Waquoit Bay = National Estuarine Research Reserve

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ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING at WBNERR

Environmental monitoring is one of the Reserve=E2=80=99s major = activities. Its purpose is to provide a ready source of critical = information=20 about past and present environmental conditions within or adjacent = to the=20 Reserve.

The National Estuarine Research = System-Wide=20 Monitoring Program
SWMP is an acronym that stands for = the NERR=20 System-Wide Monitoring program, and is coordinated with all 27 = NERRs=20 across the country. It has two major purposes: 1) to provide a way = to=20 identify and track short-term variability and long-term changes to = the=20 integrity of each Reserve=E2=80=99s estuarine ecosystem and = coastal watershed, and=20 2) to serve as the =E2=80=9Chard-wired=E2=80=9D framework for each = Reserve=E2=80=99s natural=20 estuarine laboratory, supplying real-time and archived physical = and=20 biological information to Reserve staff, visiting researchers, and = surrounding communities, and wider audiences via the internet. = SWMP=20 currently has two main components:

SWMP Abiotic Variables
Water: continuous = 15-minute=20 measurements at four long-term monitoring stations. The parameters = measured using YSI 6600 data loggers are water temperature, = conductivity,=20 salinity, dissolved oxygen, water level, pH, turbidity, and = fluorescence=20 (or optical chlorophyll a).

Meteorology: continuous = 15-minute=20 measurements at one station. The parameters measured are air = temperature,=20 relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction,=20 precipitation, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and = total=20 solar radiation (TSR).

Nutrients. Monthly collections are = made at=20 four long-term monitoring stations, and one diel (~25-hr) set is = made at=20 one of these stations. The parameters measured are nitrite, = nitrate,=20 nitrite + nitrate, ammonium, total dissolved nitrogen, particulate = nitrogen and carbon, dissolved inorganic phosphorus, and=20 chlorophyll.

SWMP Biotic = Variables:
a.Salt=20 Marsh Vegetation Survey, 2004 (GIS format).
b.Submerged Aquatic = Vegetation (SAV) and Macroalgae (MAL) Survey 2004, 2007 (GIS = format)

BayWatchers =E2=80=93 BayWatchers = is a volunteer=20 staffed water quality monitoring program managed by the Reserve = and begun=20 in 1993. Each of the 9 sites throughout the bay and its = tributaries is=20 sampled for dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature (air and = water), water=20 clarity, chlorophyll and nutrients. All sites are monitored once a = month=20 in the winter (October-May) and twice a month in the summer=20 (June-September).

CoastWatchers =E2=80=93 = CoastWatchers is a volunteer=20 staffed shoreline change monitoring program managed by the Reserve = and=20 begun in 2000. The program makes orthogonal (perpendicular to the = trend of=20 the shoreline) measurements at 76 stations (200 feet apart) along = the 3=20 miles of Reserve=E2=80=99s Vineyard Sound coastline. Recorded = every two months=20 from October through April (four times annually), are the = horizontal=20 positions of the foredune crest, the seaward vegetation limit, the = active=20 berm crest and the toe of the foreshore. Vertical profiles are = also made=20 at 19 of the sites every 4th or 5th station.

Threatened/Endangered Species = =E2=80=93 Threatened=20 and endangered species are present throughout the Reserve. Every = spring,=20 Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) appear on the beaches = of=20 Washburn Island, South Cape Beach, and neighboring Popponesett = beach. The=20 Reserve=E2=80=99s seasonal Shorebird Manager and trained = volunteers monitor the=20 beaches and erect symbolic fencing to protect the Plovers. Other = monitored=20 species include the Roseate Tern, Least Tern, Common Tern, = Willets, and=20 American Oyster Catchers. Monitoring programs are also in place = for rare,=20 endangered or state listed plants, including Northern Blazing Star = (Liatris borealis) and Sandplain Gerardia (Agalinus=20 acuta).

Stewardship Monitoring =E2=80=93 = WBNERR=E2=80=99s Stewardship=20 Program conducts additional monitoring programs to inventory, = evaluate the=20 status of, and track changes in the valuable natural resources = within the=20 Waquoit Bay watershed. Examples include long-term resource = monitoring=20 programs of amphibians, aquatic insects, stream and salt marsh = fish,=20 vernal pool habitats, and visitor use impacts to natural = vegetation.

Collaborative and external monitoring=20 programs =E2=80=93 A number of long=E2=80=93term monitoring = datasets within Waquoit=20 Bay have been generated by visiting researchers and governmental = agencies=20 independently or in collaboration with the Reserve. Biotic = measurements=20 include marine fish species, plankton, horseshoe crab and other = crab=20 species, macroalage and eelgrass populations, salt marsh = invertebrates.=20 Abiotic measurements include a USGS stream gauge on the Quashnet = River,=20 groundwater height and other meteorological and water quality = information.=20

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Waquoit=20 Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve PO = Box=20 3092, 149 Waquoit Highway Waquoit, MA 02536
P:=20 508.457.0495 F:=20 617.727.5537 Waquoit.Bay@state.ma.us