Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Nitrogen Reductions Have Decreased Hypoxia In The Chesapeake Bay: Evidence From Empirical And Numerical Modeling, Luke T. Frankel, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Aaron J. Bever, Rom Lipcius, Gopal Bhatt, Gary W. Shenk

VIMS Articles

Seasonal hypoxia is a characteristic feature of the Chesapeake Bay due to anthropogenic nutrient input from agriculture and urbanization throughout the watershed. Although coordinated management efforts since 1985 have reduced nutrient inputs to the Bay, oxygen concentrations at depth in the summer still frequently fail to meet water quality standards that have been set to protect critical estuarine living resources. To quantify the impact of watershed nitrogen reductions on Bay hypoxia during a recent period including both average discharge and extremely wet years (2016–2019), this study employed both statistical and three-dimensional (3-D) numerical modeling analyses. Numerical model results suggest that …

Multiple Dimensions Of Functional Diversity Affect Stream Fish Taxonomic Β-Diversity, Luke M. Bower, Lauren Stoczynski, Brandon K. Peoples, Christopher J. Patrick, Bryan L. Brown

VIMS Articles

1. When investigating metacommunity dynamics, functional differences among
species are often assumed to be as important as environmental differences be-
tween sites in determining β-diversity. However, few studies have examined the
influence of functional diversity on β-diversity. We examine the relative importance of regional functional diversity partitioned by niche dimensions and environmental variation in structuring taxonomic β-diversity of stream fishes using a large dataset of stream fish assemblages (hereafter, simply β-diversity). We predicted that both functional diversity and environmental variation play a rolein determining β-diversity.
2. We tested this prediction by modelling the patterns of stream fish β-diversity as
a …

A Global Synthesis Of Human Impacts On The Multifunctionality Of Streams And Rivers, Mario Brauns, Daniel C. Allen, Iola G. Boëchat, Wyatt F. Cross, Verónica Ferreira, Daniel Graeber, Christopher J. Patrick, Et Al

VIMS Articles

Human impacts, particularly nutrient pollution and land-use change, have caused significant declines in the quality and quantity of freshwater resources. Most global assessments have concentrated on species diversity and composition, but effects on the multifunctionality of streams and rivers remain unclear. Here, we analyse the most comprehensive compilation of stream ecosystem functions to date to provide an overview of the responses of nutrient uptake, leaf litter decomposition, ecosystem productivity, and food web complexity to six globally pervasive human stressors. We show that human stressors inhibited ecosystem functioning for most stressor-function pairs. Nitrate uptake efficiency was most affected and was inhibited …

Long-Term Annual Aerial Surveys Of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (Sav) Support Science, Management, And Restoration, Robert J. Orth, William C. Dennison, Cassie Gurbisz, (...), Kenneth A. Moore, Christopher J. Patrick, (..), David J. Wilcox, Richard A. Batiuk

VIMS Articles

Aerial surveys of coastal habitats can uniquely inform the science and management of shallow, coastal zones, and when repeated annually, they reveal changes that are otherwise difficult to assess from ground-based surveys. This paper reviews the utility of a long-term (1984–present) annual aerial monitoring program for submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Chesapeake Bay, its tidal tributaries, and nearby Atlantic coastal bays, USA. We present a series of applications that highlight the program’s importance in assessing anthropogenic impacts, gauging water quality status and trends, establishing and evaluating restoration goals, and understanding the impact of commercial fishing practices on benthic habitats. These …

Extreme Event Ecology Needs Proactive Funding, Christopher J. Patrick, Enie Hensel, John S. Kominoski, Beth A. Stauffer, William H. Mcdowell

VIMS Articles

Commentary:

Extreme events such as wildfires, hurricanes, and floods have increased in frequency and intensity. It is no longer a question of if, but rather when and where these events will occur (Stott 2016), with adverse impacts on essential ecosystem
services including clean water, harvestable materials, and carbon sequestration. In some cases, extreme events such as wildfires may have positive impacts on populations and ecosystems. Managing these impacts requires understanding how environmental context as well as ecosystem and disturbance characteristics drive system responses (Hogan et al. 2020). However, funding for ecological extreme events research, such as through the US National …