Estuarine Habitat Program (EHP)
NOTE: Most EHP projects were completed in FY95, those that were notcompleted
were funded in FY96 as the program wound down.
THE ISSUE:
It is estimated that three-quarters of the Nation's marine harvestable species
are at some point in their life cycle dependent on estuarine habitats for
food and shelter or as migratory routes and spawning grounds. Generally, estuarine
habitat is being lost or degraded in direct proportion to human population
density in coastal areas and at rates that concern coastal scientists and
mangers. Much of the decline of salt marsh and seagrass systems has been through
some type of alteration to the flow of water to these habitats, such as dams,
levees, dikes, dredge and fill operation, drainage, roadways, etc. It is important
for resource managers to understand the importance of these habitats to the
long-term support of fish populations. A better understanding of the location,
extent, and rate at which critical habitats are being altered will provide
managers with an enhanced ability to improve habitat and fishery restoration
and management techniques and thus maximize social and economic benefits to
the Nation.
THE APPROACH:
EHP research is centered on specific seagrass or salt marsh habitats and
is focused on understanding the mechanisms and impacts of habitat alteration
and restoration, the functional value and role of these habitats, and the
linkages between these habitats. Another focus for research is the development
of spatially based, generic, functional ecosystem model applications to seagrass
and salt marsh habitats that couple relatively small-scale models to landscape-
orregional-scale spatial models. These models can provide for the integration
of EHP functional research with mapping and geographic information system
(GIS) information in order to analyze regional-scale changes on living marine
resources.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND CURRENT ACTIVITIES:
Research on salt marsh and seagrass environments has produced a body of knowledge
that contributes to a better understanding of the these habitats, and how
they can be maintained or restored. Manuals that help determine the structure
and functional health of natural and restored wetlands have been produced,
as has a document examining the capability of water quality criteria to protect
seagrasses. With the progress made in these two areas, a 1992 workshop recommended
that greater emphasis be placed on the impact of seagrass and wetland habitats
on living marine resources; the interaction of these habitats with surrounding
habitats; and the integration of the habitat function research results with
the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).
EHP Applications by State
- California
- Florida
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Washington
For more information
University
of South Carolina
NOAA/NMFS/Northwest
Fisheries Science Center
Last Updated: August 22, 2001
CALIFORNIA
Improving Methods for West Coast Marshes: The ultimate goal of wetland
restoration is to provide self-sustaining ecosystems that closely resemble
the natural systems being replaced in terms of structure and function. Southern
California's salt marsh restoration sites do not function as well as natural
wetlands. A 1992 transplantation of approximately 11,000 plugs of cordgrass
at the Santa Ana River mouth (near Los Angeles) experienced 100 percent mortality;
in San DiegoBay, the three marshes that were planted to attract light-footed
clapper rails to nest have failed to attract this endangered bird. New methods
are needed to improve the success of coastal wetland restoration, and the
resulting information needs to be transferred to users. The overall goal of
this project is to improve the potential for habitat construction and manipulation
to produce functional ecosystems more rapidly. Researchers in southern California
are conducting studies with thefollowing objectives: 1) measuring rates of
ecosystem development in constructed wetlands by comparing sites of different
age and comparing individual sites through time; and 2) looking at ways to
accelerate ecosystem development of constructed wetlands by augmenting soils
with organic matter and nitrogen.
Genetic Diversity in California Seagrass Beds: To provide continued
support for living marine resources, seagrass populations must remain viable.
In southern California, transplanted seagrass beds have been found to have
reduced genetic diversity relative to beds with no known history of transplantation.
Genetic diversity is essential to the long-term survival of populations, providing
the variation necessary for adaptation to new environmental conditions, including
marine pollution. The genetic approach is important because it provides a
tool for predicting whether current reductions in seagrass populations are
likely to result in future losses. The goal of thisproject is to determine
the degree of genetic diversity necessary to ensure survival of transplanted
eelgrass beds over a desirable time frame. Researchers in southern California
are conducting studies to determine why transplanted eelgrass beds are deficient
in genetic diversity compared to natural beds; whether reduced genetic diversity
is a local phenomenon; the mechanisms creating the deficit; and the significance
of reduced genetic diversity for eelgrass bed development, maintenance, and
persistence, and the ecological consequences. This approach provides practical
ways in which seagrass viability can be increased and restoration success
maximized.
FLORIDA
The Estuarine Habitat Project (EHP) was established by the COP to study the
human impact on salt marsh and seagrass systems by alterations of water flow
or other land-based human activities. In Southern Florida, water flow and
habitat alteration have seriously degraded the area's estuarine ecosystems.
Several seagrass projects have been funded, including efforts to investigate
the response of seagrasses to stressors and the function that seagrass beds
play in the living marine ecosystem. One project which relates directly to
the research and restoration efforts in South Florida is the study of the
genetic diversity of Thalassia. This study will assess the degree of
genetic diversity needed to ensure survival of transplanted seagrass beds.
Studies of spatial and temporal influences on seagrass ecosystems are also
underway to assess plant and animal communities of the seagrass beds. Also
directly benefiting decision makers in Florida is the COP sponsored development
of protocols for regeneration and propagation of seagrasses.
LOUISIANA
Estuarine Habitat Program (EHP) research is centered on specific seagrass
or saltmarsh habitats and is focused on understanding the mechanisms and impacts
of habitat alteration and restoration, the functional value and role of these
habitats, and the linkages between these habitats. One goal of EHP is to provide
guidance to resource managers on how to restore damaged habitats effectively.
COP supports the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium in evaluating the
effects of recent expansion of salt marsh vegetation over unvegetated habitats
in the Pacific Northwest.
MARYLAND
Estuarine Habitat Program (EHP) research is centered on specific seagrass
or saltmarsh habitats and is focused on understanding the mechanisms and impacts
of habitat alteration and restoration, the functional value and role of these
habitats, and the linkages between these habitats. One goal of EHP is to provide
guidance to resource managers on how to restore damaged habitats effectively.
COP funds some twenty institutions in the U.S. under the EHP. NOAA's Office
of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research in Silver Spring, MD, provides scientific
support and management services for EHP.
MASSACHUSETTS
Human activities on coastal watersheds provide the major source of nutrients
entering shallow coastal ecosystems. These nutrient loadings are the most
widespread factor altering structure andfunction of receiving aquatic systems,
resulting in increased nutrients in water, greater primary production by phytoplankton,
and increased macroalgal biomass and growth. Waquoit Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve on Cape Cod has experienced a particular problem with increases
in seaweeds which have decreased the areas covered by eelgrass habitats. A
Coastal Ocean Program funded-study at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory
is examining how coupling among the adjoining habitat parcels affect the assemblages
of plants and animals in these systems. Within this context, the project is
focusing on how fringing salt marshes modify the effects of land-derived nutrients
on adjacent seagrass beds, particularly in the transformation of nitrogen
as it passes through the system.
NORTH CAROLINA
The Estuarine Habitat Program (EHP) provides guidance to managers on how
marine habitats function in support of living marine resources and how those
aspects can be incorporated into habitat restoration efforts. COP supports
researchers in North Carolina to study seagrass/saltmarsh function, restoration,
and propagation techniques.
SOUTH CAROLINA
The Estuarine Habitat Program (EHP) is centered on specific seagrass or saltmarsh
habitats and is focused on understanding the mechanisms and impacts of habitat
alteration and restoration, the functional value and role of these habitats,
and the linkages between these habitats. EHP provides guidance to managers
on how marine habitats function in support of living marine resources and
how those aspects can be incorporated into habitat restoration efforts. The
COP sponsors the University of South Carolina and Coastal Carolina University
to use aerial imagery, geographic information systems and image analyst to
investigate the relationship among salt marsh ecosystem morphology and resource
management characteristics such as habitat quality, habitat linkages, and
support of living marine resources including fisheries.
OREGON AND WASHINGTON
Landscape Ecology of Columbia River Estuary and Willapa Bay: It is
important for resource managers to understand the location, extent, and rate
at which critical coastal habitats are being altered. COP research and modeling
funded through the University of Washington has centered on specific seagrass
or salt marsh habitats to understand the mechanisms and impacts of habitat
alteration and restoration, the functional valueand role or these habitats,
and the linkages between these habitats. In the Columbia River estuary and
Willapa Bay, WA, research is focusing on factors that influence changing emergent
marsh-mudflat system regimes and the ecological implications on estuarine
biota.
Last Updated: August 22, 2001
Comments to: coastalocean@noaa.gov
