1. Ecosystem Based Management ENVS 545

2. What is an ecosystem based management approach? A management approach that considers how multiple parts of the environment interact with each other. A relatively new approach to environmental resource management. This differs from previous practices of managing for one component of the environment.

3. Why an ecosystem based approach? It allows researchers to determine how different environmental components can interact to affect the communities we commonly observe in the marine environment. It helps researchers identify previously unknown components that may potentially impact the marine environment (Ex. Agricultural Runoff).

4. Why an ecosystem approach? As working knowledge of multiple environmental components are being integrated across the public and research sectors there is the potential to better advise policy development and environmental management practices. Rather than static policies that may manage for one component new policy could 1) consider the relative role of different environmental components in management strategies and 2) adapt to annual and spatial changes in the relative contributions of these environmental components 3) consider how policy may affect the economy of adjacent communities.

5. Why an ecosystem based approach? It also provides the community a way to get involved in environmental management. Since this strategy requires that so many components be integrated, this aspect will most likely exceed the capability of individual scientists to understand how these components work.

6. Local Environmental Knowledge Local understanding of how ecosystems may function provides a key missing piece of information in this approach.

7. The traditional role of science in policy and management Traditionally science has been used as a means to provide technical guidance and quantitative evidence in the development of policy and management actions. As a traditional model of managing the environment this strategy has a long history of successes and failures. Both have provided valuable lessons in managing natural resources.

8. The application of science in natural resource management : Examples from fisheries management. Of the many environmental management efforts in the United States one of the most visible has been the management of commercial fisheries.

9. Fisheries as a resource Among the earliest resources harvested in North America. Shell middens provide some of the earliest evidence of this activity. Though this was limited harvesting, shell middens nonetheless provide evidence of the impact of early fishing efforts in the marine environment.

10. Historically what types of tools are available to resource managers?

11. Mathematical modeling It is a way to use math to describe and then project how species numbers can change as well as how they are distributed in ecosystems. Typically modelers use real data from ecologists and oceanographers to write an equation, then they use computers to produce a pattern.

12. The importance of models in studying marine systems. It provides scientists an objective way to project how changing parts of the environment can potentially change species abundance in marine ecosystems. Provides a low cost way to do science. Also provides a sound way to help environmental scientists identify potential problems before they occur.

13. Fishing Declines Despite new regulations many fisheries still demonstrated declines in abundance and yearly landings. NMFS-Woods Hole

14. Fisheries and declines For example in New England a once abundant groundfish fishery had declined from a yearly take of 800,000 tons to 100,000 tons (Weber 1994). Overfishing had been advanced as the primary cause of this particular decline. What other factors may have caused some of the declines that were observed?

15. Some Possible Causes Change in land use, in particular loss of nursery habitat for some species (Ex. Wetlands). EPA-LISS

16. Nutrient Enrichment Increases in hypoxia in many coastal waters have been shown to cause declines in some commercially important fishery species. Terrestrial nitrogen sources are often cited as a major cause of hypoxia in marine systems (ex. agricultural runoff).

17. How hypoxia works EPA-LISS

18. Sponsors US EPA CT Department of Environmental Protection NY State Department of Environmental Conservation A working example from the Long Island Sound Study

19. Hypoxia has demonstrated a significant increase over a ten year period in Long Island Sound CTDEP

20. CT DEP LIS Water Quality Monitoring Program There are annual variations in the maximum area and duration of hypoxia, primarily due to weather Hypoxia is defined as less than 3.0 mg/l

21. Historical Development in CT

22. Development “Hot Spots” in CT

23. In Long Island Sound developed land cover has increased at the expense of forest 1985 (%)2002 (%) Developed1821 Turf55 Grasses1011 Forest6257 Water33 Wetlands11 Other12

24. Downside of development Increases the amount of impervious surfaces (ex. Concrete roads) These surfaces help increase the amount runoff to coastal waters. In the past different soil types and vegetation could sequester some of these runoff components (nitrogen and phosphorous).

25. Development has outpaced Population (1985-2002)

26. Long Island Sound is also one of the most heavily impacted ecosystems in terms of the number of invasive species.

27. Long Island Sound Invasive Species

28. Asian Shore Crab and Blue Mussel Decline Adapted from: Brousseau, Goldberg and Garza 2014

29. Decline of the Blue Mussel Over the last twenty years there has been a noticeable decline in blue mussel populations. This coincided with the arrival of the Asian shore crab which forages on newly recruited mussels. It was suggested that a major cause of the decline was due to crab predation

30. Ecosystem function of mussels In enclosed system like Long Island Sound filter feeders provide a critical ecosystem service through their ability to filter large volumes of water. Ex. In Chesapeake Bay, it is estimated that oysters can filter the entire water volume of the bay in a single day. USEPA

32. What Happened? In the focus on the effect invasive species were having on the native biota, it appeared that the surrounding environment could no longer support species that may have once been abundant there.

33. A 30 year temperature record of seasonal temperature in Long Island Sound. CTDEP

34. Over the last twenty years there has also been a significant increase in warm water species and decrease in cold water species.

35. New approaches What has become rapidly apparent is that regulating catch alone is not enough to manage many commercially important species. New approaches that can incorporate, environmental variation, community involvement, multi-disciplinary research and emerging technologies wil be necessary to properly address policy and management concerns.

36. Meeting the challenges of ecosystem based management. It is now necessary to incorporate new technologies that will allow researchers, policy makers and the public to discern how so many different factors are interacting. Spatial technologies have emerged as a powerful tool for examining relational patterns across space.

37. GIS (Geographic Information System) Software that allows one to look at spatial patterns in real world data.

38. BOOKS ON SCIENCE The Problems in Modeling Nature, With Its Unruly Natural Tendencies Erik Swanson Often the public can be given the impression that management technologies are overly complex or not of much use Headline from February 20, 2007 science section of New York Times Review of a book titled: Useless Arithmetic, Why Environmental Scientists Can’t Predict the Future. Pilkey and Pilkey-Jarvis

39. Take Home Lessons A movement toward an ecosystem based approach will allow natural resource managers and policy makers to better understand how natural resources interact with the environment. This should include both integrating knowledge from the public and research sectors. Integrating new technologies into modern management practices has led to new ways of regulating fisheries.

40. Take Home Lessons There are a number of technologies available to help natural resource managers inform policy makers and the public. Mathematical modeling: a quantitative way to project how population numbers may change at some future date. GIS and 3-D visualizations: visual tool that allows us to examine spatial relationships between natural resources and the surrounding environment.

41. Overall Lesson: Need to integrate technology, the public and authorities to meet management objectives in marine systems Flexibility, persistence, focus on outcomes, strong public support. Focus on developing solutions and solving problems in the broader context of restoring water quality, managing resources as well as, meeting management objectives