Chesapeake Bay has historically supported extensive bay grass (underwater grasses) meadows (>75,000 ha). However, water quality degradation from increased sediment and nutrient inputs has reduced the areal coverage and depth penetration of bay grasses, with one third of historical distributions remaining (21,648 ha; 1985-2004 mean). Chesapeake Bay underwater grasses are comprised of a variety of freshwater, brackish, and marine species.

Read more

Environmental models are essential for simulating ecosystems that are either too large or too complex to isolate to conduct real world experiments. Models allow scientists to simulate changes in an ecosystem due to changes in population, land use, or pollution management.

Read more

Large blooms of the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula in Moreton Bay, Australia (27 degrees 05'S, 153 degrees 08'E) have been re-occurring for several years. A bloom was studied in Deception Bay (Northern Moreton Bay) in detail over the period January-March 2000. In situ data loggers and field sampling characterised various environmental parameters before and during the L. majuscula bloom.

Read more

This book was the fourth in a series of publications in support of the Heathy Waterways campaign in Southeast Queensland, Australia. It synthesizes the scientific investigations focused on the catchments and waterways of the Southeast Queensland region. Chapters on the setting, habitats, sediments, nutrients, monitoring, modeling, harmful algal blooms integrate the various scientific studies occurring in the region.

Read more

The east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, consists of highly permeable limestone, such that surface flow and rivers are absent in this region. Extensive underground cave systems connect sink holes (cenotes) to submarine springs (ojos de aqua), which vent into the seagrass meadows of the adjacent oligotrophic coastal lagoons.

Read more

Tissue samples of liver and blubber were salvaged from fifty-three dugong (Dugong dugon) carcasses stranded along the Queensland coast between 1996 and 2000. Liver tissue was analysed for a range of heavy metals and blubber samples were analysed for organochlorine compounds. Metal concentrations were similar in male and female animals and were generally highest in mature animals.

Read more

As part of the program monitoring the ecosystem health of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, we developed a means for assessing ecosystem health that allows quantitative evaluation and spatial representations of the assessments. The management objectives for achieving ecosystem health were grouped into ecosystem objectives, water quality objectives, and human health objectives.

Read more

This data report details the results of an intensive sampling effort by the Integration and Application Network in the Maryland Coastal Bays. A spatially explicit Water Quality Index was developed from standard water quality analyses and a relatively new stable isotope technique.

Read more

This report summarizes monitoring data collected over the past several years for water quality, aquatic living resources, and habitat categories. It utilizes conceptual diagrams for each reporting region to highlight the key ecosystem processes, biota and estuarine health problems.

Read more

This 288-page book utilizes conceptual diagrams (including symbols from the IAN symbol libraries) to describe the health, geography, science, management and ecological functions of Australia's 974 estuaries. Chapters on natural history, coastal science and management give an understanding of our vast network of pristine and heavily modified estuaries - from isolated tide-dominated estuaries in Australia's tropical north to those shaped by waves in southern, temperate waters.

Read more