Projects for Developing Ecosystem Indicators SC Marine Resources Charleston, SC Projects for Developing Ecosystem Indicators SC Marine Resources Charleston, SC

Estuarine Projects

The South Carolina Estuarine and Coastal Assessment Program Objectives:  Monitor the quality of all South Carolina estuaries Water and Sediment Quality Biological Condition  Develop integrated measures of habitat condition  Report findings to the public in understandable formats

Biological Condition Benthos Phytoplankton composition Finfish and crustaceans Sampling Components Sediment Quality Contaminants (85 analytes) Toxicity (3 assays) Water Quality Continuous monitoring for salinity, DO, pH, temp Nutrients (total & dissolved nitrogen, phosphorus) BOD, fecal coliform bacteria, metals Phytoplankton (Chl-a)

Biological Condition Used Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) for biological response Indicator Development Sediment Quality Selected 24 priority pollutants with known bioeffects data Developed integrated measure of contaminant concentration (ERM-Quotient) Scored ERM-Q by published benthic effects ranges Scored toxicity assays by number of assays with “hits” Water Quality Selected 6 primary measures (DO, pH, TN,TP, Chla, fecal coliform bacteria) Each scored and scores averaged for integrated water quality measure

Indicator Development Overall habitat quality Averaged scores of each subcomponent into an integrated score for overall habitat quality Each component weighted equally For more information on approach: Or Google SCECAP

Overall Index of Habitat Quality Sediment Quality Biological Condition Water Quality

Integrated Habitat Quality Score Percent of Total Habitat CreeksOpen % 2% 83% 22% 76% Integrated Habitat Quality Score Percent of Total Habitat CreeksOpen SCECAP Criteria Fair Poor Good 15% 83% 24% 76%

Overall Habitat Quality Score

Program Benefits  Incorporates new integrated measures of habitat condition For water quality, sediment quality, overall habitat condition  SCECAP provides good data on condition of the State’s coastal habitat Includes nursery habitats not previously monitored Provides estimate of proportion of state’s waters that meet or don’t meet desired conditions Provides data useful for assessing estuarine drainage systems as as an ecosystem unit  Utilizes resources of multiple state and federal agencies

Projects on Continental Shelf

South East Area Monitoring & Assessment Program Annual Trawl Survey 1989-Present Baited Hook ( ) Trap ( ) Trawl ( ) Plankton ( ) Marine A Resources Monitoring Assessment Prediction

SEAMAP-SA (SouthEast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program) (South Atlantic) Shallow Water Trawl Survey

The Shallow Water Trawl Survey Funded by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries ServiceFunded by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service –State / Federal Cooperation –Cape Hatteras, NC to Cape Canaveral, FL Provides fisheries managers with long-term dataProvides fisheries managers with long-term data –Fishery-independent –Monitor stocks year after year –Able to provide historic data on a broad range of species Only long-term trawl survey of near-shore South Atlantic BightOnly long-term trawl survey of near-shore South Atlantic Bight –Data from 1986 to present.

SEAMAP Stations

Types of Data Annual / Seasonal/ Regional Annual / Seasonal/ Regional  Species occurrence Species abundance Biomass Life History Life History Age-growthMaturity Hydrographic Data Hydrographic Data SalinityTemperature Wave height.

Data Use Stock Assessments Stock Assessments  Atlantic Croaker WeakfishBluefish Spanish and King Mackerel Horseshoe crab Life History Life History  Age-Length Keys Hydrographic Data Hydrographic Data  Abundance relationship to temperature and salinity.

Southeast Shelf Ecosystem: SCDNR Offshore Fisheries Research and Monitoring Marine Resources Research Institute, SCDNR Blake Plateau Blake Spur Blake Escarpment Florida-Hatteras Slope Charleston Bump South Carolina Cape Canaveral Cape Hatteras

What We Know: MARMAP: Marine Resources, Assessment & Prediction Samples from present MARMAP Sampling Baited Hook ( ) Trap ( ) Trawl ( ) Plankton ( )

MARMAP Trawl Survey,

MARMAP Trawl Data (Yankee and Fly Nets) Forage Fishes Taxa: AmmodytidaeArgentinidaeBranchiostomatidaeClupeidaeEngraulidaeMugilidaeMyctophidae Decapterus spp. 1

Charleston Gyre Charleston Bump

2005—Deployment of Satellite-Tracked Drifters on Deep Reef Spawning Grounds (Winter and Summer) Where do the eggs and larvae go?

Spawning Locations in Relation to Proposed MPA Sites off SC

What We Know: MARMAP: Marine Resources, Assessment & Prediction Hydrocast & CTD Samples From Present

SEA-GeoFish Database

= Black Sea Bass = Snowy Grouper "SEAGeoFISH"

Ocean Observing Systems "SABSOON"

Regional Outreach and Education Linkages

EcoGenomics: Examining ecosytem dynamics and species within communities.

STIMULUS PHYSIOLOGICAL Hormonal, Metabolic INFECTION Functional Genomics paradigm RESPONSE ENVIRONMENT Physical, Chemical, Biological stress SYSTEMIC: Development? Differentiation? IMMUNITY: Survival? Mortality? STRESS: Physiological? Pathological? GENOME GENE EXPRESSION

Marine Organisms as Vectors of Disease Pathogens Stressor O 2 pH Metals PAHs Oyster Measurements: In vivo fate of V. campbellii Physiological responses Immunological responses Analysis (w/ Data Management Team) Transcriptional responses (w/ Marine Genomics Core) Metals & PAH tissue loads (w/ Chemistry Core) Pathogen Vibrio campbellii Host C. virginica

LaboratoryExperiments Field Tests Monitoring,Assessment, And Prediction The Approach

MicroarraysPhysiologicalAssessment Chemical Analysis Pathogens Lab Experiments Controlled Exposures Cd, Cu, Zn, Pathogens Data Management ANN and other Analysis Tools Monitoring, Assessment And Prediction

Benefits Early Warning of Stress- Genome responds in minutes to hoursEarly Warning of Stress- Genome responds in minutes to hours Duration of response can be as long as the duration of the stressDuration of response can be as long as the duration of the stress Can detect any type of stressCan detect any type of stress Provides the connection between the stressor and the organism responseProvides the connection between the stressor and the organism response

Selection of indicators depends on the questions to be answered. What are the questions that need to be answered in evaluations of ecosystem condition? What are the attributes to measure that provide answers to these questions? How are the attributes measured (what indicator to use)?

IndicatorsEnvironmentSociety Resources EcosystemServices