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Projects for Developing Ecosystem Indicators
SC Marine Resources
Charleston, SC
Estuarine Projects
The South Carolina Estuarine
and Coastal Assessment
Program
Objectives:
 Monitor the quality of all South Carolina estuaries
• Water and Sediment Quality
• Biological Condition
 Develop integrated measures of habitat condition
 Report findings to the public in understandable formats
Sampling Components
Water Quality
•
•
•
•
Continuous monitoring for salinity, DO, pH, temp
Nutrients (total & dissolved nitrogen, phosphorus)
BOD, fecal coliform bacteria, metals
Phytoplankton (Chl-a)
Sediment Quality
•
•
Contaminants (85 analytes)
Toxicity (3 assays)
Biological Condition
•
•
•
Benthos
Phytoplankton composition
Finfish and crustaceans
Indicator Development
Water Quality
•
•
Selected 6 primary measures (DO, pH, TN,TP, Chla, fecal
coliform bacteria)
Each scored and scores averaged for integrated water quality
measure
Sediment Quality
•
•
•
•
Selected 24 priority pollutants with known bioeffects data
Developed integrated measure of contaminant
concentration (ERM-Quotient)
Scored ERM-Q by published benthic effects ranges
Scored toxicity assays by number of assays with “hits”
Biological Condition
•
Used Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) for biological
response
Indicator Development
Overall habitat quality
• Averaged scores of each subcomponent into an
•
integrated score for overall habitat quality
Each component weighted equally
For more information on approach:
http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/marine/scecap/
Or Google SCECAP
Overall Index of Habitat Quality
Water
Quality
Sediment
Quality
Biological
Condition
Integrated Habitat Quality Score
2001 - 2002
Percent of Total Habitat
100
2%
15%
80
22%
24%
SCECAP Criteria
Poor
60
83%
76%
40
Fair
Good
20
0
Open
Creeks
Overall Habitat Quality Score
Program Benefits
 SCECAP provides good data on condition of the
State’s coastal habitat
•
•
•
Includes nursery habitats not previously monitored
Provides estimate of proportion of state’s waters that meet or
don’t meet desired conditions
Provides data useful for assessing estuarine drainage systems
as as an ecosystem unit
 Incorporates new integrated measures of habitat
condition
•
For water quality, sediment quality, overall habitat condition
 Utilizes resources of multiple state and federal
agencies
Projects on Continental Shelf
Marine
A
Resources
Monitoring
Assessment
Prediction
Baited Hook (1977-2004)
Trap (1977-2004)
Trawl (1973-1987)
Plankton (1973-1983)
South
East
Area
Monitoring &
Assessment
Program
Annual Trawl Survey
1989-Present
SEAMAP-SA
(SouthEast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program)
(South Atlantic)
Shallow Water Trawl Survey
The Shallow Water Trawl Survey
• Funded by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries
Service
– State / Federal Cooperation
– Cape Hatteras, NC to Cape Canaveral, FL
• Provides fisheries managers with long-term data
– Fishery-independent
– Monitor stocks year after year
– Able to provide historic data on a broad range of
species
• Only long-term trawl survey of near-shore South
Atlantic Bight
– Data from 1986 to present
SEAMAP Stations
Types of Data
• Annual / Seasonal/ Regional
Species occurrence
Species abundance
Biomass
• Life History 
Age-growth
Maturity
• Hydrographic Data
Salinity
Temperature
Wave height


Data Use
• Stock Assessments

Atlantic Croaker
Weakfish
Bluefish
Spanish and King Mackerel
Horseshoe crab
• Life History

Age-Length Keys
• Hydrographic Data

Abundance relationship to temperature and salinity
Southeast Shelf Ecosystem: SCDNR
Offshore Fisheries Research and Monitoring
Cape Hatteras
Marine Resources Research
Institute, SCDNR
South Carolina
Charleston
Bump
Blake Spur
Blake Plateau
Cape Canaveral
What We
Know:
MARMAP
Sampling
1973 - 2004
Baited Hook (1977-2004)
Trap (1977-2004)
Trawl (1973-1987)
Plankton (1973-1983)
MARMAP:
Marine
Resources,
Assessment &
Prediction
Samples from
1973 - present
MARMAP Trawl
Survey, 1973-1980
MARMAP Trawl
Survey, 1973-1980
MARMAP
Trawl Data
1973-1987
(Yankee and Fly Nets)
1
Forage Fishes Taxa:
Ammodytidae
Argentinidae
Branchiostomatidae
Clupeidae
Engraulidae
Mugilidae
Myctophidae
Decapterus spp.
2001-2003
Charleston Gyre
Charleston Bump
2005—Deployment of
Satellite-Tracked Drifters on Deep
Reef Spawning Grounds (Winter and
Summer)
Where do the eggs and larvae go?
Spawning Locations in Relation to Proposed MPA Sites off SC
What We
Know:
MARMAP:
Marine
Resources,
Assessment &
Prediction
Hydrocast & CTD
Samples From
1973 - Present
SEA-GeoFish Database
= Black Sea Bass
= Snowy Grouper
http://ekman.csc.noaa.gov/seageofish/seageofish.htm
"SEAGeoFISH"
Ocean Observing
Systems
"SABSOON"
http://www.skio.peachnet.edu/research/sabsoon/fishwatch/
Regional
Outreach and
Education
Linkages
EcoGenomics: Examining
ecosytem dynamics and species
within communities.
Functional Genomics paradigm
STIMULUS
RESPONSE
PHYSIOLOGICAL
•Hormonal,
•Metabolic
SYSTEMIC:
•Development?
•Differentiation?
INFECTION
IMMUNITY:
•Survival?
•Mortality?
ENVIRONMENT
•Physical,
•Chemical,
•Biological stress
GENOME
GENE
EXPRESSION
STRESS:
•Physiological?
•Pathological?
Marine Organisms as Vectors of Disease Pathogens
Stressor
• O2 • pH
• Metals • PAHs
Host
C. virginica
Pathogen
Vibrio campbellii
Oyster Measurements:
In vivo fate of V. campbellii
Physiological responses
Immunological responses
• Transcriptional responses
(w/ Marine Genomics
Core)
• Metals & PAH tissue loads
(w/ Chemistry Core)
Analysis
(w/ Data Management Team)
The Approach
Laboratory
Experiments
Field Tests
Monitoring,
Assessment,
And Prediction
Lab Experiments
Controlled Exposures
Cd, Cu, Zn, Pathogens
Microarrays
Physiological
Assessment
Chemical Analysis
Pathogens
Data Management
ANN and other Analysis Tools
Monitoring, Assessment
And Prediction
Benefits
• Early Warning of Stress- Genome responds in
minutes to hours
• Duration of response can be as long as the
duration of the stress
• Can detect any type of stress
• Provides the connection between the stressor and
the organism response
Selection of indicators depends on the
questions to be answered.
What are the questions that need to be
answered in evaluations of ecosystem
condition?
What are the attributes to measure that
provide answers to these questions?
How are the attributes measured (what
indicator to use)?
Indicators
Environment
Resources
Ecosystem
Services
Society