This newsletter summarizes the main findings and methods of a new initiative to forecast ecological conditions of Chesapeake Bay for the coming summer. This year’s forecast focuses on three important elements of the Bay’s health—dissolved oxygen (DO) in the Bay’s mainstem, harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Potomac River, and changes in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) distribution.

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The Indicator Redesign Taskforce was assembled to provide a vision for the Chesapeake Bay Program indicators and the manner in which they are communicated. In doing so, the Indicator Redesign Taskforce is initiating and steering the necessary changes through the Monitoring and Analysis Subcommittee. This document describes the goals, approach and methods used to redesign the ecological indicators and outlines the communication strategy used to convey these changes to the public.

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This is the first in a series of newsletters to be produced by the Monitoring and Analysis Subcommittee (MASC). MASC coordinates and supports the monitoring activities of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP). Newsletters produced by MASC will summarize current and significant issues relating to the health of Chesapeake Bay ecosystems, those factors that affect the health of the Bay, and the restoration effort.

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The abundance and productivity of benthic microalgae in coral reef sediments are poorly known compared with other, more conspicuous (e.g. coral zooxanthellae, macroalgae) primary producers of coral reef habitats.

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Direct comparisons between photosynthetic O-2 evolution rate and electron transport rate (ETR) were made in situ over 24 h using the benthic macroalga Ulva lactuca (Chlorophyta), growing and measured at a depth of 1.8 m, where the midday irradiance rose to 400-600 mumol photons m(-2) s(-1). O-2 exchange was measured with a 5-chamber data-logging apparatus and ETR with a submersible pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometer (Diving-PAM).

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Measurement of light penetration in relation to seagrass

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Survival and recovery of the seagrass Halophiln ovalis (R.Br.) Hook during and after light deprivation was investigated to assist in the interpretation of recent losses of Halophiln spp. in Queensland, Australia. Light deprivation experiments were conducted in outdoor aquaria and in situ at two water depths. Halophiln ovalis plants were deprived of light for a maximum of 30 days, and recovery processes were investigated for up to 18 days following 15 days of light deprivation.

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Pulsed turbidity events caused by factors such as flooding rivers have the potential to seriously impact seagrass communities by depriving the plants of all available light. The effects of light deprivation was investigated on the survival, morphology and physiology of the tropical seagrasses Halodule pinifolia and Halophila ovalis growing in the South-East Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, a region where pulsed flood events are common.

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