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R/P-32
Community metabolism of Chesapeake Bay: An index of ecosystem trophic condition and potential oxygen depletion
Principal Investigator:
W. Michael KempStart/End Year:
1992 - 1996Institution:
Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceCo-Principal Investigator:
Walter R. Boynton, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; Christopher J. Madden, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceTopic(s):
- Ecosystems and Restoration
Description:
The overall objective of this project is to apply our approach for estimating "trophic condition," and net ecosystem metabolism (NSM) to shallow areas of the Chesapeake Bay. Specific goals include: measure planktonic and benthic P and R along cross-bay depth gradients; relate NSM with O2 (% sat) and chl a within shallow and between channel stations and shoal areas; develop improved estimates of ecosystem NSM for the whole Bay; estimate the contribution of NSM in mesohaline shoals to inputs of particulate organics to subpycnocline waters in adjacent deeper areas; use this improved method for estimating NSM to deduce interannual patterns of NSM in the Bay and to relate these to changes in nutrient loading and hydrological conditions.
Funding Start Year
1992
Funding End Year
1996
Related Publications:
Kemp, WM; Testa, JM; Conley, DJ; Gilbert, D; Hagy, JD. 2009. Temporal responses of coastal hypoxia to nutrient loading and physical controls. Biogeosciences6(12):2985 -3008. UM-SG-RS-2009-19.
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Featured Fellow
Nina Santos is a Ph.D. student at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. For her dissertation, she is focused on small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids – an understudied yet important part of many estuarine and coastal food webs.
Featured Research Project
Developing a habitat model for mysids, an important link in Chesapeake Bay food webs
Mysids are important mesozooplankton prey for many species of fish in Chesapeake Bay and are an important link in transferring energy from lower to upper trophic levels. Mysids also serve as biological vectors for benthic-pelagic coupling due to their diel vertical migration and omnivorous prey-switching behavior, which makes mysids important regulators of food web architecture. Despite their central role in coastal food webs, surprisingly little is known about mysid ecology and dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.
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