Several local agencies have been conducting environmental monitoring and research in Tampa Bay for the past four decades. Federal, locacral, and state agencies, universities, and private entities (organized by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program since 1991) have undertaken numerous estuarine monitoring programs in Tampa Bay (appendix 1, Pribble et al. 1999). In 1991, the Tampa Bay National Estuary Program and its partners developed a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Tampa Bay (TBEP CCMP 1996) and identified key resource management goals and strategic objectives. This management plan defined a new direction for Tampa Bay resource management recognizing that environmental management must be an evolving/adaptive process that shifts away from emphasis on piecemeal oversight and toward a holistic view that assesses cumulative impacts of human action on entire natural systems (ecosystem management).
The primary goal of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s CCMP is to restore and protect water quality and bay habitats, as the foundation for healthy and diverse populations of fish and wildlife through adaptive ecosystem management. Area-specific goals of the original CCMP include five categories:
- water and sediment quality,
- bay habitats,
- dredging and dredged material management,
- spill prevention and response, and
- public outreach and education.
Strategic objectives for each of these categories are listed in appendix 2. The science goal and task objectives of the U.S.G.S. Tampa Bay Study address many key issues defined in the CCMP.
During previous decades, the highest resource management priority of the Tampa Bay scientific community has been to restore and maintain water quality to a level that would sustain seagrass growth. Since the early 1980’s water quality has shown remarkable improvement, and seagrass growth has shown some recovery from a drastic decline that occurred between 1950 and 1980 (Avery and Johansson 2002). This recovery is attributed to the successful implementation of a nitrogen management strategy. However, despite improvements in nitrogen loading, rates of seagrass recovery began leveling-off in 1995 below expected recovery rates. In a 5-year assessment of CCMP water quality and seagrass goals (appendix 2), it was recognized that unknown factors (other than nitrogen loading) are inhibiting continued recovery of seagrass (Janicki 2001, Greening and Treat, 2002). Hypotheses on anthropogenic and natural factors other than nitrogen loading that may be inhibiting continued restoration include:
- potential impacts of groundwater intrusion in the bay
- wave energy and erosion of longshore bars that once protected seagrass habitat
- light attenuation due to resuspended sediment
- contaminated sediments
- changes in circulation patterns resulting from urbanization
- natural changes in climate
- urbanization induced local climate changes
It is unknown, however likely, that a complex interplay of these factors (and others not yet identified) is impeding recovery of seagrass. The cumulative impact of these factors can be understood only through a holistic research approach. This is only one example of complex research questions that the regional-scale, integrated science strategy of the U.S.G.S. Tampa Bay Study is designed to address. Primary task objectives of the U.S.G.S. Tampa Bay Study focus on integrating process research to address specific hypotheses such as those listed above. Pre-historical and historical models that assess the relative impacts of natural and anthropogenic change on water quality and seagrass will be developed through integration of Tampa Bay Study primary task objectives with historical monitoring data from TBEP partners.
Such historical models provide the foundation to develop predictive tools that will facilitate adaptive ecosystem management for Tampa Bay. Coastal habitat restoration and protection, and dredged material management represent two additional key areas that will benefit from the Tampa Bay Study integrated science approach. Data management and outreach strategies are designed to complement CCMP goals for public outreach and education.
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