A multi-tiered monitoring approach to address management-driven research questions

Transcription

1 A multi-tiered monitoring approach to address management-driven research questions Amanda Kahn Dickens, Ph.D. & Christopher Buzzelli, Ph.D. Senior Scientist, Coastal Ecosystem Section Applied Science Bureau SFWMD

2 Objectives Focused monitoring goals Methods and design Metrics and Indices Proposed design for the Northern Everglades Seagrass Ecosystem Assessment (NESEA) monitoring plan for Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Restoration Coordination Verification (RECOVER) program

3 Monitoring Goals 1. Guided by models of systems Targeted to evaluate management remedies and future needs 2. Detect change at high power before loss irreversible predict change for adaptive management 3. Logistically feasible methods, effort, cost

4 Monitoring Goals Three Tier Approach Tier 3 Biological Response indicators Tier 2 Seagrass community distribution at ecosystem scale Tier 1 Seagrass distribution at landscape scale

5 Multi-Tiered Monitoring of Seagrass Tier 1 Landscape scale (100 km 2 ) Remote sensing (aircraft or satellite) Changes in habitat distributions Identify habitat strata for Tier 2

6 Multi-Tiered Monitoring of Seagrass Tier 2 Ecosystem scale (10 km 2 ) Strata-scale determination of variables Patch number, size, species, % cover Locate sampling sites for Tier 3 Tier 1 Landscape scale (100 km 2 ) Remote sensing (aircraft or satellite) Changes in habitat distributions Identify habitat strata for Tier 2

7 Focused methods Metrics Metrics related directly to restoration targets Based on history of monitoring data & analyses Standardized metrics for regular assessment Used widely across monitoring programs (FB, BB, TB, IRL) Braun-blanquet method

8 Braun- Blanquet Cover Abundance (BBCA) Braun- Cover Range Blanquet score 0 Species absent from quadrat 0.1 <5 % ; species represented by a single shoot 0.5 <5 % ; a few solitary shoots 1 <5 % ; many shoots 2 5% -25% 3 25%- 50% 4 50% -75% 5 75% - 100%

9 Multi-Tiered Monitoring of Seagrass Tier 3 Community scale (0.01 km 2 ) Multiple sampling sites in selected strata Permanent transects and random sampling Biomass, canopy, blades, shoot density Tier 2 Ecosystem scale (10 km 2 ) Strata-scale determination of variables Patch number, size, species, % cover Locate sampling sites for Tier 3 Tier 1 Landscape scale (100 km 2 ) Remote sensing (aircraft or satellite) Changes in habitat distributions Identify habitat strata for Tier 2

10 Tier III Metrics Fixed transects Biological response indicators: Biomass (shoot & root-rhizome) Shoot density Blade length, width Primary productivity Abiotic information Depth and light Water column variables Metric to detect changes in seagrass habitat Macroalgae Sedimentation Nutrient concentrations

11 NESEA PROPOSED DESIGN Tier 3 Fixed transects (~5X per year Tier 2 Estuary-wide surveys of cover by community type (~2X per year) Tier 1 Seagrass mapping by aircraft &/or satellite (~ 3 years)

12 Tier I Aerial Mapping Southern Indian River Lagoon Southern IRL inside St. Lucie Inlet

13 Proposed Tier II Hexagon grid random points selected in each hexagon 8 cover surveys BBCA at each Fish Habitat Assessment Program M.O. Hall, Florida Wildlife Research Institute & M. J. Durako, University of North Carolina Wilmington

14 Proposed methods: Tier II Survey end of dry & end of wet season Environmental parameters Depth, Secchi depth Temp, salinity, dissolved oxygen, ph, turbidity, chl a, color Light profile Secchi disk YSI multi probe sonde Jeff Beal FFWCC

15 Tier III: Permanent Transects (Every 2 months)

16 Tier III: Permanent Transects Sites near high temporal environmental data collection sites Collect multiple attributes biotic, environmental empirical relationships Hypothesis driven drivers and responses Examine causal relationships & possible ecological feedback mechanisms (Maxwell et al. 2016)

17 Summary Standardized, scientifically- robust biological response metrics Quantitatively link responses to abiotic drivers Predictive capacity for management/restoration application