MarineGEO BC; International and provincial networks for nearshore habitat monitoring
Presentation Abstract
Nearshore vegetated habitats play critical roles in coastal ecosystems. From carbon storage to nursery function, they provide valuable services for linked social ecological systems. Yet, monitoring efforts to track change in these critical habitats are often poorly resolved in geographic scope and methodological standardization. This hinders the use of monitoring data to inform management and conservation decisions. Monitoring networks with spatial reach offer coordinated and standardized efforts to address broad questions of both global and local import including: 1) How are habitats changing spatially and temporally? 2) What factors drive productivity of nearshore habitats? and 3) How does habitat-associated biodiversity affect metrics of its resilience? MarineGEO is a new Smithsonian program that brings together an international consortium of research sites. Its goal is to conduct monitoring of nearshore habitats with a focus on common overarching research questions, standardized methodologies, and comparative-experimental approaches. The Hakai Institute’s research center on Calvert Island will the primary node for MarineGEO in British Columbia. Here, monitoring will focus on vegetated habitats including seagrass beds, kelp forests, rocky intertidal benches and soft sediment flats. In all habitats, methodology will focus on annual censuses of habitat-associated biodiversity and seasonal productivity of macrophytes. Water column physicochemical variables, and predation assays will allow for understanding of top-down and bottom-up metrics of change in these systems. Monitoring efforts will be strongly tied with other research projects led by Hakai scientists and university affiliates. In BC, the Hakai Institute is also building networks with other groups working on nearshore habitat research and monitoring throughout the province. Our aim is for MarineGEO BC to coalesce existing data and support future monitoring efforts, with a focus on gathering data for public use in an era of pressing change in coastal marine ecosystems.
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
Poster
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)
Littoral plants--Monitoring--British Columbia; Coastal ecology--British Columbia--Observations
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
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
MarineGEO BC; International and provincial networks for nearshore habitat monitoring
2016SSEC
Nearshore vegetated habitats play critical roles in coastal ecosystems. From carbon storage to nursery function, they provide valuable services for linked social ecological systems. Yet, monitoring efforts to track change in these critical habitats are often poorly resolved in geographic scope and methodological standardization. This hinders the use of monitoring data to inform management and conservation decisions. Monitoring networks with spatial reach offer coordinated and standardized efforts to address broad questions of both global and local import including: 1) How are habitats changing spatially and temporally? 2) What factors drive productivity of nearshore habitats? and 3) How does habitat-associated biodiversity affect metrics of its resilience? MarineGEO is a new Smithsonian program that brings together an international consortium of research sites. Its goal is to conduct monitoring of nearshore habitats with a focus on common overarching research questions, standardized methodologies, and comparative-experimental approaches. The Hakai Institute’s research center on Calvert Island will the primary node for MarineGEO in British Columbia. Here, monitoring will focus on vegetated habitats including seagrass beds, kelp forests, rocky intertidal benches and soft sediment flats. In all habitats, methodology will focus on annual censuses of habitat-associated biodiversity and seasonal productivity of macrophytes. Water column physicochemical variables, and predation assays will allow for understanding of top-down and bottom-up metrics of change in these systems. Monitoring efforts will be strongly tied with other research projects led by Hakai scientists and university affiliates. In BC, the Hakai Institute is also building networks with other groups working on nearshore habitat research and monitoring throughout the province. Our aim is for MarineGEO BC to coalesce existing data and support future monitoring efforts, with a focus on gathering data for public use in an era of pressing change in coastal marine ecosystems.
