Coastal Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) v. 3 TRANSITION SLIDE The first part of the presentation has given you a good idea of what Natural Heritage Programs are and what they do. Now I’d like to tell you about the Association for Biodiversity Information, the organization that represents the entire NaturalHeritage Network, and how it works with TNC. Christopher J. Madden, Kathleen Goodin, Dennis Grossman NatureServe Rebecca Allee, Mark Finkbeiner NOAA NASA Coastal Habitats Workshop August 2008

NOAA-NatureServe partnership Six year process (so far) FGDC review Draws on a consortium of experts Integrates other classifications- e.g. SCHEME, Dethier Articulates with “adjacent” classifications- e.g. Cowardin, Greene Provides umbrella framework and common terminology Continental and global perspective Madden et al. 2008

Applications of the Standard Identification, inventory and mapping of: Critical Habitat Endemic species distributions Threatened species Biodiversity Hot Spots Marine Protected Areas Essential Fish Habitat Monitoring thereof Facilitation of Ecosystem-Based Management Ecological Research Mode

CMECS III Hierarchy w/in Ecoregion Ecological Region Ecological Region PI1 PI2 Marine Fresh Water Influenced Regime Nearshore Marine L1 System Estuarine-Influenced Neritic Estuary Oceanic L2 Intertidal/Benthic Intertidal/Benthic Intertidal/Benthic Intertidal/Benthic Intertidal/Benthic Subsystem Bare/Colonized/ Vegetated Bare/Colonized/ Vegetated Bare/Colonized/ Vegetated Bare/Colonized/ Vegetated Bare/Colonized/ Vegetated L3 Cover L4 Class Aquatic Bed Coral Reef and Coral Communities Faunal Bed Vagile Species & Biological Associations L5 Rooted Macrophyte Coral Garden Mollusc Community Subclass L6 Mussel Bed Group Biotope Complex L7 Biotope Biotope Biotope Biotope Biotope L8 Biotope

CMECS Suite of Classification Tools CMECS Ecological Classification Biophysics Sub-benthic Cover Classes Recognizes and elevates structural importance of coastal, benthic and water column components as virtually separate classifications. Does one ever become the other? Does water become bottom? If so, it is littoral. Formation Classes Benthic Cover Classes Water Column Classes

Classification Units vs. Map Units Ecological classification units are conceptual entities that try to describe all existing habitats. Their circumscription represents an “average expression” of a habitat across it’s entire range. --Similar to species taxonomy When mapping an ecological classification, the map units may have a one to one, one to many, or many to one relationship to the ecological classification units --Similar to species collections Mapping classifications describe only habitat units that can be seen on existing imagery and binned according to defined criteria. Classification Units Nearshore Marine System     Nearshore Marine Intertidal Subsystem        Nearshore Intertidal Colonized Cover             Nearshore Intertidal Mollusc Reef Nearshore Marine Intertidal Oyster Reef Map units

Benthic Hierarchy Level Themes GEOSS plug-in Ecoregion Climate Regime, Biogeography Salinity/Geomorphological Enclosure/Total Depth System Sub system Intertidal/Benthic Cover Vegetated/Colonized/Mixed Cover/Bare Biophysical Structure/Dominant Cover Class CMECS Biophysical Fine Structure, Substrate/Specific Cover Subclass Energy/Ecological function/ Modification/Subtype Group Biotope Complex Groups of Similar Biotopes Co-occurring Biotope Dominant, diagnostic species, sessile, encrusting or semi-motile Spatial Scale is an implicit classifier at each level Modifiers for Form, Energy, Light, Physico-Chemistry, Anthropogenics

Formation Classification Determined by geomorphology and substrate Quasi-Scale independent Non-hierarchichal Geoform Eg: delta, lagoon, seamount, rubble field, shoal, basin, trench, fissure, canyon

Water Column Classification Determined by hydroform Quasi-Scale independent Non-hierarchichal Hydroform Eg: upwelling, ocean gyre, river plume, stratified layer phytoplankton bloom, turbidity plume

Integrated Benthic, Water Column and Formation Components Benthic Cover is determined by downlooking mapping tools Formation and Water Column add vertical dimension to Benthic Cover and are depth-specific Three components are represented as three (or more) separate GIS layers

Florida Bay Example-Benthic Class

Florida Bay Example-Benthic Subclass

Florida Bay Example-Geoform

Florida Bay Example-Water Column

Eastern Florida Bay Algal Bloom with Dataflow Chlorophyll a (mg/l) 2006-2007 average Jan 8-10, 2008 5 km

Large Marine Ecosystems 0-200m

Biogeochemical Ecoregions > 200m

Census of Marine Life and OBIS Data Model Linkages to CMECS OBIS will add CMECS habitat designation for each data set. (short term) OBIS incorporating CMECS into its data model to allow habitat designations for all data records. (long term) The OBIS portal will have a direct link to CMECS website. OBIS-NatureServe working to unify terminology across IMCRA, EUNIS and CMECS

SDSC Ontology Mapping Project OBIS-CMECS integration Translation and crosswalk via the “Wrapper” Physical multi-dimensional environment Ecological species & biology classification units Classification Hierarchy A useful tool for comparing classifications

Class Mollusc Reef and Mollusc Communities Worm Reef and Worm Communities Coral Reef and Coral Communities Vent Communities Aquatic Bed Faunal Bed Rock Bottom Unconsolidated Bottom Rocky Shore Unconsolidated Shore Shrub/Emergent Wetland Forested Wetland

Subclass Examples Bivalve Reef Spur and Groove Coral Reef Microalgal Mat Rooted Vascular Community Macroalgal Community Bedrock Sand

Finale-Mangrove Example System: Estuarine Subsystem: Intertidal Cover: Vegetated Class: Forested Wetland Subclass: Mangrove Grupo: Dwarf Mangrove Biotope Complex: Mangrove Basin Fringe Biotope: Rhizophora mangle - Avicennia germinans - Laguncularia racemosa Swamp