A survey of the effectiveness of existing marsh toe protection structures in Virginia

Using tidal marshes and other vegetated treatments for upland erosion control has been an accepted practice for years, yet the scientific understanding and established guidelines for this approach are limited. This survey was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of existing marsh toe protection structures, a particular type of erosion control treatment associated with tidal marshes on Chesapeake Bay shorelines. Field evaluations were conducted at 36 sites in 6 localities on the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck of Virginia. General dimensions of each structure were recorded and observations made of erosion evidence, structural integrity, construction access impacts, and adjacent landscape settings. Most of the projects provide effective erosion protection for the tidal marsh and adjacent upland bank. Twenty projects (55%) were also determined to be effective as living shoreline treatments based on tidal marsh condition and because the riparian and wetland vegetation cover was interconnected. Common design standards from these projects have been incorporated into advisory guidelines

Occohannock Creek Shoreline Erosion Assessment and Living Shoreline Options Report

This study provides information to Occohannock Creek property owners to help them assess their shoreline stability and their options if erosion is a problem. In the past, shoreline erosion control options were typically limited to rip-rap, groins, or bulkheads. These hard structures often destroyed marsh and other habitat and may not have provided the protection desired. Other methods of erosion control now exist that have been used in a variety of conditions and evaluated for their durability and performance. The alternative techniques incorporate vegetation and are referred to as Living Shoreline designs. Conditions on Occohannock Creek make it a very good place to use Living Shoreline techniques to stabilize areas that are losing land or fringe marsh. All segments of Occohannock Creek can achieve some benefit by planting new marsh grasses or enhancing those already present to improve habitat, trap sediment, and reduce the erosive force of waves

Long-term Monitoring of the East and West Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 2000-2001

Report summary describing the work completed at Center for Coastal Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi for 'Long-term Monitoring of the East and West Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary'. It includes background information on the project funding and sponsorship, goals, methodology, and findings

Project Summary: Long-Term Monitoring of the East and West Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 1998-1999

Summary describing the work completed at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Center for Coastal Studies for long-term monitoring of the East and West Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary coral reef. It includes background information on the project funding and sponsorship, goals, methodology, and findings

Long-Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks, 1996-1997

Summary describing the work completed at Texas A&M University Center for Coastal Studies for 'Long-Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks.' It includes background information on the project funding and sponsorship, goals, methodology, and findings

Data from: Decline in abundance and apparent survival rates of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence

Estimates of abundance and survivorship provide quantifiable measures to monitor populations and to define and understand their conservation status. This study investigated changes in abundance and survival rates of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL) in the context of anthropogenic pressures and changing environmental conditions. A long-term data set, consisting of 35 years of photo-identification surveys and comprising more than 5,000 identifications of 507 individuals, formed the basis of this mark-recapture study. Based on model selection using corrected Akaike Information Criterion, the most parsimonious Cormack-Jolly-Seber model included a linear temporal trend in non-calf apparent survival rates with a sharp decline in the last five years of the study and a median survival rate of 0.946 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.910-0.967). To account for capture heterogeneity due to divergent patterns of site fidelity, agglomerative hierarchical cluster (AHC) analysis was employed to categorise individuals based on their annual and survey site fidelity indices. However, the negative trend in survivorship remained and was corroborated by a significant decline in the estimated super-population size from 335 (95% CI 321-348) individuals in 2004-2010 to 291 (95% CI 270-312) individuals in 2010-2016. Concurrently, a negative trend was estimated in recruitment to the population, supported by a sharp decrease in the number of observed calves. Ship strikes and changes in prey availability are potential drivers of the observed decline in fin whale abundance. The combination of clustering methods with mark-recapture represents a flexible way to investigate the effects of site fidelity on demographic variables and is broadly applicable to other individual-based studies.,All data and R-code filesCapture-recapture histories and R-code are provided to replicate results and figures.Schleimer_et_al_2019_fin_whale_mark_recapture_data_code.zip

Adapting to sea-level rise in the US Southeast: The influence of built infrastructure and biophysical factors on the inundation of coastal areas

The earth' s global mean surface air temperature has increased by 0.5[degrees]C over the past 100 years. This warming trend has occurred concurrently with increases in the concentration and number of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases may cause this trend to accelerate in the future and result in a net increase in the earth's global mean surface air temperature of 1.5 to 4.5[degrees]C by the year 2100. An increase of this magnitude could cause sea surface temperatures to increase would cause sea levels to rise -from thermal expansion of the sea, and the addition of melt waters from alpine glaciers and continental ice sheets. To allow for the cost-effective analysis of the impacts that sea-level rise may have on the US Southeast, a method is needed that will allow sites that are potentially at risk to be identified for study. Previously, no objective method was available to identify such sites. This project addresses this problem by using a geographic data base with information on both physical and climatological factors to identify coastal areas of the US Southeast that are at risk to inundation or accelerated erosion due to sea-level rise. The following six areas were selected for further study from the many identified as being at high risk: Galveston, Texas; Caminada Pass, Louisiana; Bradenton Beach, Florida; Daytona Beach, Florida; McClellanville, South Carolina; and Nags Head, North Carolina. For each study area the amount of land, by land use type, in danger from inundation from three sea-level-rise scenarios was calculated. The calculated values were based on elevation alone

Data underlying publication: Seagrass ecosystem multifunctionality under the rise of a flagship marine megaherbivore

This dataset contains the data collected from field experiments that assessed the effects of experimentally simulated grazing intensity scenarios on ecosystem functions and multifunctionality in a tropical Caribbean seagrass ecosystem. Abstract of the paper Large grazers (megaherbivores) have a profound impact on ecosystem functioning. However, how ecosystem multifunctionality is affected by changes in megaherbivore populations remains poorly understood. Understanding the total impact on ecosystem multifunctionality requires an integrative ecosystem approach, which is especially challenging to obtain in marine systems. We assessed the effects of experimentally simulated grazing intensity scenarios on ecosystem functions and multifunctionality in a tropical Caribbean seagrass ecosystem. As a model, we selected a key marine megaherbivore, the green turtle, whose ecological role is rapidly unfolding in numerous foraging areas where populations are recovering through conservation after centuries of decline, with an increase in recorded overgrazing episodes. To quantify the effects, we employed a novel integrated index of seagrass ecosystem multifunctionality based upon multiple, well-recognized measures of seagrass ecosystem functions that reflect ecosystem services. Experiments revealed that intermediate turtle grazing resulted in the highest rates of nutrient cycling and carbon storage, while sediment stabilization, decomposition rates, epifauna richness, and fish biomass are highest in absence of turtle grazing. In contrast, intense grazing resulted in disproportionally large effects on ecosystem functions and a collapse of multifunctionality. These results imply that i) the return of a megaherbivore can exert strong effects on coastal ecosystem functions and multifunctionality, ii) conservation efforts that are skewed towards megaherbivores, but ignore their key drivers like predators or habitat, will likely result in overgrazing-induced loss of multifunctionality, and iii) the multifunctionality index shows great potential as a quantitative tool to assess ecosystem performance. Considerable and rapid alterations in megaherbivore abundance (both through extinction and conservation) cause an imbalance in ecosystem functioning and substantially alter or even compromise ecosystem services that help to negate global change effects. An integrative ecosystem approach in environmental management is urgently required to protect and enhance ecosystem multifunctionality