Establishing a BC eelgrass monitoring network for assessment of fish diversity along environmental and human disturbance gradients
Presentation Abstract
Seagrass ecosystems are highly valued for the provision of nursery and refugia habitat for commercially-important fishes, but are heavily impacted by human disturbance. The loss of such habitat has fueled monitoring efforts across the coast of British Columbia, though to-date many of these organizations have worked independently and been restricted to local-scale inferences. We are creating a network that will conduct a coast-wide fish monitoring effort in Summer 2016; the network connects eelgrass experts and ecologists from academic, governmental, First Nations, and non-governmental organizations, and the planned monitoring currently spans 9 regions across BC’s coast. Our objective is to collectively analyze existing and newly collected data to determine changes in biodiversity and community structure of fishes in eelgrass habitats along environmental and human disturbance gradients. In particular, we will assess whether human impacts have led to homogenization of fish diversity across regions, an indicator of reduced resilience to further disturbance. This collaborative effort will develop the most spatio-temporally comprehensive assessment of eelgrass biodiversity to-date, fostering a network for long-term monitoring and aiding in the prioritization of marine management.
Session Title
The Role of Eelgrass Ecosystems in the Salish Sea
Conference Track
Habitat
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Zostera marina--Monitoring--British Columbia; Biomass--British Columbia
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); British Columbia
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Establishing a BC eelgrass monitoring network for assessment of fish diversity along environmental and human disturbance gradients
2016SSEC
Seagrass ecosystems are highly valued for the provision of nursery and refugia habitat for commercially-important fishes, but are heavily impacted by human disturbance. The loss of such habitat has fueled monitoring efforts across the coast of British Columbia, though to-date many of these organizations have worked independently and been restricted to local-scale inferences. We are creating a network that will conduct a coast-wide fish monitoring effort in Summer 2016; the network connects eelgrass experts and ecologists from academic, governmental, First Nations, and non-governmental organizations, and the planned monitoring currently spans 9 regions across BC’s coast. Our objective is to collectively analyze existing and newly collected data to determine changes in biodiversity and community structure of fishes in eelgrass habitats along environmental and human disturbance gradients. In particular, we will assess whether human impacts have led to homogenization of fish diversity across regions, an indicator of reduced resilience to further disturbance. This collaborative effort will develop the most spatio-temporally comprehensive assessment of eelgrass biodiversity to-date, fostering a network for long-term monitoring and aiding in the prioritization of marine management.
