Data and Reports Explorer

Many ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) measures and restoration projects have been implemented to address the stressors that have negatively affected the United States (U.S.) Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Ecosystem simulation models are useful tools for tackling EBFM and restoration questions. Here, we review the current status of ecosystem modeling efforts ...

This report details the results of a survey effort conducted by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science in coastal Georgia which included the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. The survey instrument was designed in collaboration with management staff to analyze the ...

Declines in dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in aquatic environments can lead to conditions of hypoxia (DO ? 2 mg/L), which can directly and indirectly affect aquatic organisms. Direct effects include changes in growth and mortality; indirect effects include changes in distribution, movement, and interactions with other species. For mobile species, ...

Given projected changes in river flow to coastal regions worldwide due to climate change and increasing human freshwater demands, it is necessary to determine the role hydrology plays in regulating the biogeochemistry of estuaries. A climatic gradient exists along the Texas coast where freshwater inflow balance ranges from hydrologically positive ...

The northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is an ecologically and economically productive system that supports some of the largest volume and most valuable fisheries in the United States. The benefit of these fisheries to society and to the surrounding Gulf communities has varied historically, commensurate with the fish population sizes ...

Fish mortality and hypoxic events occur in many coastal and inland systems and may result from natural or anthropogenically mediated processes. The effects of consequent changes in water biogeochemistry have been investigated for communities of benthic invertebrates and pelagic metazoans. The responses of micro-plankton assemblages, however, have remained largely unstudied ...

The development of molecular probe technologies over the last several decades has enabled more rapid and specific identification and enumeration of phytoplankton species compared to traditional technologies, such as light microscopy. Direct comparisons of these methods with respect to physiological status, however, are sparse. Here we directly compare quantitative real-time ...

Hypoxia-inducible factor-? (HIF-?) and cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) are biomarkers of environmental exposure to hypoxia and organic xenobiotic chemicals that act through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, respectively. Many aquatic environments heavily contaminated with organic chemicals, such as harbors, are also hypoxic. Recently, we and other scientists reported HIF-? genes are ...

The effects of three nitrogen (N) and two phosphorus (P) inorganic and organic forms on the growth, toxin content and composition, toxin production, and chemical composition of Alexandrium catenella and Alexandrium tamarense isolated from coastal waters of Hong Kong were determined. The toxin production rate and cellular toxin content for ...

In many coastal regions throughout the world, there is increasing pressure to harden shorelines to protect human infrastructures against sea level rise, storm surge, and erosion. This study examines waterbird community integrity in relation to shoreline hardening and land use characteristics at three geospatial scales: (1) the shoreline scale characterized ...

Nutrient inputs have degraded estuaries worldwide. We investigated the sources and effects of nutrient inputs by comparing water quality at shallow (< 2m deep) nearshore (within 200 m) locations in a total of 49 Chesapeake subestuaries and Mid-Atlantic coastal bays with differing local watershed land use. During July–October, concentrations of ...

A large hypoxic zone forms every summer on the Texas-Louisiana Shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico due to nutrient and freshwater inputs from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River System. Efforts are underway to reduce the extent of hypoxic conditions through reductions in river nutrient inputs, but the response of hypoxia to ...

The National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment (NEEA) is a tool for evaluating both current eutrophic condition and the effectiveness of management actions aimed at reducing eutrophic condition. Eutrophication is caused by excess nutrients and is expressed by symptoms such as increased chlorophyll a and macroalgae, and decreased dissolved oxygen. Widespread coastal ...

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 mid-Atlantic Coastal Bays. We summarized digital spatial data on shoreline ...

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. Oyster reefs have been used to stabilize shorelines and offer ...

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 determined the growth response of two Alexandrium isolates to a ...

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 on planktonic community respiration (CR), physical?chemical variables and key processes ...

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 experiences larger reduction and takes longer to recover under up?estuary ...

Salt marsh ecosystems are sensitive habitats that may be susceptible to oil and oil spill mitigation chemicals during clean up. This research project assessed the toxicity of three shoreline cleaners (SLC) in laboratory and mesocosm exposures, determined petroleum hydrocarbon distributions in water and sediment, and evaluated efficacy of each SLC ...

Egg deposition by the intertidal spawning fish Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia) was compared among six shoreline types (Spartina alterniflora, Phragmites australis, sandy beach, riprap, riprap-sill, and bulkhead) and various substrates. In spring 2010, M. menidia egg density was measured daily near Roosevelt Inlet, Delaware Bay, USA. Over 3,000,000 eggs were ...