U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Research in Progress Vol.5 Issue 1 July 2003 A product of the National Center for Environmental Research ESTUARINE AND GREAT LAKES (EaGLe) RESEARCH Estuaries - the transitional zones where salt water from the sea mixes with fresh water flowing from the land - are one of our most valuable and stressed resources. Through Science to Achieve Results (STAR), an Envi- ronmental Protection Agency program, five Estuarine and Great Lakes (EaGLe) research programs were recently established to help us understand how to better protect these resources. The EaGLe Programs will work on de- veloping the next generation of ecological indicators that can be used in a comprehensive coastal monitoring pro- gram across the country's coasts. This information will feed into a strategy that will enable us to understand the condition of our estuarine and coastal waters. To support remote sensing research related to the coasts, the Na- tional Aeronautics and Space Administration has provided additional funding forthree of the programs. Estuaries are biologically diverse, highly productive eco- systems that act as important nurseries and refuges for numerous freshwater and marine finfish and shellfish. They provide habitat for terrestrial wildlife. Estuaries process nutrients and toxic substances that originate on land and thus act as protective buffers forsensitive coastal waters. ------- They also are used by many people as areas for public enjoyment. With coastal populations increasing at a dra- matic rate, there is a strong need to find ways to main- tain healthy ecosystems in these areas. Indicators are tools that can be used to assess the cur- rent and future health of the environment by relaying complex messages from numerous sources in a sim- plified and useful manner. The EaGLe Programs will identify and develop a new suite of ecological and so- cioeconomic indicators that focus on ecosystem processes in coastal areas. Some of these ecological indicators — such as total species diversity, biomass, land cover and land use, net primary productivity, and waterand nutrient discharge—describe ecosystem health in terms of important variables includ- ing functionality, integrity, and sustainability. Function- ality is the ability of an eco- system to capture solar en- ergy via photosynthesis and store it as carbon-based molecules. Integrity is the degree to which an ecosys- tem supports a balanced and resilient community of organisms with processes similar to natural habitats in the same region. Sustainability is the ability of an ecosystem to main- tain the functionality and in- tegrity of its processes over time. Socioeconomic indicators, such as expenditures on wastewater treatment, can be useful in interpreting stakeholders' attitudes on environmental risks, under- standing institutional and jurisdictional obstacles to change, and communicating environmental information in a meaningful way. Ecosystem managers will use these new ecological and socioeconomic indicators to better assess the health of the environment, set priorities, imple- ment appropriate actions, and evaluate outcomes. For additional information on the STAR EaGLe Program, visit: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/centers/eagles/. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS The STAR EaGLe Program is the extramural compo- nent of EPAs Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). EMAP's goal is to develop the scien- tific understanding needed to translate environmental monitoring data from multiple spatial and temporal scales into assessments of ecological condition. It uses these data to forecast future risks to the sustainability of our natural resources. EMAP will transfer the approaches and technology to states, which are responsible for wa- ter-quality monitoring under the Clean Water Act. The EaGLe Program will support EMAP's goal by develop- ing the next generation of ecological indicators forthese monitoring programs. To learn more about EMAP, visit: http://www.epa.gov/emap/. ------- The Estuary INFORMATION ON INDIVIDUAL GRANTS The Atlantic Slope Consortium The Atlantic Slope Consortium (ASC) is led by Pennsylvania State University. Other in- stitutions in the consortium are the Smithsonian Environmental Research Cen- ter, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, East Carolina University, Environmental Law Institute, and FTN Associates. Re- searchers will study the Atlantic slope re- gion, extending from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. This area consists of three major drainage basins: the Delaware, Susquehanna-Chesapeake, andAlbemarle-Pamlico. Emphasis is being placed on developing and testing indicators, and constructing models, that link conditions in upstream watersheds to downstream estuaries. Up- stream components of a watershed en- compass stream reaches, riparian corri- dors, wetlands, and waterbodies and their contributing drainage basins. This approach is based on the premise that coasts, estuaries, rivers, streams, lakes, and wet- lands must be viewed as an integrated system. The con- sortium is researching the applicability of aquatic indica- tors, such as nutrient and sediment discharges, and the spatial distribution of engineered structures and optical properties of estuarine waters, across the spectrum of Pnncnrtiijm (APF-INP1 environments from best attainable to severely degraded. * ' The Atlantic Coast Environmental Indicators Consortium sessment, and the EPA Regional Vulnerability Assess- ment (ReVA) Program. The socioeconomic data avail- able to the consortium includes income, employment, health, education level, crime, water supplies, and wastewater treatment facilities. Atlantic Coast Environmental Indicators A suite of socioeconomic indicators, including educa- tion level and membership in environmentally active as- sociations, also will be evaluated. The development of these socioeconomic indicators builds on work already done in the Mid-Atlantic Region under other EPA pro- grams such as the STAR Program on Decision-Making and Valuation, the EPA/State Mid-Atlantic Integrated As- (ACE-INC) is led by the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. Other institutions in the consortium are the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sci- ence, the University of South Carolina, Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and in a fed- eral collaboration role, the National Oceanic and Atmo- sphericAdministration (NOAA) Beaufort Laboratory. ------- The consortium selected four ecologically and hydrologi- cally diverse estuarine ecosystems as study areas. The four estuarine systems include the Nation's two largest estuarine complexes: the Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle- Pamlico Sound, as well as a small riverine estuary in Mas- sachusetts and a small bar-built estuary in South Caro- lina. The key indicators of interest are those that reflect attributes of estuarine systems including primary produc- tion, phytoplankton and higher plant (marsh and seagrass) biomass and composition, zooplankton and fish commu- nity structure, dissolved oxygen, and estuarine circulation. The indicators will be tested fortheir applicability to estu- aries with different primary producer bases, different bio- geographic provinces, and similar and contrasting chem- istry, circulation, and different freshwater flows and flush- ing times. In addition, each of the systems has been im- pacted in varying degrees by humans, thus affording the opportunity to test the indicators' ability to detect and dif- ferentiate between human and natural stresses, includ- ing hurricanes, flooding, and changes in sea level. Researchers also will use calibrated and ground-truthed remote sensing and real-time observing system data to provide a regional or coast-wide ecosystem picture. Even more importantly, these data will allow for rapid detection and quantification of trends in coastal health. The Pacific Estuarine Ecosystem Indicator Research (PEEIR) Consortium The Pacific Estuarine Ecosystem Indicator Research (PEEIR) Consortium is led by the Bodega Marine Labo- ratory of the University of California at Davis, in partner- ship with the University of California at Santa Barbara. Collaborators include the University of Georgia, The Bay Institute, and the San Francisco Estuary Institute. The overarching goal of PEEIR is to develop indicators of wetland ecosystem integrity and propose an approach for ------- synthesizing indicators in assessments of wetland health along the Pacific coast. Traditional ecosystem sampling, chemical analyses, and toxicity testing are not adequate to address responses to multiple stressors in wetland eco- systems. For this reason, researchers will develop new indicators for specific plant, fish, and invertebrate popula- tion health, as well as indicators of toxicant-induced stress and bioavailability for wetland biota. Specific local prob- lems, including wetland degradation and declining fish populations in San Francisco Bay and in Southern Cali- fornia, mercury contamination in Tomales Bay, invasions by exotic species, and pesticide contamination in North- ern and Southern California watersheds, will be addressed using these biological indicators. Scientists will use the remote sensing component of this research to establish landscape-level indicators of envi- ronmental stresses that can be routinely measured from the air or space. This approach will take advantage of high-spatial/spectral resolution instruments to better as- sess spatiotemporal aspects of ecosystem functioning. Other programs that can benefit from this research in- clude the CALFED Program that manages water re- sources in the San Francisco Bay and the upstream Sacramento/San Joaquin systems, and the western com- ponent of EMAP. Consortium for Estuarine Ecoindicator Research for the Gu If of Mexico The College of Marine Sciences at the University of South- ern Mississippi is leading the Consortium for Estuarine Ecoindicator Research for the Gulf of Mexico (CEER- GOM). Other members of the consortium are the Uni- versity of West Florida, Florida State University, Univer- sity of Florida, University of Alabama, Louisiana State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, University of Texas Marine Sciences Institute, and University of Washington. The CEER-GOM team will be working with coastal managers from the five Gulf states to ensure that their research is relevant and assist in incorporating the research results into state monitoring programs. The primary objective of CEER-GOM is to study and vali- date indicators of estuarine condition at four levels of bio- logical complexity: organism, population, community, and ecosystem/watershed. For example, at the organism level, scientists will develop molecular indicators of dissolved oxy- gen (DO) stress as predictive indicators of reduced animal fitness related to molting and reproduction. At the commu- nity level, they will study microbial biofilms and macrobenthic communities as indicators of ecosystem integrity, resilience, and function. At the ecosystem/watershed scale, remote sensing will be used to analyze the spatio-temporal patterns of ecosystem parameters such as landscape metrics, chlo- rophyll, surface-watertemperature, and turbidity. Ultimately, an Index of Estuarine Ecosystem Integrity (IEEI) will be de- veloped, validated, and transferred to the states to monitor estuarine conditions overthe long term. Great Lakes Environmental Indicators (GLEI) Consortium The Great Lakes Environmental Indicators (GLEI) Con- sortium is led by the Center for Water and the Environ- ment in the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Other cooperators include the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minne- sota Sea Grant; University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Cornell Univer- sity; John Carroll University; University of Michigan; and the University of Windsor, Ontario. GLEI researchers will be developing and testing a suite of indicators across the range of habitats that form the Great Lakes coastal region. To provide an understand- ing of coastal ecosystems within the larger basin, indica- tors will be developed that reflect the special characteris- tics of the entire basin, coast, and land margins. For the basin as a whole, scientists will work with climate mea- sures, land uses, and landscape characteristics. Water- quality contaminant levels and the relative abundances of amphibian, bird, diatom, fish, macroinvertebrate, and plant species and communities will be used as indicators for estuaries, bays, and nearshore coastal waters. For the land margins, scientists will measure the community structure of birds. Each of these subcategories will be linked to measures of habitat condition and other stres- sors in the Great Lakes coastal region. This work will be coordinated with specific resource man- agement and assessment programs including the bina- tional State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) and individual state programs underthe Clean Water Act. To promote effective communication and in- teraction with management agencies, scientists will co- ordinate with appropriate EPA research laboratories work- ing in the region. They also will work closely with the Great Lakes Sea Grant network. For more information, visit our web site at www.epa.gov/ncer ------- 2000 STAR Recipients (Environmental Indicators in the Estuarine Environment Research Program) The Great Lakes Environmental Indicators (GLEI) Consortium Lead Institution: University of Minnesota Duluth; Co-Institutions: University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; University of Wiscon- sin-Green Bay; the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Cornell University; John Carroll University; and the University of Windsor, Ontario. The Pacific Estuarine Ecosys- tem Indicator Research (PEEIR) Consortium Lead Institution: University of California; Co- Institutions: University of Califor- nia-Santa Barbara; University of Georgia; The Bay Institute; San Francisco Estuary Institute Atlantic Coast Environmental Indicators Consortium (ACE INC) Lead Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Co- Institutions: University of Maryland; University of South Carolina, Marine Biological Laboratory of Woods Hole; and the NOAA-NOS Beaufort Laboratory. The Atlantic Slope Consortium Lead Institution: Pennsylvania State University; Co-Institutions: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences; East Carolina University; Environmental Law Institute, and FTN Associates. Consortium for Estuarine Ecoindicator Research for the Gulf of Mexico (CEER-GOM). Lead Institution: University South- ern Mississippi; Co-Institutions: Florida State University; University West Florida; University Florida- Gainesville; University Alabama; Southern Lousiana University; The University Texas Marine Science Institute; and the University Washington. United States Environmental Protection Agency Mail Code 8701R Washington, D.C. 20460 Official Business Penalty for Private Use 300 EPA/600/R-03/071 ------- |