Marnita M. Chintala

Relationships of nitrogen loadings, residential development, and physical characteristics with plant structure in New England salt marshes

We examined the vascular plant species richness and the extent, density, and height ofSpartina species of ten Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island (United States) fringe salt marshes which had a wide range of residential land development and N-loadings associated with their watersheds. Significant inverse relationships of tallS. alterniflora with species richness and with the extent and density ofS. patens and shortS. alterniflora were observed. Extent and density ofS. patens and extent of shortS. alterniflora were positively and significantly related with plant species richness. Marsh elevation and area did not significantly correlate with plant structure. Flood tide height significantly and inversely correlated withS. patens, but did not significantly relate toS. alterniflora or plant species richness. Marsh width significantly and positively correlated with plant species richness andS. patens and inversely correlated with tallS. alterniflora. Significant inverse relationships were observed for N-load, % residential development, and slope withS. patens, shortS. alterniflora, and species richness, and significant positive relationships with tallS. alterniflora. The marsh slope and width were significantly correlated with N-load and residential development that made it difficult to determine to what extent anthropogenic stressors were contributing to the variation in the plant structure among the marshes. At five marhes with similar slopes, there were significant inverse relationships of N-load withS. patens (density and extent) and a positive relationship with tallS. alterniflora (extent). Although there were no significant relationships of slope with the plant metrics among the five sites, other physical factors, such as the flood tide height and marsh width, significantly correlated with the extent and density ofSpartina species. Significant relationships of N-load with plant structure (albeit confounded by the effect of the physical characteristics) support the hypothesis of competitive displacement of dominant marsh plants under elevated nitrogen. It is likely that the varying plant structure in New England marshes is a response to a combination of natural factors and multiple anthropogenic stressors (e.g., eutrophication and sea level rise).

Outline of A New Approach to Evaluate Ecological Integrity of Salt Marshes

The integrity of coastal salt marshes can be determined from the extent to which they provide key ecosystem services: food and habitat for fish and wildlife, good water quality, erosion and flood control, and recreation and cultural use. An outline of a new approach for linking ecosystem services with metrics of structure and function to evaluate the ecological integrity of salt marshes is described. One main objective of the approach is to determine whether differences in structure and function can be detected among salt marshes with similar geomorphology and hydrology but different degrees of anthropogenic stress. The approach is currently being applied to salt marshes of Narragansett Bay, RI, USA. Stable nitrogen isotopic ratios of the marsh biota reflected the nitrogen sources from the adjacent watersheds and were significantly correlated with percent residential land use. Results show that plant zonation significantly ( r = –0.82; p < 0.05) relates with percent residential land use and is potentially a sensitive indicator of anthropogenic disturbance of New England salt marshes. We are currently examining species diversity, denitrification rates, and susceptibility to erosion among the sites for additional indicators of salt marsh condition. Our results to date suggest that this approach will provide the methods needed for managers to systematically monitor and evaluate the integrity of salt marshes.

A RAPID, NON-DESTRUCTIVE METHOD FOR ESTIMATING ABOVEGROUND BIOMASS OF SALT MARSH GRASSES

Understanding the primary productivity of salt marshes requires accurate estimates of biomass. Unfortunately, these estimates vary enough within and among salt marshes to require large numbers of replicates if the averages are to be statistically meaningful. Large numbers of replicates are rarely taken, however, because they involve too much labor. Here, we present data on a fast, non-destructive method for measuring aboveground biomass of Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis that uses only the average height of the five tallest shoots and the total density of shoots over 10 cm tall. Collecting the data takes only a few minutes per replicate, and calculated values for biomass compare favorably with destructive measurements on harvested samples.

Nekton Habitat Quality at Shallow Water Sites in Two Rhode Island Coastal Systems

We evaluated nekton habitat quality at 5 shallow-water sites in 2 Rhode Island systems by comparing nekton densities and biomass, number of species, prey availability and feeding, and abundance of winter flounderPseudopleuronectes americanus. Nekton density and biomass were compared with a 1.75-m2 drop ring at 3 sites (marsh, intertidal, and subtidal) in Coggeshall Cove in Narragansett Bay and two subtidal sites (eelgrass and macroalgae) in Ninigret Pond, a coastal lagoon. We collected benthic core samples and examined nekton stomach contents in Coggeshall Cove. We identified 16 species of fish, 16 species of crabs, and 3 species of shrimp in our drop ring samples. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated differences in total nekton, invertebrates, fish, and winter flounder across the five sites. Relative abundance of benthic invertebrate taxa did not match relative abundance of prey taxa identified in the stomachs. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling plots showed groupings in nekton and benthic invertebrate prey assemblages among subtidal, intertidal, and marsh sites in Coggeshall Cove. Stepwise multiple regression indicated that biomass of macroalgae was the most important variable predicting abundance of nekton in Coggeshall Cove, followed by elevation and depth. In Rhode Island systems that do not experience chronic hypoxia, macroalgae adds structure to unvegetated areas and provides refuge for small nekton. All sites sampled were characterized by high abundance and diversity of nekton pointing to the importance of shallow inshore areas for production of fishes and decapods. Measurements of habitat quality should include assessment of the functional significance of a habitat (this can be done by comparing nekton numbers and biomass), some measure of habitat diversity, and a consideration of how habitat quality varies in time and space.

Development of a reference coastal wetland set in Southern New England (USA)

Various measures of plants, soils, and invertebrates were described for a reference set of tidal coastal wetlands in Southern New England in order to provide a framework for assessing the condition of other similar wetlands in the region. The condition of the ten coastal wetlands with similar hydrology and geomorphology were ranked from least altered to highly altered using a combination of statistical methods and best professional judgment. Variables of plants, soils, and invertebrates were examined separately using principal component analysis to reduce the multidimensional variables to principal component scores. The first principal component scores of each set of variables (i.e., plants, soil, invertebrates) significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with both residential land use and watershed nitrogen (N) loads. Using cumulative frequency diagrams, the first principal component scores of each plant, soil, and invertebrate data set were plotted, and natural breaks and best professional judgment were used to rank the first principal component scores among the sites. We weighted all three ranked components equally and calculated an overall salt marsh condition index by summing the three ranks and then transforming the index to a 0–1 scale. The overall salt marsh condition index for the reference coastal wetland set significantly correlated with the residential land use (R = − 0.87, p = 0.001) and watershed N loads (R = − 0.86, p = 0.001). Overall, condition deteriorated in salt marshes and their associated discharge streams when subjected to increasing watershed residential land use and N loads.

Relationships of Modeled Nitrogen Loads with Marsh Fish in the Narragansett Bay Estuary, Rhode Island

Abstract The human population and associated watershed development has risen steadily since the 1850s in Rhode Island. With these increases, human-derived wastewater has also risen dramatically, resulting in increasing nitrogen loads to estuarine systems. In this study, we examined relationships of modeled watershed nitrogen loads of 6 coastal subwatersheds of varying land development with the stable nitrogen isotope ratio (&dgr;15N) of salt marsh fish and larvae. There was a significant positive relationship (r = +0.97, P < 0.05) between the watershed modeled percent wastewater and &dgr;15N in Fundulus heteroclitus L. (Common Mummichog), and significantly higher (P < 0.05) &dgr;15N in fish larvae collected from developed mainland marsh sites compared to less-developed island marsh sites. Our results support earlier published findings that fish in coastal marshes are assimilating nitrogen derived from watershed wastewater sources. Furthermore, there was an inverse relationship (P = 0.05) between the modeled percentage of human wastewater and mummichog size. The increasing loads of watershed nitrogen entering into coastal salt marshes are a concern because it is unclear how well salt marsh ecosystems can continue to assimilate high nitrogen inputs especially when also subjected to a warming climate.

A Resilience Framework for Chronic Exposures: Water Quality and Ecosystem Services in Coastal Social-Ecological Systems

Abstract Water quality degradation is a chronic problem which influences the resilience of a social-ecological system differently than acute disturbances, such as disease or storms. Recognizing this, we developed a tailored resilience framework that applies ecosystem service concepts to coastal social-ecological systems affected by degraded water quality. We present the framework as a mechanism for coordinating interdisciplinary research to inform long-term community planning decisions pertaining to chronic challenges in coastal systems. The resulting framework connects the ecological system to the social system via ecological production functions and ecosystem services. The social system then feeds back to the ecological system via policies and interventions to address declining water quality. We apply our resilience framework to the coastal waters and communities of Cape Cod (Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA) which are affected by nitrogen over-enrichment. This approach allowed us to design research to improve the understanding of the effectiveness and acceptance of water quality improvement efforts and their effect on the delivery of ecosystem services. This framework is intended to be transferable to other geographical settings and more generally applied to systems exposed to chronic disturbances in order to coordinate interdisciplinary research planning and inform coastal management.

Comparison of Bottomless Lift Nets and Breder Traps for Sampling Salt-Marsh Nekton

AbstractVegetated salt-marsh surfaces provide refuge, forage, and spawning habitat for estuarine nekton, yet are threatened by accelerating rates of sea-level rise in southern New England and elsewhere. Nekton responses to ongoing marsh surface changes need to be evaluated with effective and quantitative nekton sampling gear. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of different gear for monitoring nekton in emergent salt-marsh vegetation by comparing nekton parameters between Breder traps and bottomless lift nets and between Breder traps made from different materials. Breder traps collected a significantly different nekton community, fewer species, and larger-sized Mummichogs Fundulus heteroclitus than did lift nets. Nekton community composition, richness, and the size of green crabs Carcinus maenas also differed significantly between Breder traps constructed from acrylic and wire mesh. These results show that it is not appropriate to directly compare nekton data between Breder traps and ...