Restoration of Aquatic Systems (Marine Science Series)

478 Pages·2005·7.72 MB·English

by  Robert J. Livingston

Restoration of Aquatic Systems
Marine Science Series
The CRC Marine Science Series is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art coverage of
important topics in marine biology, marine chemistry, marine geology, and physical
oceanography. The series includes volumes that focus on the synthesis of recent advances
in marine science.
CRC MARINE SCIENCE SERIES
SERIES EDITOR
Michael J.Kennish, Ph.D.
PUBLISHED TlTLES
Artificial Reef Evaluation with Application to Natural Marine Habitats, William Seaman,
Jr.
The Biology of Sea Turtles, Volume I, Peter L.Lutz and John A.Musick
Chemical Oceanography, Second Edition, Frank J.Millero
Coastal Ecosystem Processes, Daniel M.Alongi
Ecology of Estuaries: Anthropogenic Effects, Michael J.Kennish
Ecology of Marine Bivalves: An Ecosystem Approach, Richard F.Dame
Ecology of Marine Invertebrate Larvae, Larry McEdward
Ecology of Seashores, George A.Knox
Environmental Oceanography, Second Edition, Tom Beer
Estuarine Indicators, Stephen A.Bortone
Estuarine Research, Monitoring, and Resource Protection, Michael J.Kennish
Estuary Restoration and Maintenance: The National Estuary Program, Michael
J.Kennish
Eutrophication Processes in Coastal Systems: Origin and Succession of Plankton Blooms
and Effects on Secondary Production in Gulf Coast Estuaries, Robert J.Livingston
Handbook of Marine Mineral Deposits, David S.Cronan
Handbook for Restoring Tidal Wetlands, Joy B.Zedler
Intertidal Deposits: River Mouths, Tidal Flats, and Coastal Lagoons, Doeke Eisma
Marine Chemical Ecology, James B.McClintock and Bill J.Baker
Morphodynamics of Inner Continental Shelves, L.Donelson Wright
Ocean Pollution: Effects on Living Resources and Humans, Carl J.Sindermann
Physical Oceanographic Processes of the Great Barrier Reef, Eric Wolanski
The Physiology of Fishes, Second Edition, David H.Evans
Pollution Impacts on Marine Biotic Communities, Michael J.Kennish
Practical Handbook of Estuarine and Marine Pollution, Michael J.Kennish
Practical Handbook of Marine Science, Third Edition, Michael J.Kennish
Seagrasses: Monitoring, Ecology, Physiology, and Management, Stephen A.Bortone
Trophic Organization in Coastal Systems, Robert J.Livingston
Restoration of Aquatic Systems
Robert J.Livingston
Director
Center for Aquatic Research and Resource Management
Florida State University
Tallahassee

Boca Raton London New York Singapore
A CRC title, part of the Taylor & Francis imprint, a member of
the
Taylor & Francis Group, the academic division of T&F Informa
plc.
Published in 2006 by CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW,
Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487–2742
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of
thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/.”
No claim to original U.S. Government works
ISBN 0-203-49253-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-61505-0 (Adobe e-Reader Format)
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-8493-1966-8 (Print Edition) (Hardcover)
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-8493-1966-2 (Print Edition) (Hardcover)
Library of Congress Card Number 2004064948
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted
material is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are
listed. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author
and the publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the
consequences of their use.
No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying,
microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written
permission from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access
http://www.copyright.com/ (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance
Center, Inc. (CCC) 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978–750–8400. CCC is a not-for-
profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations
that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been
arranged.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and
are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Livingston, Robert J. Restoration of aquatic systems/by Robert J.Livingston. p. cm.—(Marine
science series) Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. ISBN 0-8493-1966-8
Restoration ecology—Florida. 2. Aquatic ecology—Florida. 3. Wildlife habitat improvement—
Florida. I. Title. II. Series. QH105.F6L582 2005 639.9—dc22 2004064948

Taylor & Francis Group is the Academic Division of T&F Informa plc.
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com
“The road to Perdition is paved with good intentions.”
—Unattributed aphorism
“Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons
released by vegetation, so let’s not go overboard in setting and enforcing
tough emission standards from man-made sources.”
—Ronald Reagan
“No witchcraft, no enemy action had silenced the re-birth of new life in
this stricken world. The people had done it themselves.”
—Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
“A vast and destructive algae bloom has floated out of the backcountry
and settled near Islamorada. … Crossing the tall arch to Long Key, you
noticed a foul-looking stain stretching gulfward to the horizon. What you
saw is Florida Bay dying.”
—Carl Hiaasen, Miami Herald, 1993
“It sounds like a bad 1950s science fiction movie: ugly green slime
spreading through the sea, killing fish and threatening children and
animals that swim in the water. But experts say this scenario could
become reality in the Baltic, the world’s largest brackish water sea…”
—Nina Garlo, Reuters article, 2003
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Collectively, the restoration effort is billed as the nation’s premier
watershed restoration program and is billed as a model for estuarine
restoration programs worldwide. All the while, decades pass and the
Bay’s most basic environmental indicators suggest little if any sustained
improvement…. As the region’s political system continues to grapple
with environmental protection, it is important not to adjust environmental
goals to reflect ‘political realities’ or to grow content with hollow
‘successes’ that fail to reflect tangible environmental improvements.”
—Howard R.Ernst, Chesapeake Blues, 2003

Preface
The research effort on which this book is based has involved continuous analyses of
various river-estuarine and coastal systems in the southeastern United States since 1970.
These long-term studies have been carried out using a combination of field descriptive
and experimental (lab and field) approaches. The research team for this work has
included field collection personnel, chemists, taxonomists, experimental biologists,
physical oceanographers, hydrological engineers, statisticians, computer programmers,
and modelers. A long-term, interdisciplinary, comparative database has been created that
is currently being published in a series of books and peer-reviewed scientific journals.
This program has been used to evaluate system-level processes that determine the effects
of nutrient loading and nutrient dynamics on phytoplankton/benthic macrophyte
productivity and associated food web responses. Efforts have been made to determine
how human activities affect these processes. The emphasis of the research has been on
seasonal and interannual trophic response to habitat changes and an evaluation of the
interrelationships of cultural eutrophication and toxic substances on secondary
production. This research is currently being used to develop realistic indices of ecosystem
condition and determine restoration methods.
This book includes several features that have been integrated using the ecosystem
evaluations to determine the efficacy of habitat rehabilitation. In addition, information
regarding the way in which the scientific data have been reported by American news
media and the public response to such information have also been analyzed. The long-
term database (Table 1) has thus been used as objective background material for an
evaluation of the efficacy of the restoration process. The various components of the
restoration of damaged aquatic systems are not restricted to the scientific effort. Other
factors include economic and political interests, information dissemination, public
response, and the complex synergism that goes into controversial environmental issues.
This book is thus concerned with just how effective the restoration process becomes as a
product of a complex mixture of competing interests. The primary emphasis is on the
relationship of scientific research to the rehabilitation of aquatic habitats.
Table 1 Field/Experimental Effort of the Florida
State University Research Group from 1970 to
2004
System Met. PC LC POL PHYT SAV ZOO INFA INV FIS FW NL NR
OPL PL UNA HES
North Florida 35 14 14 5 6 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 1
Lakes
Apalachicola 85 17 2 2 1 1 1 8 14 14 8 2 nd
System
Apalachee Bay 50 26 12 2 5 15 3 2 18 19 26 3 1
Perdido River- 50 16 16 3 13 3 3 16 16 16 16 16 1
Bay
Pensacola Bay 30 1.5 1.5 1 1.5 nd 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 nd
System
Blackwater-East 4 1.5 1.5 1 nd 1 nd 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 nd
Bay System
Escatawpa 5 2 2 2 nd nd nd 2 2 2 nd nd nd
System
Choctawhatchee 30 4 4 2 2 1 2 4 4 4 2 2 nd
River-Bay
Mobile River 3 2 2 2 nd nd nd 2 2 2 nd nd nd
Estuary
Nassau-Amelia 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 2 1 1 2 nd 1
Estuaries
Sampit River- 5 4 4 4 nd nd nd 4 2 2 nd nd nd
Winyah Bay
System
Met.=river flow, rainfall.
PC=salinity, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, oxygen anomaly, pH, depth, Secchi.
LC=NH, NO, NO TIN, PON, DON, TON, TN, PO , TDP, TIP, POP, DOP, TOP, TP, DOC, POC,
3 2 3, 4
TOC, IC, TIC, TC, BOD, silicate, TSS, TDS, DIM, DOM, POM, PIM, NCASI color, turbidity,
chlorophyll a, b, c, sulfide.
POL=water/sediment pollutants (pesticides, metals, PAH).
PHYTOPL=whole water and/or net phytoplankton.
SAV=submerged aquatic vegetation.
ZOOPL.=net zooplankton.
INFAUNA=infaunal macroinvertebrates taken with cores and/or ponars.
INV=invertebrates taken with seines (freshwater) and otter trawls (bay).
FISHES=fishes taken with seines (freshwater) and otter trawls (bay).
FW=food web transformations.
NL=nutrient loading.
NR=nutrient limitation experiments,
nd=no data.