Bay Grass Restoration in Chesapeake Bay
A new science newsletter synthesizing underwater bay grass restoration techniques, success, and recommendations in the Chesapeake Bay is now available. This newsletter is the product of two workshops organized by the Integration and Application Network for the 'SAV Restoration Workgroup', with funding by Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The workshops were held in April 2004 and March 2005, with participants from UMCES, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR), Virginia Institute of Marine Science, US Geological Survey, and National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration Chesapeake Bay Office. The workshops discussed the status of MD DNR’s restoration targeting model, and determined the different bay grass habitats within the Bay. As part of this effort, the IAN website also hosts a webpage to facilitate discussion of the community diagrams produced as part of the workshop. The findings presented in the newsletter can also be discussed on the IAN forum. IAN newsletters are available as PDFs from our website, or you can order printed copies for your organization on the IAN newsletters page.
Global seagrass trajectories project launched
A working group of a dozen scientists from Australia, Europe and the U.S. was established in February 2006 at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Barbara, California. Drs. Bill Dennison and Tim Carruthers helped initiate a two-year project in which a global assessment of seagrass gains and losses will be used to develop ecological forecasts. The project, “Global trajectories of seagrasses: Establishing a quantitative basis for seagrass conservation and restoration”, is constructing a global database of seagrass distributional changes, testing the perception that a contemporary crisis in seagrass ecosystems is occurring due to coastal human population pressures.
A new synthesis of Chesapeake Bay aquatic grasses
Chesapeake Bay aquatic grass experts convened at a workshop during March to integrate the current understanding of aquatic grass occurrence and abundance. Water quality, biotic and physical factors controlling aquatic grass distribution were reviewed and conceptualized. New approaches and methods of conducting aquatic grass forecasts were discussed in preparation for the 2006 summer forecast. A descriptive paper, newsletter, and website will be produced over the next six months; these will form the basis of a subsequent explanatory paper. The workshop was organized and sponsored by the Integration and Application Network and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Analytical support is being offered by the Chesapeake Bay Program.