Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) provides many important ecosystem functions, but SAV has been significantly reduced in many estuaries. We used spatial–statistical models to identify estuarine shoreline characteristics that explain variations in SAV abundance among subestuaries of the Chesapeake Bay and ...

Coastlines worldwide are being altered due to shoreline hardening and stabilization and while highly altered systems are subject to change, variability exists in how shoreline hardening affects benthic communities depending on the landscape features of the system and regional production ...

Toxin-producing blooms of dinoflagellates in the genus Alexandrium have plagued the inhabitants of the Salish Sea for centuries. Yet the environmental conditions that promote accelerated growth of this organism, a producer of paralytic shellfish toxins, is lacking. This study quantitatively ...

Planktonic communities tend to flourish on the western margins of the East China Sea (ECS) fueled by substrates delivered largely from the Changjiang River, the fifth largest river in the world. To study the effects of the Changjiang River discharge ...

Numerical experiments are conducted to investigate how axial winds affect stratification and circulation in the partially mixed estuary of Chesapeake Bay. In the absence of rotational effects, stratification in the estuary decreases following both down?estuary and up?estuary winds, but stratification ...

Stable isotope analysis has become a common tool for mapping trophic relationships, describing foodweb changes, and assessing ecosystem health. Clear interpretation of stable isotopes is facilitated by understanding how environmental factors can affect isotopic values; in estuarine systems, these factors ...

A caveat in the concluding section of our paper states that it would be impossible to provide a comprehensive sample of synthesis case studies that reflects all the major research areas in estuarine and coastal science. In retrospect, however, we ...

Ocean acidification (OA) has the potential to restructure ecosystems due to variation in species sensitivity to the projected changes in ocean carbon chemistry. Ecological models can be forced with scenarios of OA to help scientists, managers, and other stakeholders understand ...

Excess nutrients derived from anthropogenic activity have resulted in the degradation of coastal water quality and an increase in low-oxygen and hypoxic events worldwide. In an effort to curb these impacts and restore water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, a ...

The management, restoration, and conservation of estuarine habitats would benefit from knowledge of habitat-specific functions that reflect important ecosystem services. Secondary production may provide a comprehensive metric of food web support because it synthesizes ­contributions of local primary production, food ...