Barnegat Bay - Plan 9 Research

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10929/106864

On December 9, 2010, the administration of NJ Governor Chris Christie announced a plan to address the health of Barnegat Bay. As part of that plan, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Science, working with the NJDEP Science Advisory Board, state universities, U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the Barnegat Bay (National Estuary Program) Partnership, developed and funded ten research projects designed to fill in data gaps, address the improvement of water quality, and advance habitat restoration on the bay. These studies were designed to collect data for three years in order to address year-to-year natural variability in the bay’s ecosystem (e.g., Superstorm Sandy came ashore at Barnegat Bay in the fall of 2012 between year 1 and 2 data collections). The studies were also designed to address the multiple stressors impacting the bay for the development of targeted and appropriate regulatory management strategies. The ten projects started in January of 2012 and continued in 2013 and 2014.

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Browsing Barnegat Bay - Plan 9 Research by Author "Belton, Thomas"

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    Assessment of Fish and Crab Responses to Human Alteration in Barnegat Bay
    (Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Environmental Health, 2013) Able, Ken; Jivoff, Paul; Grothues, Thomas M.; Hagan, Roland; Belton, Thomas; Ferko, Marc; Ruppel, Bruce; Buchanan, Gary; Muffley, Brandon
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    Assessment of Fish and Crab Responses to Human Alteration in Barnegat Bay
    (Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Environmental Health, 2014-03-28) Able, Ken; Jivoff, Paul; Grothues, Thomas M.; Hagan, Roland; Belton, Thomas; Ferko, Marc; Ruppel, Bruce; Buchanan, Gary; Muffley, Brandon
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    Assessment of Fish and Crab Responses to Human Alteration in Barnegat Bay : Barnegat Bay Final Report
    (Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Environmental Health, 2015-09-29) Able, Ken; Jivoff, Paul; Grothues, Thomas M.; Hagan, Roland; Belton, Thomas; Ferko, Marc; Ruppel, Bruce; Buchanan, Gary; Muffley, Brandon
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    Barnegat Bay Phytoplankton Year 3 : Phytoplankton Reference Communities and Index of Biotic Integrity Final Report
    (Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Environmental Health, 2015-07) Ren, Ling; Belton, Thomas
    Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor (BB-LEH) is very susceptible to human-induced eutrophication due to its shallow depth, relatively long flushing time and highly developed surrounding watershed. The Estuary has been classified as a highly eutrophic system (Nixon 1995, Bricker et al. 2007), experiencing episodic recurrences of brown tides and other microalgal blooms, loss of submerged aquatic vegetation, and decline of hard clam stock and harvest. We carried out a three-year research on the phytoplankton community in BB-LEH estuary in coordination with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)’s Bureau of Marine Monitoring from 2012 to 2015. In the first two years of study we investigated phytoplankton community in BB-LEH from August 2011 to August 2013, characterized species composition and spatial and temporal distribution of phytoplankton, including bloom patterns, dominant species succession, and occurrence of Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) species. In addition, multivariate analyses were conducted to understand the temporal changes of phytoplankton between Year-one and Year-two, and the relationship between the phytoplankton changes and environmental conditions. More details can be found in the project reports (Ren 2013, 2015).
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    Benthic Invertebrate Community Monitoring and Indicator Development for Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary : Final Report
    (Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Environmental Health, 2013-07-15) Taghon, Gary L.; Grassle, Judith P.; Fuller, Charlotte M.; Petrecca, Rosemarie F.; Ramey, Patricia; Belton, Thomas; Ferko, Marc; Schuster, Bob
    The Barnegat Bay ecosystem is potentially under stress from human impacts, which have increased over the past several decades. Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly included in studies to monitor the effects of human and natural stresses on marine and estuarine ecosystems. There are several reasons for this. Macroinvertebrates (here defined as animals retained on a 0.5-mm mesh sieve) are abundant in most coastal and estuarine sediments, typically on the order of 103 to 104 per meter squared. Benthic communities are typically composed of many taxa from different phyla, and quantitative measures of community diversity (e.g., Rosenberg et al. 2004) and the relative abundance of animals with different feeding behaviors (e.g., Weisberg et al. 1997, Pelletier et al. 2010), can be used to evaluate ecosystem health. Because most benthic invertebrates are sedentary as adults, they function as integrators, over periods of months to years, of the properties of their environment.
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    Benthic Invertebrate Community Monitoring and Indicator Development for Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary : Year 2, Final Report
    (Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Environmental Health, 2014-06-03) Taghon, Gary L.; Grassle, Judith P.; Fuller, Charlotte M.; Petrecca, Rosemarie F.; Ramey, Patricia; Belton, Thomas; Ferko, Marc; Schuster, Bob
    The Barnegat Bay ecosystem is potentially under stress from human impacts, which appear to have increased over the past several decades. Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly included in studies to monitor the effects of human and natural stresses on marine and estuarine ecosystems. There are several reasons for this. Macroinvertebrates (here defined as animals retained on a 0.5-mm-mesh sieve) are abundant in most coastal and estuarine sediments, typically on the order of 103 to 104 individuals per meter squared. Benthic communities are typically composed of many taxa from different phyla, and quantitative measures of community diversity (e.g., Rosenberg et al. 2004) and the relative abundance of animals with different feeding behaviors (e.g., Pelletier et al. 2010, Weisberg et al. 1997), can be used to evaluate ecosystem health. Because most benthic invertebrates are sedentary as adults, they function as integrators, over periods of months to years, of the properties of their environment.
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    Benthic Invertebrate Community Monitoring and Indicator Development for Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary : Year 3, Final Report
    (Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Environmental Health, 2015-09-08) Taghon, Gary L.; Grassle, Judith P.; Fuller, Charlotte M.; Petrecca, Rosemarie F.; Ramey, Patricia; Belton, Thomas; Ferko, Marc; Schuster, Bob
    The Barnegat Bay ecosystem is potentially under stress from human impacts, which appear to have increased over the past several decades. Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly included in studies to monitor the effects of human and natural stresses on marine and estuarine ecosystems. There are several reasons for this. Macroinvertebrates (here defined as animals retained on a 0.5-mm-mesh sieve) are abundant in most coastal and estuarine sediments, typically on the order of 103 to 104 individuals per meter squared. Benthic communities are typically composed of many taxa from different phyla, and quantitative measures of community diversity (e.g., Rosenberg et al. 2004) and the relative abundance of animals with different feeding behaviors (e.g., Pelletier et al. 2010, Weisberg et al. 1997), can be used to evaluate ecosystem health. Because most benthic invertebrates are sedentary as adults, they function as integrators, over periods of months to years, of the properties of their environment.
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    Ecological Evaluation of Sedge Island Marine Conservation Area in Barnegat Bay : Final Report, 2013
    (Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Environmental Health, 2013-08-21) Jivoff, Paul; Bilinski, Joseph; Belton, Thomas; Ferko, Marc
    Conservation zones are important for maintaining the sustainability of ecosystems and populations of economically important species. The relative ecological value, especially for economically important species, of the Sedge Island Marine Conservation Zone (SIMCZ) in Barnegat Bay, NJ was assessed by comparing the following inside the SIMCZ with areas outside the conservation zone: (1) abundance and species diversity of fish and select decapod crustaceans in three habitats (seagrass, macroalgae, and unvegetated) using throw traps, (2) population structure of adult blue crabs using commercial-style traps, and (3) brood production of adult female blue crabs. Throw trap sampling indicates that blue crabs are most abundant in seagrass as compared to unvegetated habitats. Overall, blue crabs are more abundant outside the SIMCZ than inside but the difference does not apply to each habitat, suggesting the habitats inside and outside the SIMCZ are at least equivalent. Inside and outside the conservation area, species diversity is enhanced in both structured habitats as compared to unvegetated areas and is similar inside the SIMCZ as compared to outside. Again, this suggests the SIMCZ is at least equivalent to a comparative area outside the conservation zone. The SIMCZ has greater abundance of adult blue crabs, a sex ratio that is more skewed towards males, and a greater proportion of ovigerous females that are about to spawn and show signs of recent spawning. This suggests that the SIMCZ may provide refuge from fishing, particularly for male blue crabs, and may be an important area for spawning females.
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    Ecological evaluation of Sedge Island Marine Conservation Area in Barnegat Bay : Final Report, 2014
    (Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Environmental Health, 2014-08-29) Jivoff, Paul; Bilinski, Joseph; Belton, Thomas; Ferko, Marc
    Conservation zones are important for maintaining the sustainability of ecosystems and populations of economically important species. The relative ecological value, especially for economically important species, of the Sedge Island Marine Conservation Zone (SIMCZ) in Barnegat Bay, NJ was assessed by comparing the following inside the SIMCZ with areas outside the conservation zone: (1) population structure of adult blue crabs using commercial-style traps, (2) reproductive potential of both sexes and brood production of adult female blue crabs, and (3) species diversity and abundance of fish and select decapod crustaceans, particularly blue crabs, in three habitats (seagrass, macroalgae, and unvegetated) using throw traps. Commercial-style trap sampling indicates that the SIMCZ had greater abundance of male blue crabs, a sex ratio that is more skewed towards males, and a greater proportion of ovigerous females than mid and western-bay locations outside the SIMCZ. There was no evidence that reproductive potential (e.g., sperm stores) or female brood production differed among the locations. Using a complementary data set from a co-occurring project; as compared with physically similar areas, the SIMCZ contained: (1) more adult blue crabs than other SAV-dominated areas along the north-south axis of Barnegat Bay, (2) more adult females, especially egg-bearing females, than adjacent, SAV-dominated areas with similar access to Barnegat Inlet, and (3) more male blue crabs than open bay habitats within an east-west zone of the Bay. Taken together, these results suggest that the SIMCZ is an important area for both male and female blue crabs, particularly females that are spawning. Throw trap sampling indicates that species diversity, the total abundance of organisms and the abundance of juvenile blue crabs were similar inside the SIMCZ as compared to outside the SIMCZ. In contrast, juveniles of two economically important fish species (winter and summer flounder) were more abundant inside the SIMCZ than outside the SIMCZ. Habitat was far more important than location in accounting for the variation in species diversity, total abundance and the abundance of blue crabs. In general, structured habitats (SAV and algae) contained more species, individual organisms and blue crabs than open areas. Sampling for this project occurred before and after “Superstorm” Sandy, thus annual differences may reflect potential Sandy effects. Annual differences in blue crab abundance between and within locations suggest that the SIMCZ provided a buffer against the potentially negative effects of Sandy. Throw trap sampling suggests that the SIMCZ contains habitats that are ecologically valuable and are helping to sustain valuable species.