007. The George Wright Forum 24:48-58
NPS Inventory and Monitoring workshops in Hawaii
IAN staff recently started a new project with the National Park Service (NPS) at sites in the Pacific Region. Workshops were held with Inventory and Monitoring staff for the region as well as parks staff at the four west Hawaii parks: Pu`ukohola Heiau National Historic Site, Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, and Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail. The project will produce a poster for each park as well as a science newsletter, summarizing the cultural context for key natural resources within the parks as well as key threats, including abundant invasive species and impacts from rapid adjacent development.