Anthropogenic nitrogen contributes to water quality degradation, but it is difficult to distinguish sources once they are mixed in coastal ecosystems. Natural abundances of stable nitrogen isotopes (delta N-15) were measured in oyster (Crassostrea virginica) tissues (muscle, gills, and mantle) during summer 2006 to summer 2008 to identify nitrogen sources in Monie Bay (a subestuary of Chesapeake Bay) receiving freshwater inputs from three tributary creeks. The creeks (estimated flushing times:

Ecosystem-based management is widely regarded as a method to improve the way we manage our coastal marine resources and ecosystems. Effective ecosystem-based management relies upon synthesizing our scientific knowledge and transferring this knowledge into management actions. Integrated ecosystem assessment is a framework to conduct this scientific synthesis and transfer information to resource managers.

Reduction of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and suspended sediment (SS) load has been a principal focus of Chesapeake Bay Watershed management for decades. To evaluate the progress of management actions in the Bay's largest tributary, the Susquehanna River, we analyzed the long-term seasonal trends of flow-normalized N, P, and SS load over the last two to three decades, both above and below the Lower Susquehanna River Reservoir System.

Climate change is predicted to have a range of impacts on Pacific Island ecosystems and the services they provide for current and future development. There are a number of characteristics that can make adaptation approaches that utilise the benefits of ecosystems a compelling and viable alternative to other adaptation approaches.

Long-term non-linear ecosystem-scale changes in water quality and biotic communities in coastal lagoons have been associated with intensification of anthropogenic pressures. In light of incipient changes in Johnson Bay (an embayment of Chincoteague Bay, Maryland-Virginia, USA), examination of nitrogen sources was conducted through synoptic water quality monitoring, stable nitrogen isotope signatures (deltaN-15) of in situ bioindicators, and denitrification estimates.

To achieve desired environmental outcomes, environmental condition and trends need to be rigorously measured and communicated to resource managers, scientists, and a broader general audience. However, there is often a disconnect between responsive ecosystem monitoring and decision making for strategic long-term management. This project demonstrates how historical monitoring data can be synthesized and used for future planning and decision making, thereby closing the management feedback cycle.

Anthropogenic nitrogen contributes to water quality degradation, but it is difficult to distinguish sources once they are mixed in coastal ecosystems. Natural abundances of stable nitrogen isotopes (deltaN-15) were measured in oyster (Crassostrea virginica) tissues (muscle, gills, and mantle) during summer 2006 to summer 2008 to identify nitrogen sources in Monie Bay (a subestuary of Chesapeake Bay) receiving freshwater inputs from three tributary creeks. The creeks (estimated flushing times:

Between them, the authors of this paper have over sixty years experience in water education working in primary and secondary schools, universities, field study centres, professional development programs; and with community, industry, and government groups, focusing on coastal zones and catchments. Over the last three years, they have undertaken a systematic process of personal and dialogic reflection and deliberation on this experience, particularly in the area of popular education.

Stream network density exerts a strong influence on ecohydrologic processes in watersheds, yet existing stream maps fail to capture most headwater streams and therefore underestimate stream density. Furthermore, discrepancies between mapped and actual stream length vary between watersheds, confounding efforts to understand the impacts of land use on stream ecosystems.

The degree to which microbial communities adjust their decomposition of soil carbon over time in response to long-term increases in temperature is one of the key uncertainties in our modeling of the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to warming. To better understand changes in temperature sensitivity of soil microbial communities to long-term increases in soil temperature, we incubated 27 soils for one year with both short-term and long-term manipulations of temperature.