Specific Research Highlights
Coastal Wetlands Assessment is developing a tiered approach
to assessing the condition of coastal wetlands in New England that
provides the Agency and the States with the tools needed to assess their
coastal wetlands. The three-tiered approach consists of: 1) a landscape
analysis; 2) a rapid, field-based method; and 3) a detailed field evaluation
for some targeted reference sites.
e-Estuary: A decision-support system for estuaries and associated
coastal watersheds, this system will provide a web-based information
management framework for environmental decision-making which will
include GIS coverages with links to geo-referenced relational databases
of environmental and real-time monitoring data.
Human Ecology/Environmental Accounting is developing methods
and models to assess the contributions of the environment to support
economic and social activities. This research focuses on emergy and
economic value in developing a unified basis for assessing environment,
economy, and society.
Nutrients Research Program uses a comparative systems approach
to provide the scientific basis and load-response relationships that are
required to develop numeric nutrient criteria protective of aquatic life,
and to define and quantify relationships between nutrient loading and
ecological responses for coastal aquatic resources.
Population Modeling to Support Ecological Risk Assessment
focuses on development of tools and specific population dynamics
models to assess pesticide risk to non-target populations of aquatic
species and wildlife with spatially-independent and spatially-explicit
population models.
Wildlife Assessments include a conceptual modeling framework to
integrate wildlife toxicology, population biology, and landscape ecology
to assess risks of multiple stressors to populations of aquatic and
aquatic-dependent wildlife, supporting development of risk-based
Wildlife Criteria.
More Information
AED Main Office, 401-782-3011
or http://www.epa.gov/aed
EPA/600/F-08/011
November, 2008
U
Recycled/Recyclable
Printed with vegetable-based ink on
paper that contains a minimum of
50% post-consumer fiber content
processed chlorine free
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research & Development
National Health & Environmental Effects
Research Laboratory
Atlantic Ecology Division
27 Tarzvvell Drive,
Narragansett, Rl 02882
AED Contribution No. AED-08-081
SEPA
United Stales
Environmental Prelection
Agency
Atlantic Ecology Division
Providing quality ecological science
supporting credible decisions . . .
. . . conducting research to enhance the
understanding of the effects of human activity
on land and waters of the Atlantic seaboard.

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Atlantic Ecology Division
Introduction
The Atlantic Ecology Division (AED) is a division of the National Health
& Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL) within EPA's
Office of Research and Development (ORD). It conducts ecological
research in a variety of systems including freshwater, wetlands,
estuarine, and near-shore environments along the Atlantic coast. AED's
mission is to develop theory and methods, and analyze data to improve
understanding and quantify environmental effects of human activity on
coastal waters and watersheds.
Facilities & Capabilities
AED is located approximately 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of
Providence, Rhode Island on the West Passage of Narragansett Bay.
The main office/laboratory building houses office space for administrative
support and scientific staff, conference rooms, dry and wet laboratory
space, and storage space for scientific samples. Facilities and
capabilities include:
» Wet laboratories, including a greenhouse, that provide areas for
culture, holding, and research of marine plants and animals;
» Dry laboratories that provide areas for biological, chemical, and
physical analyses of sediment, tissue, and water samples;
» Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and information technology
that supports ecological modeling and data analysis;
» Research vessels that serve as field sampling platforms, including
small Jon boats and kayaks useful in tidal and marsh environments to
27-foot vessels capable of monitoring and sampling in deeper marine
environments; and
» Field equipment and a diving program that support all research
programs of the Division with the ability to collect samples of marine
organisms, sediments, and water, conduct on-site surveys, and deploy
and recover in situ experiments.
Areas of Research Focus
Contaminated Sediment research examines the release,
bioavailability and ecological effects of contaminants associated with
resuspended sediments. AED researchers provide direct technical
assistance to solve real world problems and offer advice at Superfund
sediment sites, to other offices within EPA, and other Federal agencies
(including U.S. Navy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).
Office of Research & Development
Habitat Effects research is addressing the scientific basis for
assessing the role of habitat and ecosystems in maintaining healthy
populations offish, shellfish, and aquatic-dependent wildlife valued by
society. AED's efforts focus on New England coastal zones to describe
relationships between habitat and biota and to quantify the ecological
effects of habitat alteration.
Monitoring and Assessment research activities are focused on
determining the status and trends of the Nation's aquatic ecosystems,
particularly streams and estuaries in the Northeast, by employing a
probability based sampling framework and sampling ecological indicators
reflective of the ecosystem's biological, physical and chemical attributes.
Population Ecology research focuses on the response of populations
of aquatic and aquatic-dependent wildlife to human activity including:
developing methods to predict how populations respond to or
compensate for stress, verifying population models for use in ecological
risk assessments, and evaluating methods and data for estimating
response across different levels of biological organization.
Watershed Diagnostics research
pursues the development of quantitative
tools and models needed to identify and
characterize causes of aquatic system
impairment.

Collaborations
» AED's list of international collaborators includes Environment Canada,
Dutch National Institute of Coastal and Marine Management, Science
and Technology Center of Ukraine, Ukrainian National Academy of
Sciences, Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Latvian Ministry
of the Environment, and Lithuanian Ministry of the Environment.
» AED collaborates with a number of leading northeast universities
including Harvard School of Public Health, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, University of Rhode Island, among others.
» AED partners with numerous state and federal organizations including
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, U.S.
Geographical Survey, U.S. Dept. of State, NOAA, U.S. Integrated
Ocean Observing System (U.S. IOOS), and National System of
Marine Protected Areas, among others.

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