Portfolio I: Estuarine Processes

The Issue

During the past half century, some of the most well documented human impacts on coastal ecosystems of the U.S. have been observed in Chesapeake Bay. The over enrichment of the Bay with anthropogenic nutrients has produced symptoms that we associate with eutrophication, including enhanced primary production, seasonal depletion of oxygen, species shifts and declines, and losses of habitat. One of the clearest responses of the Bay to nutrient loading is an increased abundance of phytoplankton to potentially deleterious levels, carrying with it a number of negative outcomes for the Bay and its biota. This response has co-occurred with extensive harvests of commercially important species, including oysters and fish, species that occupy key positions at higher trophic levels. The multiple fates of phytoplankton include consumption by grazing organisms and decomposition in the "microbial loop." Both directions of material and energy flow are strongly expressed in the Bay and have ecosystem-scale implications for water quality and trophic dynamics. Accordingly, MDSG has invested in basic research directed at estuarine processes to provide data and information vital to develop a predictive understanding of this complex ecosystem, to gauge progress in improving water quality and the integrity and sustainability of biotic resources, and to inform managers with the best scientific products we can catalyze to aid in decision making.