1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

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

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

13. 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

14. Florida Bay Example-Benthic Class

15. Florida Bay Example-Benthic Subclass

16. Florida Bay Example-Geoform

17. Florida Bay Example-Water Column

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

19. Large Marine Ecosystems 0-200m

20. Biogeochemical Ecoregions > 200m

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

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

25. 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