60 http://ian.umces.edu/seminarseries/ A monthly seminar series in Annapolis, providing concise, thought-provoking ideas relating to Chesapeake Bay science and management. en-us ℗ & © Integration and Application Network Fostering interaction between Chesapeake research, monitoring and management communities Integration and Application Network A monthly seminar series in Annapolis, providing concise, thought-provoking ideas relating to Chesapeake Bay science and management. Integration and Application Network ian@umces.edu no Jeff Allenby IAN Seminar Series - November 2017 http://ian.umces.edu Mon, 06 Nov 2017 13:27:02 -0500 0:15:18 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Jeremy Testa IAN Seminar Series - November 2017 http://ian.umces.edu Mon, 06 Nov 2017 11:55:02 -0500 0:21:46 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Ethan Weikel IAN Seminar Series - July 2017 This presentation highlights decreasing trends in funding for certain federal programs and then presents an adaptive management strategy that helps move projects forward.  The data utilized in the presentation is from groundwater clean-up projects where the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Defense, among others, are stakeholders.  The strategy, as detailed in a case study from one of the projects where it was implemented, is a process that leverages a handful of actionable practices that focus on timely, critical, and cost-reducing outcomes, with a result of being able to pursue additional tasks or applying the savings to other programs. http://ian.umces.edu Thu, 20 Jul 2017 15:33:04 -0400 0:29:21 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Dr. James Boyd IAN Seminar Series - April 2017 This lesson is intended as a primer for understanding environmental economics, focusing particularly on the valuation of ecosystem services. The first section of the presentation focuses on an economist’s typical perspective on how ecosystem services are to be analyzed – and in particular on the kinds of ecological analysis and outcomes needed for economic evaluation.  Boyd stresses the importance of being able to describe the effect of specific management actions on changed ecological outcomes via ecological “production functions.” He also stresses the importance of measured or modeled ecological outcomes that can be understood by lay audiences. Ecological analysis that causally relates specific management actions to changes in socially understandable biophysical outcomes allows for those outcomes to be valued in monetary terms. The second section of the presentation focuses more heavily on how to economically quantify the importance of ecosystem services.  In order to fix a monetary value on an environmental variable that will affect ecosystem services, a variety of factors need to be taken into account: how many people are affected by this environmental outcome? What is the scale of the problem you are trying to address? How scarce are the resources involved? Are there substitutes for the ecosystem services that are becoming damaged or lost? As a result, when one is trying to fix a monetary value on an ecosystem – or communicate its benefit in non-monetary terms – it is important to capture such factors in the analysis. Boyd also discusses reasons why many economic studies under-estimate the total value of ecosystems. http://ian.umces.edu Fri, 07 Apr 2017 15:31:08 -0400 0:13:34 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Dr. James Boyd IAN Seminar Series - April 2017 This lesson is intended as a primer for understanding environmental economics, focusing particularly on the valuation of ecosystem services. The first section of the presentation focuses on an economist’s typical perspective on how ecosystem services are to be analyzed – and in particular on the kinds of ecological analysis and outcomes needed for economic evaluation.  Boyd stresses the importance of being able to describe the effect of specific management actions on changed ecological outcomes via ecological “production functions.” He also stresses the importance of measured or modeled ecological outcomes that can be understood by lay audiences. Ecological analysis that causally relates specific management actions to changes in socially understandable biophysical outcomes allows for those outcomes to be valued in monetary terms.The second section of the presentation focuses more heavily on how to economically quantify the importance of ecosystem services.  In order to fix a monetary value on an environmental variable that will affect ecosystem services, a variety of factors need to be taken into account: how many people are affected by this environmental outcome? What is the scale of the problem you are trying to address? How scarce are the resources involved? Are there substitutes for the ecosystem services that are becoming damaged or lost? As a result, when one is trying to fix a monetary value on an ecosystem – or communicate its benefit in non-monetary terms – it is important to capture such factors in the analysis. Boyd also discusses reasons why many economic studies under-estimate the total value of ecosystems. http://ian.umces.edu Fri, 07 Apr 2017 15:00:46 -0400 0:14:23 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Qian Zhang IAN Seminar Series - December 2016 Reduction of suspended sediment (SS), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen is an important focus for Chesapeake Bay watershed management. The Susquehanna River, the bay’s largest tributary, has drawn attention because SS loads from behind Conowingo Dam (near the river’s mouth) have been rising dramatically. To better understand these changes, we evaluated histories of concentration and loading (1986-2013) using data from sites above and below Conowingo Reservoir. First, observed concentration-discharge relationships show that SS and TP concentrations at the reservoir inlet have declined under most discharges in recent decades, but without corresponding declines at the outlet, implying recently diminished reservoir trapping. Second, best estimates of mass balance suggest decreasing net deposition of SS and TP in recent decades over a wide range of discharges, with cumulative mass generally dominated by the 75th~99.5th percentile of daily Conowingo discharges. Finally, stationary models that better accommodate effects of riverflow variability also support the conclusion of diminished trapping of SS and TP under a range of discharges that includes those well below the literature-reported scour threshold. Overall, these findings suggest that decreased net deposition of SS and TP has occurred at sub-scour levels of discharge, which has significant implications for the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. http://ian.umces.edu Thu, 22 Dec 2016 15:36:00 -0500 0:23:01 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Michael Kolian IAN Seminar Series - September 2016 EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Programs (OAP) compiles and publishes a set of key indicators related to the causes and effects of climate change into a peer-reviewed report entitled: Climate Change Indicators in the United States and as an online resource.  EPA partners with over 40 data contributors from various government agencies, academic institutions, and other organizations to gather these data and analyses.    The primary purpose of this effort is to track and document climate change in the U.S., and to provide a tool to communicate to broad audiences, including policymakers and the public. The indicators in this report are designed to help readers understand observed long-term trends related to the causes and effects of climate change.  EPA leverages peer-reviewed and publicly available data to identify metrics and indicators that help characterize climate change in the US. EPA chooses its indicators using a standard set of criteria that includes data quality, transparency of analytical methods, ability to meaningfully communicate, and relevance to climate change.EPA currently presents 37 indicators, each describing trends related to the causes and effects of climate change at multiple scales. They focus primarily on the U.S., but some present global trends to provide context or a basis for comparison, and others have a regional focus. EPA plans to continue to work in with other agencies, organizations, and individuals to collect and communicate useful data to more fully capture the range of impacts and effects associated with climate change.    http://ian.umces.edu Thu, 29 Sep 2016 11:52:51 -0400 0:20:43 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Tom Ihde IAN Seminar Series - August 2016 There have been numerous indicators that there has been progress in improving the water quality indicators for the Chesapeake Bay system. Less clear, are the effects of these water quality improvements on the living resources of this system, or the scale of those effects in comparison to other stressors like changing water temperatures in this region. Similarly, the cumulative effects of multiple, simultaneous stressors in combination with the water quality improvements are difficult to estimate, and there are relatively few tools available with which to accomplish this task. One such tool is an"end-to- end" or "full-system" modeling approach called "Atlantis". The Chesapeake Atlantis Model (CAM) is a deterministic, biogeophysical, production simulation model of the Chesapeake system, designed to provide strategic information on the trade-offs of different management choices, e.g., targeted restoration, ongoing habitat loss due to sea level rise and shoreline hardening, water quality improvement, etc. The spatial modelling approach includes a wide range of system features, the most important of which are: physical forcings of heat, salt, and water movement; predator-prey dynamics; bacteria (and plant) mediated nutrient and chemical cycling; and habitats that not only grow (and decline) over time, but that also serve as refuge for prey species. Expected changes in the Chesapeake system are simulated for 50 years into the future; marsh loss, submerged aquatic vegetation loss, TMDL attainment (for nitrogen and sediment loads), along with temperature increase are simulated separately and in combination, to estimate cumulative effects of these multiple factors, and to determine a dominant driver of change for the Chesapeake. Results from this work suggest that the water temperature increases expected for the Chesapeake system will be a very strong driver of productivity change, and that any work on other factors should consider expected temperature increases as well. Applications of CAM to specific Outcomes and Key Actions of the various CBP Workgroups to support the New Bay Agreement (2014) are also discussed. http://ian.umces.edu Fri, 12 Aug 2016 14:53:50 -0400 0:27:46 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Richard Zimmerman IAN Seminar Series - July 2016 Although environmental requirements of submerged aquatic vegetation have been studied for years, reliable metrics for predicting their response to current or future conditions remain elusive. The combined effects of temperature, CO 2 , and light availability controlled by water quality and epiphytes were explored using GrassLight, a bio-optical model that provided a predictive environment for evaluating the interaction of multiple stressors on SAV distribution and density across the submarine landscape of the Chesapeake Bay. Model predictions were validated against in situ measures of spectral diffuse attenuation, SAV density and distribution. The potential for photosynthesis stimulated by ocean acidification to mitigate the effects of high summer temperature, water quality and epiphyte load on SAV populations growing near the southern limit of their distribution were explored. The model accurately reproduced the submarine light environment from measured water quality parameters, and predicted their impacts on SAV distributions throughout the Bay. It also reproduced the negative effects of warm summer temperatures on eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) distribution in the southern Bay, and demonstrated that CO 2 increases projected for the next century should stimulate photosynthesis sufficiently to offset the negative effects of thermal stress, even in the presence of epiphytes. Thus, improved water quality should facilitate the survival of SAV populations in Chesapeake region, even in the face of a warming climate. http://ian.umces.edu Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:55:42 -0400 0:30:53 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Robert J. Orth IAN Seminar Series - July 2016 Chesapeake Bay support a diverse assemblage of 10-15 species of submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) whose distributions are generally constrained by salinity. Two species are found in the higher salinity areas with the remaining species found in the lower salinity and freshwater areas of the region. Because of their sensitivity to water quality changes, SAV are being used by resource managers as a sentinel group to reflect management efforts to improve water quality in this region.An annual aerial SAV monitoring program has been conducted throughout the Chesapeake Bay and the Delmarva Coastal Bays on an annual basis from 1984 through 2015, except for 1988. Black and white photography was acquired at a scale of 1:24,000, following acquisition timing guidelines that optimize visibility of SAV beds with digital imagery used in 2015. Approximately 170 flight lines were flown each year between May and October, yielding over 2,000 photographs or digital images.Since the 1984, SAV has exhibited long-term (decadal) increases and decreases, as well as some large, single-year changes. Current SAV coverage for almost all segments in the Chesapeake Bay remain below established restoration targets based on historical coverages for each region, indicating that SAV abundance and associated ecosystem services are currently limited by continued poor water quality, and more recently high summertime temperatures for species in the higher saline regions which also has the potential to alter the species distribution in this region. Results are used often in regulatory matters in the Bay, e.g. aquaculture permits,dredging, dock construction. The utility of the survey results are most important in the state regulatory hierarchy as the results are used to assess improving water quality conditions in the Bay. http://ian.umces.edu Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:37:22 -0400 0:33:04 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Brooke Landry IAN Seminar Series - July 2016 Since the early 1980s, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, with the support of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership, and with funding from the EPA and other local, state, and federal partners, has lead an annual Bay-wide SAV monitoring effort using data interpreted from aerial imagery integrated with ground survey data. The program has evolved over the past three decades to become the most successful large-scale, consistent, long-term SAV monitoring program in the world. Because of the program’s endurance and reliability of data, SAV scientists and managers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have grown to rely on the data for a variety of purposes. With that said, the ability to identify and secure diverse and sustainable sources of long-term funding for the program have not been successful in the past several years. The program itself has become more expensive over the years as the quantity of data and level of detail, accuracy, and staff expertise have increased, while simultaneously the number and diversity of funding partners has declined significantly over the life of the survey, with increased EPA funds making up the difference over the past decade. VIMS recently and successfully re-competed for the SAV aerial survey grant from the EPA and therefore has EPA funding for the next six years. They are, however, still short on funding from additional partners (it's set up as a cooperative agreement). The program is approximately $100,000 per year deficient in funds and under threat of ending if additional financial partners aren't secured. http://ian.umces.edu Thu, 07 Jul 2016 12:46:09 -0400 0:07:55 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Emily Majcher IAN Seminar Series - May 2016 The National Urban Waters Federal Partnership is comprised of 13 Federal Departments, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and U.S. Department of the Interior, among others. The Urban Waters Federal Partnership, formally launched in Baltimore in 2011, was developed to reconnect economically underserved urban communities with their waterways by improving coordination among federal agencies and organizations at all levels of government. The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency on the Baltimore Urban Waters Federal Partnership (BUWP). The BUWP has organized with many local agencies and organizations to develop plans and strategic actions in four topical areas with subcommittees for each over the last five years: (1) Local restoration and best management projects, (2) Spatial mapping information and tools, (3) The Green Pattern Book, and (4) Monitoring, modeling, and research. The goals of the Monitoring, Modeling, and Research topic subcommittee are to enhance communication between partners on monitoring needs, and provide technical leadership on water-related issues such as improved water quality, flood hazards, and water supply in urban areas. The subcommittee has hosted two workshops (summer 2014, late winter 2016) for the water monitoring community that inventoried monitoring assets in the Baltimore region and identified data gaps and provided recommendations for follow up. From these recommendations, a collaborative retrospective trends analysis project was proposed and funded to specifically address some of the high priority data gaps identified during the 2014 workshop. The 2016 workshop was organized to provide a feedback loop from researchers to practitioners in specific areas of interest identified via surveys of the attendants, and also to allow for feedback from jurisdictions to researchers and practitioners to identify areas of need and possible collaboration. http://ian.umces.edu Fri, 27 May 2016 14:06:29 -0400 0:23:36 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Caroline Donovan IAN Seminar Series - April 2016 Who’s willing to change their behaviors in the interest of Chesapeake Bay health? Limited by financial constraints, it may be ideal for watershed organizations to focus their stewardship and educational initiatives on actions most likely adopted by their constituents. The Bay Survey, hosted online between 2013-2015, asked participants questions about stewardship practices in and around their homes.  The survey found that more people are likely to plant a rain garden if provided with help financially; most people do not have a rain barrel, but those who do have them installed and hooked up; and, there is an equal likelihood people will install rain barrels as rain gardens at their home. These are just a few of the results that will be presented during this seminar. This presentation looks at the results of The Bay Survey in Maryland and compares the counties with the best return rates (Anne Arundel and Dorchester). http://ian.umces.edu Wed, 27 Apr 2016 13:18:04 -0400 0:17:17 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Doug Moyer IAN Seminar Series - March 2016 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as a partner of the Chesapeake Bay Program, is responsible for determining the extent to which nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads delivered to bay from the monitored-nontidal portions of the bay watershed. This is accomplished by analyzing water-quality observations from the nine River-Input Monitoring (RIM) stations to estimate nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment annual loads and trends using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS). The resulting trends in nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads are flow normalized to account for the year-to-year variation in river discharge; thus, the remaining trend is a result of changing sources, delays associated with storage or transport of historical inputs, and/or implemented reduction strategies.Long-term (1985-2014) trends in nitrogen loads indicate improving conditions at the 7 of 9 RIM stations, including the five largest rivers. The Choptank River is the only station whose data indicate degrading conditions. Short-term (2005-2014) trends in total nitrogen loads indicate improving conditions at only 3 stations and degrading conditions at 4 stations. Results from the Susquehanna and James stations indicate no discernable short-term trends. Long-term trends in total phosphorus loads indicate improving conditions at 4 stations and degrading conditions at another 4 stations. Short-term trends in total phosphorus loads indicate improving conditions at only the Potomac and Patuxent stations, degrading conditions at 4 stations, and no discernable change in conditions at the 3 remaining stations. http://ian.umces.edu Tue, 29 Mar 2016 11:41:28 -0400 0:12:51 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Doug Moyer IAN Seminar Series - March 2016 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as a partner of the Chesapeake Bay Program, is responsible for determining the extent to which nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads delivered to bay from the monitored-nontidal portions of the bay watershed. This is accomplished by analyzing water-quality observations from the nine River-Input Monitoring (RIM) stations to estimate nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment annual loads and trends using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS). The resulting trends in nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads are flow normalized to account for the year-to-year variation in river discharge; thus, the remaining trend is a result of changing sources, delays associated with storage or transport of historical inputs, and/or implemented reduction strategies.Nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads are showing measurable improvement at many locations across the bay watershed from 2005 to 2014. Trends in nitrogen loads are improving at 44 of 81 (54 percent) NTN stations analyzed. The median reduction in nitrogen load, for these 44 NTN stations, is 0.68 pounds per acre or 10 percent. Trends in phosphorus loads are improving at 41 of 60 (68 percent) NTN stations analyzed. The median reduction in phosphorus load, for these 41 NTN stations, is 0.11 pounds per acre or 24.7 percent. Trends in suspended-sediment loads are improving at 29 of 59 (49 percent) NTN stations analyzed. The medina reduction in suspended-sediment load, for these 29 NTN stations, is 221 pounds per acre or 29.4 percent. http://ian.umces.edu Tue, 29 Mar 2016 11:31:19 -0400 0:20:17 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Melissa K. McCormick IAN Seminar Series - February 2016 An introduced form of Phragmites australis, Common Reed, has exploded in abundance in wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay since the 1980s. Phragmites quickly turns diverse native wetlands into monocultures that provide poorer habitat for native fauna. We combined analysis of patterns of genetic variation in existing reed stands that established in association with a range of anthropogenic stressors with an experimental reed removal study to understand how other stressors affect Phragmites spread and how landscape factors may affect the success of management. We found that most Phragmites seeds establish within 100m of their source, while few disperse farther than 500m, indicating a scale for successful management. Dispersing seeds are more likely to establish near bulkheads and riprap than on unhardened shorelines. Because of the possibility of re-establishment of Phragmites in areas with nearby seed sources, management may be most successful when carried out at the whole subestuary scale and in subestuaries with few stands of non-native Phragmites. In eight sites where we attempted us remove Phragmites, six years has not been enough for native communities to re-establish, despite native seed banks present at each site. The sites with the greatest recovery have been those that are growing on solid substrate that retains integrity after reed has been removed. We are working to raise awareness of this significant invader and to develop management tools that can guide landowners and managers in developing guidelines for effective Phragmites management. http://ian.umces.edu Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:53:02 -0500 0:18:17 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Denise Breitburg IAN Seminar Series - February 2016 Details explaining a study done on the effects of land use and shoreline hardening on fish and crabs. http://ian.umces.edu Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:44:35 -0500 0:12:36 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Don Weller IAN Seminar Series - February 2016 We used two approaches to study the interactive effects of land use and shoreline armoring on submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Chesapeake Bay. One approach developed spatial-statistical models relating SAV abundance to land use and shoreline armoring. The models exploited bay-wide data on land cover, shoreline hardening, and decades of annual SAV mapping. The second approach was a field study of SAV abundance along transects extending offshore from natural and riprapped shorelines. Both approaches show that human land uses, especially cropland and developed land, and shoreline armoring can have negative impacts on SAV. However, the effects differ among salinity zones, probably because the dominant SAV species and associated stressor-response relationships also differ with salinity.• Local watershed land use affects subestuary SAV abundance, which is lower subestuaries with in watersheds dominated by agriculture or developed land.• Shoreline hardening can reduce SAV abundance. The effects differ among salinity zones and are strongest in the polyhaline. Bulkhead has stronger effects than riprap• Shoreline hardening has more impact on SAV in subestuaries with healthy watersheds. Shoreline effects are weaker where development or agriculture already limit SAV.• Natural shorelines are not all equal. Forested shorelines are positively related to adjacentSAV abundance, but shoreline marsh has a negative effect, possibly by promoting peat or mud.• Stressor impacts differ among SAV species and salinity zones, and different SAV communities may need different management strategies! http://ian.umces.edu Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:35:50 -0500 0:19:12 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Tom Jordan IAN Seminar Series - February 2016 As part of a larger study of multiple stressors in near-shore habitats, we measured water quality in 50 mid-Atlantic coastal bays and sub-estuaries. Total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations in estuarine water increased with the percentage of cropland in the watershed. Total nitrogen concentration also increased with the percentage of developed land but not as steeply as with cropland. Chlorophyll a concentrations increased at similar rates with increase in either developed or urban land. The land use composition of the local watershed clearly affected water quality in the bays and sub-estuaries, indicating that local efforts to reduce nutrient pollution will be needed to improve water quality. In 11 sub-estuaries we also analyzed mercury and organic contaminants in fish tissues. Some organic pollutants in fish, such as PCBs and pesticides, increased with developed land in the local watershed, depending on fish species, while some agricultural pesticides were associated with cropland. In contrast, mercury in fish decreased with developed land and increased with the percentage of marsh shoreline, suggesting an atmospheric source for mercury and enhanced mercury methylation in marshes. http://ian.umces.edu Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:00:10 -0500 0:12:50 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Sarah Wilkins IAN Seminar Series - November 2015 The Chesapeake Bay Sentinel Site Cooperative (CBSSC) is a partnership among local, state and federal agencies as well as academic institutions, non-profit organizations, local communities and regional organizations. The Cooperative brings together experts from scientific, resource management, and environmental stewardship organizations to inform local management decisions relating to coastal flooding and sea level rise. The CBSSC is made up of six core ecological Sentinel Sites each collecting long-term data including marsh elevation, water levels, water quality, and vegetation type and distribution. The Cooperative also connects to and relies on broader observing networks such as the National Water Level Observation Network, or NWLON, and the Virginia Estuarine and Coastal Observing System (VECOS). The CBSSC strives to better coordinate existing resources among partners while reducing redundancy and increasing effectiveness in understanding sea level rise and coastal flooding. A cooperative, by definition, is jointly owned and run by its members, who share in the mutual benefits generated from collaborative work. By using this collaborative model, the hope is to bring both traditional and non-traditional partners together around the common issue of flooding and sea level rise to better understand and mitigate the impacts to both the natural environment and coastal communities. http://ian.umces.edu Fri, 06 Nov 2015 10:37:30 -0500 0:13:30 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Caroline Donovan IAN Seminar Series - September 2015 The overall health of Chesapeake Bay improved in 2014, with significantly improving trends in both total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the Bay. Overall, the tidal waters of the Chesapeake scored a C (50%), which was up from the previous year’s score of 45% (also a C). The 2014 overall score of 50%, a C, is considered moderate health. The improvement in the overall score is due to improved nutrient scores (lower amounts of nutrients in the water column) and improved aquatic grasses scores. While not part of the overall grade, fisheries indicators and a climate change resilience index were also part of the 2014 Chesapeake Bay report card. Methods and results of these indicators, as well as the new report card website, will be reviewed during this presentation.   http://ian.umces.edu Wed, 30 Sep 2015 11:35:31 -0400 0:15:15 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Anna Mathis IAN Seminar Series - August 2015 As the Chesapeake Bay Program begins a multi-year effort to increase data available for tracking Bay restoration progress by incorporating citizen science into the CBP monitoring network, this presentation highlights Virginia’s example of a similar effort on a state level. In 2003, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality developed a quality assurance program that uses a tiered approach to allow the agency to use non-agency data to assess water quality while meeting both agency and volunteer group needs. The presentation also includes an introduction to two successful statewide volunteer monitoring programs in Virginia: the River Trends program of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and the Virginia Save Our Streams program of the Izaak Walton League of America. http://ian.umces.edu Tue, 25 Aug 2015 11:28:59 -0400 0:21:51 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Peter Claggett IAN Seminar Series - May 2015 http://ian.umces.edu Tue, 05 May 2015 14:57:49 -0400 0:12:26 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Anne Bowser IAN Seminar Series - April 2015 Anne presents an overview of citizen science and crowdsourcing in federal agencies. The Commons Lab Inventory, led by the Anne, is a collection of federally supported citizen science and crowdsourcing projects. She also presents her work on STIP's Serious Games, in which she supports the activities to the Federal Gaming Guild (FGG), and how she is writing a report on serious games for publication this summer. http://ian.umces.edu Wed, 01 Apr 2015 09:58:28 -0400 0:14:29 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Olivia Devereux IAN Seminar Series - March 2015 Olivia will show how the Chesapeake Bay Program's decision support tools are used to develop local TMDLs and TMDL implementation plans. These decision support tools include CAST and BayFAST and the state-specific tools of MAST (Maryland) and VAST (Virginia). She will show examples of how the tools may be used to demonstrate the ability to comply with permit requirements related to nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads as well as demonstrate costs associated with plans.  http://ian.umces.edu Wed, 04 Mar 2015 11:20:01 -0500 0:12:25 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Eric Davidson IAN Seminar Series - January 2015 More than half of the people in the world are nourished by crops grown with synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers.  However, more than a billion people are still undernourished, and global population will increase by 2-3 billion by 2050, which means that demand for N fertilizers is likely to grow.  Unfortunately, unintended adverse environmental and human health consequences of reactive N escaping agricultural fields are occurring as groundwater contamination, eutrophication of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems, atmospheric pollutants related to nitrogen oxides and ammonia gas emissions, and accumulation of the potent greenhouse gas and stratospheric ozone depleting substance, nitrous oxide.   An alternative to increasing fertilizer-N use proportionately to the increase in food demand is to improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in agriculture.  I will present preliminary results from an analysis of trends in NUE from 1961 to 2011 for 129 countries, demonstrating the importance of both crop mix and policy.  In the USA, NUE is gradually increasing while harvest yield also increases, although considerable room for improvement remains, such as better coordination among conservation and retail communities.  Retailers and crop advisors are usually farmers’ most trusted sources of information, so their engagement is crucial for NUE improvement efforts.  An example of a partial success story in Nebraska illustrates the importance of tailoring regulatory and outreach approaches to local conditions, administered by local units.  A relatively simple benchmarking system for tracking NUE progress is proposed. http://ian.umces.edu Thu, 29 Jan 2015 11:03:49 -0500 0:15:40 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Raymond Najjar IAN Seminar Series - December 2014 Dr. Raymond Najjar, from the Department of Meteorology at the Pennsylvania State University, presents research on climate change and how it will affect Bay restoration. http://ian.umces.edu Thu, 11 Dec 2014 09:07:22 -0500 0:17:30 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Todd Petty IAN Seminar Series - December 2014 A recent assessment of stream habitat conditions was used to construct a model f brook trout distributions throughout their native range in the Chesapeake Bay. Our approach uses very large datasets and machine learning statistics to quantify conditions at the stream segment level (64,000 stream segments) and accumulated conditions at the watershed scale. Through this assessment we are able to quantify current conditions, likely historic conditions in the absence of stress, and stream-to-stream level measures of stress associated with mining, agriculture, and urbanization. Model results are then integrated into a web-based GIS modeling tool that can be used for interactive visualization, conservation prioritization, and quantitative scenario analysis. When coupled with climate change predictions and large river species models, the brook trout will provide a powerful means for optimizing restoration actions that will produce measurable benefits to stream habitats and fish populations throughout the bay watershed. http://ian.umces.edu Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:07:23 -0500 0:16:36 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Bruce Vogt IAN Seminar Series - November 2014 The Delmarva/Choptank River Complex, which includes the Choptank and Little Choptank Rivers, is located on Maryland's Eastern Shore. This area is a treasured part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, representing critical habitat for spawning striped bass and river herring, as well as historically abundant oyster reefs. Residents of the watershed, including many families who have lived there for multiple generations, have traditionally been employed in agriculture or commercial fishing. But time are changing in the region. Continued human population growth and land development threaten key habitats for fish and aquatic resources. The historical loss of wetlands in the upper Choptank River subwatershed is estimated to be 47,400 acres, approximately 11% of the total watershed area. Climate change and sea level rise, combined with land subsidence, further threaten losses of nearshore marshes and coastal environments. While the rivers and Bay have supported major annual seafood harvests in previous years, fishery resources are at risk. By designing the Choptank Complex as a Habitat Focus Area, NOAA will concentrate agency resources and leverage the many activities already under way in this watershed to improve and sustain ecological health. http://ian.umces.edu Mon, 03 Nov 2014 09:33:45 -0500 0:14:42 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN Nick Salafsky IAN Seminar Series - October 2014 This talk describes how the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservations provides a common framework for designing, managing, monitoring, and learning from conservation projects and programs that have been developed and adopted by some of the world's leading conservation organizations and agencies. http://ian.umces.edu Tue, 07 Oct 2014 13:35:28 -0400 0:15:15 environment, ecology, management, restoration, research, monitoring, IAN