| Conceptual Model
Critical issues and information needs common to all Gulf of Mexico estuarine research efforts were identified through a series of meetings, workshop presentations and discussions involving representatives from all participating agencies including the EPA’s National Estuary Program, and USGS Chesapeake Bay project. These issues can be categorized under four estuarine system components
1.) Geology and Geomorphology,
2.) Ecosystem Structure and Function,
3.) Hydrodynamics, and
4.) Water and sediment quality and include the following:
Geology and Geomorphology
Seafloor and subsurface mapping (bathymetry, habitat, sediments, seismic, geomorphology)
Pre-anthropogenic and historical environmental reconstruction
Sediment budget and movement
Estuary linkage to the Gulf of Mexico
Land use, land cover, and urbanization history and mapping
Digital elevation, topo-bathy mapping/modeling of drainage basin
Coastal change and hazards
Ecosystem Structure and Function
Habitat distribution, degradation, loss, and restoration
Critical controls on seagrass health and distribution
Critical controls on wetland health and distribution
Harmful algal blooms
Introduced (exotic) species
Benthic and planktonic productivity, carbon and nutrient cycling
Hydrodynamics
Storm-water runoff
Groundwater inflow
Natural and anthropogenic flow alteration
Changes in freshwater inflow
Water circulation and residence times
Wave energy impacts
Water and sediment quality
Excess nutrients
Salinity
Toxic chemicals
Pathogens
Contaminant hot spots (PAHs, DDT, chlordane, dioxin, nickel, chromium, arsenic,tributyl tin, etc.)
Sediment/water interface processes
Each of these system components is clearly linked. For example, changes in hydrodynamics (water runoff, inflow, circulation) will, inevitably, affect water and sediment quality which, in turn, may affect the distribution of benthic habitats such as seagrass beds, which then affects sediment accumulation and transport, and eventually alters bathymetry. As a consequence, fishing resources may decline due to destruction of benthic habitat, changes in bathymetry may alter navigation routes, etc.
Effective management of coastal resources including estuaries relies upon the ability to examine the consequences of natural and anthropogenic changes on the ecosystem, and the ability to predict how a change in one system component will affect other system components. This predictive ability can only be achieved by developing an understanding of the interrelationships between system components and development of reliable predictive models that aid resource managers in science-based decision making with respect to restoration and regulatory goals. Examining these interrelationships, or establishing links, between system components can be achieved most effectively through an integrated science approach (Figure 1).
The factors driving the necessity for an integrated science approach are common to most U.S.G.S. science endeavors and include: social and economic factors concerning the use and preservation of estuarine resources; natural and anthropogenic influences resulting in estuarine ecosystem change; the need to plan, execute, and evaluate restoration and regulatory activities; insuring human health and safety; and enhancing science-based decision making.
Most coastal ecosystems have existing research and monitoring efforts either through local universities and agencies or other federally funded exercises. However, many of these efforts lack the resources or expertise to address large-scale integrated science efforts. While much historical information and monitoring data may exist in a given estuarine location, synthesis and integration of existing data, and acquisition of new data to establish links and develop interpretations and products that reveal these links is a critical missing component of many estuarine research programs.
Realizing that the state of knowledge of any given estuarine system will vary from place to place, a successful integrated science strategy must be founded on partnerships and collaborative efforts between multidisciplinary teams of U.S.G.S. scientists and the federal, state, and local entities already engaged in research efforts in a given location. Additionally, the science and management approach must be structured to maintain flexibility to accommodate various states of knowledge realizing that critical issues and research priorities will evolve as a project progresses. The primary challenge of an approach to integrated science for adaptive management is to carefully plan and perform integrated field-work and integrated product development that will clearly establish links between system components and provide useful predictive tools for resource managers and scientists.
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