The Pacific Island Network (PACN) of the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring program is currently in the process of implementing vital signs monitoring within 11 PACN parks. As a basis to monitoring, effective communication is essential.

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An updated assessment of nutrient related impacts in US estuaries was completed in 2007. This assessment evaluates three components for each estuary: the influencing factors (e.g. land use, nutrient loads), the overall eutrophic condition (e.g. chlorophyll a, presence of nuisance/toxic algae and macroalgae, extent of dissolved oxygen problems, loss of submerged aquatic vegetation), and future outlook.

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The human ecological footprint now extends to the entire globe, and human impacts are the dominant feature of many ecosystems, resulting in our current era being coined the 'anthropocene'. This is particularly apparent in coastal ecosystems as human populations are increasing rapidly in coastal cities and the ecosystem services in these areas are rapidly being compromised.

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In January 2003, the US Environmental Protection Agency sponsored a "roundtable discussion" to develop a consensus on the relationship between eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (HABs), specifically targeting those relationships for which management actions may be appropriate. Academic, federal, and state agency representatives were in attendance. The following seven statements were unanimously adopted by attendees based on review and analysis of current as well as pertinent previous data:

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This brochure is part of a series of images, diagrams and fun facts produced by the Global Seagrass Trajectories working group, funded by the National Science Foundation and conducted at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in SantaBarbara, California. It describes the temperate and tropical distributions of seagrasses globally, their role as food and habitat for a variety of organisms, as well as being effective indicators of change.

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Coastal ecosystems including coral reefs, mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes are being lost at alarming rates, and increased scientific understanding of causes has failed to stem these losses. Coastal habitats receive contrasting research effort, with 60% of all of the published research carried out on coral reefs, compared to 11–14% of the records for each of salt marshes, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows.

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Human sewage and septic waste are significant sources of nutrient loading to many aquatic ecosystems. Ecologically relevant nitrogen sources can be traced by analyzing nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ15N signatures) in aquatic plants. Elevated δ15N signatures can suggest increased uptake of nitrogen derived from human and/or animal waste. In the current study, Vallisneria americana, a freshwater angiosperm, was collected from several locations in Upper Saranac Lake, NY, USA.

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This year's drought led to lower than normal nutrient and sediment discharge into the Bay during the summer. With fewer sediments and nutrients entering the Bay, the health of the Bay may have been expected to improve, however, this was not the case for water clarity, harmful algal blooms, and fish kills. While dissolved oxygen in the mainstem was still poor this summer, the volume of oxygen depleted water was relatively small compared to the past 22 years.

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Defending Our National Treasure: A Department of Defense Chesapeake Bay Restoration Partnership 1998–2004 provides an overview of major issues impacting the Chesapeake Bay, history of the Department of Defense’s involvement in Bay restoration efforts, current Department of Defense Chesapeake Bay restoration initiatives, specific case studies, and viewpoints of various key individuals dedicated to restoration.

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To develop the native eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, as a biological indicator of nitrogen source, linkages between stable nitrogen isotopes in its tissues and land use adjacent to deployment stations were assessed. As part of a National Estuarine Research Reserve System Graduate Research Fellowship, this study focused on the Monie Bay component of Chesapeake Bay, MD Research Reserve, which includes Monie Bay and three similar tributary creeks which vary in their surrounding land use.

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