This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of 2009 Chesapeake Bay habitat health. The overall health of Chesapeake Bay, assessed using water quality and biotic indicators, was the best it has been since 2002. The overall grade improved from C- in 2008 to C in 2009. Eight reporting regions had improved grades in 2009, four were unchanged, and two had slightly worse grades.

Read more

A variety of organizations, both government and citizen-led, monitor the health of streams, rivers, and other waterbodies in the mid-Atlantic region. Recently, a number of groups concerned with the health of watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay region have begun to produce ecosystem health report cards much like EcoCheck’s annual Chesapeake Bay report card.

Read more

Although spatial analysis is technically a component of statistical analysis and environmental modeling, the important role it plays, or should play, in coastal assessment programs warrants specific attention in its own separate chapter. This chapter provides some of the basic principles for producing effective maps through to the process of undertaking complex spatial analyses.

Read more

Currently, many states use precipitation information to regulate periodic closures of shellfish harvest areas based on a presumptive relationship between rainfall and bacteria concentration. We evaluate this relationship in four South Carolina estuaries and suggest new predictive models that integrate remote sensing precipitation data with additional environmental and climatic data.

Read more

Fisheries research funded by the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) provides science and information to enable natural resource managers to make informed decisions. The NCBO Fisheries Science Symposium is a chance for fisheries scientists in the Bay area to present their research findings and create collaborations. This document is an EcoCheck/NCBO collaboration and summarizes some of the key topics presented at the 2009 symposium.

Read more

This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of 2008 Coastal Bays’ health. Prepared annually, the report card rates six reporting regions of the Coastal Bays, using six indicators combined into a single overarching index of health. Health is defined as progress towards established scientifically derived ecological thresholds or goals. The overall health of Coastal Bays was moderate in 2008, obtaining a grade of C+.

Read more

This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed annual assessment of 2008 Chesapeake Bay habitat health. This is the third year that the report card has been released. This report card rates 15 reporting regions of the Bay using six indicators that are combined into a single overarching index of habitat health. The overall health of Chesapeake Bay was poor in 2008, obtaining a grade of C-.

Read more

This newsletter introduces the first Severn River ecosystem health report card. The report card summarizes 2008 water quality results, which are based on data collected by the Severn Riverkeeper Program. This report card helps to clarify the Severn's health, and provides instructions on what individuals can do to improve its condition.

Read more

The utility of library-based ribotyping methods for a very small study area was evaluated through comparison of local results to libraries with differing spatial and temporal scales. Ribotyping of Escherichia coli isolates was used to evaluate sources of fecal pollution at a coastal golf course in Beaufort County, South Carolina.

Read more

Increases in contaminants associated with urban sprawl are a particular concern in the rapidly developing coastal areas of the southeastern United States. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are contaminants associated with vehicle emissions and runofff from impervious surfaces. Increased vehicular traffic and more impervious surfaces lead to an increased loading of PAHs into coastal estuarine systems.

Read more