Julia Zhou
Salt Marsh Islands at Jamaica Bay
The tidal salt marshes make vital contributions to the ecosystem in Jamaica Bay. The marshes help spawning processes and are primary nursery for species important to both recreational and commercial uses, providing protection from storm surges, and also removing pollutants and other toxic substances, which as a result, acts as a natural filter, improving the water quality in the bay. Salt marshes are low lying, grasslands that periodically become overwhelmed and drained by high tides. The fish and shellfish nurseries and are also a feeding ground for various species of wildlife in the ecosystem. They support a variety of invertebrates such as mussels, shrimp, oysters and horseshoe crabs that are key elements of the estuarine ecosystem. However, throughout the past few decades, the salt marshes at Jamaica Bay has significantly declined which created a tremendous negative impact on the general public in addition to the deterioration on the living habitats in the area. Many factors contribute to the decline such as sediment depletion, neighboring developments, increased tidal ranges, and especially nitrogen loading from untreated sewage. Although the damages done were unintentional, much of it was occurred due to negligence. As awareness has increased, restoration efforts have escalated as well as various groups respond well to mitigate the losses.
Firstly, we need to gain a general understanding of the structure and functions of the salt marshes in Jamaica Bay. Salt marshes are most commonly manifested through the arrival of seeding’s of the cord grass known as Spartina alterniflora. The grass spreads asexually through the aquatic habitats beneath the earths’ surface. The grass becomes...
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...s is priceless. Whether it’s through public awareness or implementation of policies, the end goal and objective is to provide sustainability for future generations ahead.
Sources:
- http://www.imms.org/downloads/brochure/IMMS_TidalMarshPlants_Brochure_trifold-final.pdf
- http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/state-pumps-money-salt-marsh-restoration-jamaica-bay-article-1.1317437
- http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/state-pumps-money-salt-marsh-restoration-jamaica-bay-article-1.1317437
- http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/jamaica-bay-salt-marsh-island-rebuilt-army-corps-engineers-19-million-project-article-1.1059853
- http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/jamaica-bay-salt-marsh-island-rebuilt-army-corps-engineers-19-million-project-article-1.1059853
- http://www.nps.gov/gate/naturescience/marshrestoration.htm
cut back on the problems in the Bay. Scientists have given an unthinkable amount of attention to the Bay of the past several years and researchers from countless numbers of agencies and institutions have dove deep into the issues and studying every nook and cranny to create answers to every politicians’ questions. The biggest concern with the Bay, and the most concentrated ...
One of the Bays biggest resources is its oysters. Oysters are filter feeders which mean they feed on agley and clean the water. The oysters feed on agley and other pollutants in the bay turning them into food, then they condense the food down to nutrients and sometimes developed pearls. Filtering the water helps the oysters to grow, and also helps clean the Chesapeake Bay. One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day, Oysters used to be able to filter the Bay in about a week. However, these creatures are now scarce in the bay. The Chesapeake Bays Oyster (crassostrea virginica) Population has declined severely because of over harvesting, agricultural runoff, and disease. Now the Chesapeake Bay is becoming polluted without the oysters and the water is not nearly as clean as it once was. The Chesapeake Bay was the first estuary in the nation to be targeted for restoration as an integrated watershed and ecosystem. (Chesapeake Bay Program n/d). This report will show the cause and effect of the Chesapeake Bay's Oyster decline on the Bay.
Zebra mussels have now found there way to the United States originating from the Caspian Sea and sought habitation, originally, in Lake St. Claire when ballast water brought them in. From there, zebra mussels have spread and have caused havoc to the environments and its biodiversity, specifically, Presque Isle. Zebra mussels are filter feeders of zooplankton and phytoplanktons, making the water appear clearer, but not cleaner. They have negatively impacted the existence of clams, walleye and several other organisms. In order to preserve the biodiversity of Presque Isle, zebra mussels must be culled and controlled. Several methods that can be utilized to achieve this goal is by chlorination, poison, scraping, etc.
They also look after the quality of coastal waters by watering down, sifting, and settling deposits, left-over nutrients and contaminants. They are highly productive ecosystems and provide habitats and act as nurseries for all manner of life.
For many years now scientists and researchers have been paying their attention to the bay. Millions of dollars and hundreds of hours have been spent to return the bay to its glory. However, with all that has been done the bay is still in danger and the work is no where near complete. In 2005 the bay's health was evaluated at a “D”. (Chesapeake Bay Restoration)
The Long Island Sound is an estuary, and is in fact one of the largest in the world. An estuary is a place where salt water from the ocean mixes with fresh water from the rivers that drain from the land. Moreover, like other estuaries, the Long Island Sound has an abundance of fish and other waterfowl that add to the natural balance of the island, as well as one of the most important economic factors (Tedesco). Like other estuaries around the world, the Sound provides breeding, feeding, nesting, and nursery areas for many species that will spend most of their adult lives in the oceans (Long Island Sound Study). Despite these similarities to other estuaries, the Long Island Sound is unique from anywhere else in the world. Unlike other estuaries, the Long Island Sound does not just have one connection to the sea but it has two. It has two major sources of fresh water flowing into the bay that empty into the ocean. It combines this two-...
The Chesapeake Bay plays host to an astonishing amount of plant and animal life, providing much of our fish intake for species that aren’t being overfished. For the species that are being overdrawn, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is working to restore the populations, and it’s going well thus far. Another theme that is endangering the marine life populations as well as the health of the human population is the massive amount of polluti...
One of the Bays biggest resources is its oysters. Oysters are filter feeders which mean they feed on agley and clean the water. The oysters feed on agley and other pollutants in the bay turning them into food for them, then they condense the food down to nutrient and developed things like pearls.Filtering the water also helps the oyster to grow. One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day, Oysters used to be able to filter the Bay in about a week. However these creatures are now scarce in the bay. The Chesapeake Bays Oyster (crassostrea virginica) Population has declined severely because of over harvesting, agricultural runoff, and disease. Now the Chesapeake Bay is becoming polluted without the oysters and the water is not nearly as clean as it once was. The Chesapeake Bay was the first estuary in the nation to be targeted for restoration as an integrated watershed and ecosystem. (Chesapeake Bay Program n/d). This report will show the cause and effect of the Chesapeake Bay's Oyster decline on the Bay.
A first reason that the Bay should be restored, is because as explained in Source 2 , "The resulting low dissolved oxygen concentrations drive blue crabs from their preferred habitat and kill many of the small bottom organisms on which the blue crabs feed." Because human's outlet a lot of nutrients, it causes an excess growth of algea, which ends up inhibiting the blue crab and other organisms, and can possibly lead to extiction. It is important to save the many species that live in the area. Another reason in it pf great importance to save Chesapeake Bay, is because there are plants which serve as food to many other organisms, that are going extinct. For instance, "the atamasco lily"(Source 1). It has been in a great decline, and it supports many other life sources, if nothing is done to try and save it, then there will be even more animals or other life that will be hurt. It is important to save
Globally coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate, the problem is most of society does not realize the value of these precious wetlands. Coastal wetlands provide an important role in the coastal ecosystem. “Coastal wetlands provide critical services such as absorbing energy from coastal storms, preserving shorelines, protecting human populations and infrastructure, supporting commercial seafood harvests, absorbing pollutants and serving as critical habitat for migratory bird populations”(Anonymous, 2011). Coastal wetlands are an economical asset as well as an environmental one.
achieving the goal of sustainability. 12th ed. of the 12th e ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Generational conflicts, political strife, environmental regulations, stakeholders in big oil, and many more hurdles affect the push to fully sustainable economies around the world and even here in America. In a world where coal, oil, and natural gas are limited, countries are gobbling it all up as fast as they can before other poorer countries come on the grid. Even though America and other countries gobble up these resources the life of the people is still a struggle to meet basic needs. Sustainability is an intermingling of resource use and protection of the “quality of life”, it is met by using resources sparingly and by recycling or reducing the use of other non-renewable resources to provide for our immediate need, but also to conserve and protect the needs of the next generation and to improve the quality of all the lives to come.
In conducting my research, I observed activity on the rocky shallow shore off the coast of Washington State where I found a small tidal pool (workbook). The community I am studying consists of three producers: Nori Seaweed (Porphyra), Black Pine (Neorhodomela), and Coral Weed (Corallina), three sessile consumers: Goose Neck Barnacles (Mitella), Acorn Barnacles (Semibalanus), and Mussels (Mytilus), and lastly four mobile consumers: Whelk (Nucella), Chiton (Katharina), Starfish (Pisaster), and the Green Crab (Carcinus). In order for producers to survive they must avoid their only predator, Chiton, as well as compete for space amongst each other. Coral Weed is the strongest competitor for space between the producers do to calcium carbonate in its cells creating structural support (SimU text), Black Pine is second, and Nori Seaweed is the least
Analysis of sites in five coastal states indicate that many marshes and mangrove ecosystems receive adequate mineral sediments to produce enough organic sediment and root material to remain above sea level at the present rate of sea-level rise (1-2 mm per year globally). However, three of the twelve wetlands studied were not keeping pace with the current rate of sea-level rise. If sea-level rise accelerates, some additional sites would also begin to slowly deteriorate and submerge.
Sustainability has extended to our field; people have begun to understand the importance and necessity to introduce this practice into their life. All of this not