United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development Washington DC 20460 EPA/620/R-00/005m August, 2000 Coastal Communications NATIONAL COASTAL REPORT CARD COASTAL 2000 - PUERTO RICO ASSESSMENT OR&/REGION 2/OW/PR&NR 1^2000. Puerto Rico 200 Estuarine Sampling Design Background The U.S. EPA's National Coastal Report Card (also known as Coastal 2000) includes a multi-year partnership among EPA's Office of Research and Development, EPA Region 2, EPA's Office of Water and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources (PRDNR). This joint effort will evaluate the condition of coastal resources in Puerto Rico as part of a region wide assessment for EPA Region 2. This effort is being coordinated by the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory's Gulf Ecology Division in Gulf Breeze, Florida. Coastal 2000 Strategy The Region 2 strategy for Coastal 2000 focuses on a strategic partnership with all coastal states and Puerto Rico within EPA Region 2. Using a compatible, probabilistic design and a common set of survey indicators, each state will conduct the survey and assess the condition of their coastal resources independently, yet, these estimates can be aggregated to assess conditions at the EPA Regional, biogeographical, and National levels. The map illustrated here shows the 50 sites included in the Puerto Rico 2000 survey. Water Quality Dissolved oxygen Salinity, temperature, depth pH Nutrients Chlorophyll Sediment Quality Grain size Total organic carbon Sediment chemistry Benthic community structure Biotic Condition Community structure (benthos and fish) External fish pathology Whole fish Tissue analyses Further Information For further information, please contact Darvene Adams at the Environmental Services Division in Region 2 at (732) 321-6700 or adams.darvene@epa.gov or Kevin Summers at the National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory's Gulf Ecology Division at (850) 934-9244 or summers.kevin@epa.gov. General information on the U.S. EPA EMAP is available at http://www.epa.gov/emap. ------- |