Ben Fertig

Full author list: Harris, L.A., Grayson, T., Heckles, H.A., Emrich, C.T., Lewis, K.A., Grimes, K.W., Williamson, S., Garza, C., Whitcraft, C.R., Beseres Pollack, J., Talley, D.M., Fertig, B., Palinkas, C.M., Park, S., Vaudrey, J.M.P., Fitzgerald, A.M., Quispe, J.

For most of the scientific disciplines associated with coastal and estuarine research, workforce representation does not match the demographics of communities we serve, especially for Black, Hispanic or Latino, and Indigenous… Show more

Full author list: Harris, L.A., Grayson, T., Heckles, H.A., Emrich, C.T., Lewis, K.A., Grimes, K.W., Williamson, S., Garza, C., Whitcraft, C.R., Beseres Pollack, J., Talley, D.M., Fertig, B., Palinkas, C.M., Park, S., Vaudrey, J.M.P., Fitzgerald, A.M., Quispe, J.

For most of the scientific disciplines associated with coastal and estuarine research, workforce representation does not match the demographics of communities we serve, especially for Black, Hispanic or Latino, and Indigenous peoples. This essay provides an overview of this inequity and identifies how a scientific society can catalyze representational, structural, and interactional diversity to achieve greater inclusion. Needed changes go beyond representational diversity and require an intentional commit- ment to build capacity through inclusivity and community engagement by supporting anti-racist policies and actions. We want to realize a sense of belonging on the part of scientists in society at large and enable research pursuits through a lens of social justice in service of coastal communities. Minimally, this framework offers an avenue for increased recruitment of individuals from more diverse racial and ethnic identities. More broadly, the mechanisms described here aim to create a culture in scientific societies in which social justice, driven by anti-racist actions, produces systemic change in how members of scientific societies approach, discuss, and address issues of inequity. We have written this essay for members of the coastal and marine science community who are interested in change. We aim to call in new voices, allies, and champions to this work. Show less

Holistic understanding of estuarine and coastal environments across interacting domains with high-dimensional complexity can profitably be approached through data-centric synthesis studies. Synthesis has been defined as "the inferential process whereby new models are developed from analysis of multiple data sets to explain observed patterns across a range of time and space scales." Examples include ecological—across ecosystem components or organization levels, spatial—across spatial scales or… Show more

Holistic understanding of estuarine and coastal environments across interacting domains with high-dimensional complexity can profitably be approached through data-centric synthesis studies. Synthesis has been defined as "the inferential process whereby new models are developed from analysis of multiple data sets to explain observed patterns across a range of time and space scales." Examples include ecological—across ecosystem components or organization levels, spatial—across spatial scales or multiple ecosystems, and temporal—across temporal scales. Though data quantity and volume are increasingly accessible, infrastructures for data sharing, management, and integration remain fractured. Integrating heterogeneous data sets is difficult yet critical. Technological and cultural obstacles hamper finding, accessing, and integrating data to answer scientific and policy questions. To investigate synthesis within the estuarine and coastal science community, we held a workshop at a coastal and estuarine research federation conference and conducted two case studies involving synthesis science. The workshop indicated that data-centric synthesis approaches are valuable for (1) hypothesis testing, (2) baseline monitoring, (3) historical
perspectives, and (4) forecasting. Case studies revealed important weaknesses in current data infrastructures and highlighted opportunities for ecological synthesis science. Here, we list requirements for a coastal and estuarine data infrastructure. We model data needs and suggest directions for moving forward. For example, we propose developing community standards, accommodating and integrating big and small data (e.g., sensor feeds and single data sets), and
digitizing ‘dark data’ (inaccessible, non-curated, non-archived data potentially destroyed when researchers leave science). Show less

This study identified drivers of change in Barnegat Bay–Little Egg Harbor Estuary, NJ, USA over multiple long-term time periods by developing an assessment tool (an “Eutrophication Index”) capable of handling data gaps and identifying the condition of and relationships between ecosystem pressures, ecosystem state, and biotic responses. The Eutrophication Index integrates 15 indicators in 3 components: (1) water quality, (2) light availability, and (3) seagrass response. Annual quantitative… Show more

This study identified drivers of change in Barnegat Bay–Little Egg Harbor Estuary, NJ, USA over multiple long-term time periods by developing an assessment tool (an “Eutrophication Index”) capable of handling data gaps and identifying the condition of and relationships between ecosystem pressures, ecosystem state, and biotic responses. The Eutrophication Index integrates 15 indicators in 3 components: (1) water quality, (2) light availability, and (3) seagrass response. Annual quantitative assessments of condition and its consistency for three geographic segments range from 0 (highly degraded) to 100 (excellent condition). Eutrophication Index values significantly declined (p < 0.05) by 34 and 36 % in central and south segments from 73 and 71 in the early 1990s to 48 and 45 in 2010, respectively. Ongoing declines despite periods of improvement (e.g., 1989–1992, 1996–2002, and 2006–2008) suggest these estuarine seg- ments are currently undergoing eutrophication. The north segment had highest nutrient loading and lowest Eutrophication Index values (2010 Eutrophication Index val- ue=37) but increased over time (from 14 in 1991 to 50 in 2009) in contrast to trends in central and south segments. Rapid initial declines of Eutrophication Index values with increasing loading highlight that the estuary is sensitive to loading. Ecosystem response to total nutrient loading, as described by the Index of Eutrophication, exhibited nonline- arity at loading rates of >1,200 and <5,000 kg TN km−2 year−1 and >100 and <250 kg TP km−2 year−1, values similar to responses of seagrass to nutrient loading in many ecosystems. While nutrient loading is initially a critical driver of ecosystem change, other factors, e.g., light availability and drive ecosys- tem condition, yield nonlinearity. Empirical evidence for switches in the driving factors of ecosystem stress adds com- plexity to the conceptualization of ecosystem resiliency due to feedback from multiple dynamic, nonlinear stressors. Show less

Stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes (ı15N and ı13C) and elemental content (% nitrogen, % carbon) in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) grown by a network of 132 citizen–scientists (11,600 km2 , 87.9 km2 site−1 ) were examined to test effects of land use, salinity, flushing time, and oyster size on bioindication of human and/or animal nitrogen sources. Oyster ı15N sampled from shallow waters sites throughout Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries exhibited nested spatial patterns: (1) decreasing toward… Show more

Stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes (ı15N and ı13C) and elemental content (% nitrogen, % carbon) in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) grown by a network of 132 citizen–scientists (11,600 km2 , 87.9 km2 site−1 ) were examined to test effects of land use, salinity, flushing time, and oyster size on bioindication of human and/or animal nitrogen sources. Oyster ı15N sampled from shallow waters sites throughout Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries exhibited nested spatial patterns: (1) decreasing toward the mouth of Chesapeake Bay (1000s km2 ) and (2) decreasing, increasing, and not changing toward tributary mouths (100s km2 ). Distinct isotopic ‘signatures’ in tributaries were associated with the composition of land use, water quality in tributaries and freshwater streams, human and/or animal nitrogen sources, and marine vs. terrestrial nitrogen and carbon sources. Yet at 1000s km2 , oyster ı15 N varied with flushing time, salinity, and bioindi- cator size, thus constraining the upper extent for inferring nitrogen sources from bioindicator ı15N to the scale of gradients in these confounding physical and biological factors. Nevertheless, at 100s km2 isotopic ‘signatures’ can be used to infer nutrient sources and transport mechanisms and might have implications for fishery management/enforcement. Ultimately, ı15 N and ı13 C in bioindicators distributed to citizen–scientists may add substantial value to existing and ongoing programs, networks, monitoring and databases, and might have some use for imputing data gaps where intensive water quality monitoring is lacking. Show less

With the increasing appreciation that sea grass habitats are in global decline, there is a great need to be able to efficiently and effectively assess and characterize the status and trends of seagrass in our coastal ecosystems. This paper examines the utility of remotely sensed vs. in situ plot-based monitoring using the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor (BB-LEH), New Jersey, USA estuarine system as a case study. Eelgrass (Z. marina) is the dominant species, while widgeon grass (R. maritima) is… Show more

With the increasing appreciation that sea grass habitats are in global decline, there is a great need to be able to efficiently and effectively assess and characterize the status and trends of seagrass in our coastal ecosystems. This paper examines the utility of remotely sensed vs. in situ plot-based monitoring using the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor (BB-LEH), New Jersey, USA estuarine system as a case study. Eelgrass (Z. marina) is the dominant species, while widgeon grass (R. maritima) is also common in lower salinity regions of the BB-LEH. Aerial imagery collected during the months of July & August 2009 was interpreted & mapped using object based image analysis techniques, similar to techniques used in the 2003 mapping survey of this system. Boat-based in situ monitoring data were collected concurrently with aerial photography to assist image interpretation & for an independent accuracy assessment. We compared the remotely-sensed mapping of seagrass cover change (in 2003 vs. 2009) vs. in situ plot-based monitoring conducted from 2004-2009. Comparison of the remotely-sensed vs. the in situ plot-change analysis suggests that the two methodologies had broadly similarly results, with the % area showing declines in seagrass cover greater than those that exhibited increases. The two studies provide corroborating evidence that seagrass has declined in percent cover in the BB-LEH system during the decade of the 2000’s. While remotely-sensed surveys provide synoptic information for a “big picture” view on sea grass distribution, site specific in situ sampling is needed to determine other aspects of sea grass status, e.g. above vs. below-ground biomass, blade length, shoot density, epiphytic loading, etc. Each method gives an incomplete picture. To fully characterize the spatial extent, health, and density of sea grass meadows across the entire estuary, combining remote sensing surveys concomitantly with comprehensive in situ assessment provides the most robust approach. Show less

The Tuckerton Peninsula forms a large expanse (~2,000 ha) of highly inundated Spartina alterniflora salt marsh habitat along the southern New Jersey coast. Temporal and spatial changes in emergent salt marsh vegetation were characterized in three segments (northern, central, and southern) of the peninsula as part of a larger investigation to establish this salt marsh system as a sentinel site to assess future climate change effects in New Jersey. Monthly quadrat sampling at 90 plots along 9… Show more

The Tuckerton Peninsula forms a large expanse (~2,000 ha) of highly inundated Spartina alterniflora salt marsh habitat along the southern New Jersey coast. Temporal and spatial changes in emergent salt marsh vegetation were characterized in three segments (northern, central, and southern) of the peninsula as part of a larger investigation to establish this salt marsh system as a sentinel site to assess future climate change effects in New Jersey. Monthly quadrat sampling at 90 plots along 9 transects in the peninsula during the June–September period in 2011 recorded 7 species of marsh plants (Spartina alterniflora, S. patens, Distichlis spicata, Salicornia spp., Limonium carolinianum, Morus rubra, and Symphyotricum tenuifolium). Measurements collected on maximum canopy height, shoot density, and percent areal cover of the marsh plant community in the heavily ditched northern segment were compared to those of the marsh plant communities in the shoreline-altered southern segment and the less impacted central reference segment. In general, species com- position was similar between segments, and no significant differences were found in maximum canopy height or percent cover for any individual species, though shoot density of S. alterniflora varied by location. Spartina alterniflora was the dominant species. For all species combined, maximum canopy height was higher and percent cover lower in the heavily ditched northern segment than in the other segments. Significant differences were found between the northern and central segments for all of the three variables. Changes occurring in the demographic and ecological characteristics of the emergent salt marsh habitat in the peninsula are important for understanding future habitat change in other coastal wetlands of New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic region subjected to rising sea level and inundation. Show less