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2001 Progress Report: A Western Center for Estuarine Indicators Research which will Develop Indicators of Wetlands Ecosystem Health
EPA Grant Number: R828676Center: Pacific Estuarine Ecosystem Indicator Research (PEEIR) Consortium
Center Director: Anderson, Susan L.
Title: A Western Center for Estuarine Indicators Research which will Develop Indicators of Wetlands Ecosystem Health
Investigators: Anderson, Susan L. , Cherr, Gary N. , Higashi, Richard M. , Morgan, Steven , Nisbet, Roger M. , Ustin, Susan L.
Current Investigators: Anderson, Susan L. , Allen, John , Bennett, Bill , Brooks, Andrew , Carr, Robert Scott , Cherr, Gary N. , Fujiwara, Masami , Green, Peter , Grosholz, Edwin , Hwang, Hyun-Min , Kendall, Bruce E. , Morgan, Steven , Murdoch, William W. , Nisbet, Roger M. , Ogle, Scott , Pawley, Anitra , Rose, Wendy , Stewart-Oaten, Allan , Swanson, Christina , Vorster, Peter
Institution: University of California - Davis
Current Institution: University of California - Davis , Pacific EcoRisk , The Bay Institute , U.S. Geological Survey , University of California - Santa Barbara , University of California - Santa Cruz
EPA Project Officer: Levinson, Barbara
Project Period: October 1, 2000 through September 30, 2004
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 2000 through September 30, 2001
Project Amount: $5,998,221
RFA: Environmental Indicators in the Estuarine Environment Research Program (2000)
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration
Description:
Objective:The objective of this research project is to develop indicators of wetland ecosystem health through evaluations of stressor-response patterns in wetland biota. An integrated suite of indicators is being developed to evaluate impacts of four types of stressors that are known to impair California wetlands. These stressors include: toxic contaminants, nutrient enrichment, microbial contamination, and exotic species invasions. The PEEIR program is highly integrated with more than 30 investigators working across levels of biological organization, trophic structure, life stage, time, biogeographic and disciplinary boundaries. Indicators will be expressed as simple data aggregations, as well as either more complex models or statistical expressions of overall ecosystem health. Progress Summary:
Preliminary Sampling and Sampling Design
A major accomplishment of the first year is successful completion of preliminary sampling at all Northern and Southern California sites, as well as the refinement of the sampling design. This year, seven study sites were selected in northern and southern California, including Walker Creek and Toms Point in Tomales Bay, Stege Marsh and China Camp in San Francisco Bay, Morro Bay, Carpinteria Marsh, and Mugu Lagoon. The sites span biogeographic boundaries, and the estuaries vary morphologically, providing a good test of the reliability of the indicators to assess wetland integrity across diverse environments. Work has begun to: (1) census the full spectrum of wetland communities, including microbes, plants, invertebrates, fishes, birds and parasites; and (2) characterize the sites for nutrient and toxic contaminants.
The development of indicators critically depends on: (1) the initial establishment of an overarching sampling design that fully integrates the research of each of the five components of the project; (2) the vertical integration of investigations into the effects of contaminants on the wetland ecosystems, beginning with their bioavailability and working up the levels of biological organization from the subcellular to the landscape level; and (3) the development of sophisticated statistical approaches and new models that integrate the diverse array of information that will be obtained during this multifaceted, 4-year project. Because ecosystems subsume lower levels of biological organization, the Ecosystem Indicator Component has taken the lead, together with the Integration Component, to ensure that these three essential criteria are met. Representatives from all of the research groups participated in field sampling, and subsequently spent a great deal of time discussing the best way to fully integrate the project based on the initial results and experience. This effort has led to the recommendation of a gradient-type design for the first 2 years of the PEEIR investigations. This approach will permit the further development and validation of more experimental methodologies.
Gradients or "near gradients" have been validated at three sites, and other sites are being characterized during the spring and summer. Dr. Page has documented varying levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in a gradient-type pattern at Morro Bay and in Carpinteria Salt Marsh. Varying levels of heavy metals contamination have been documented using ICP-MS on sediment and plants at Stege Marsh. Pore water toxicity tests are now being conducted at this site.
Numerous mechanisms exist to enhance integration among groups, and selected examples of the most highly integrated achievements are described below. A summary of responses being assessed in the PEEIR center is presented in Figure 1.
Linking Toxicant Response to Reproduction and Population Viability
Development of biomarkers to reveal biological responses to contaminant exposure is a major focus of the PEEIR program. A goal is to develop a suite of cellular and molecular responses that can be related to reproductive performance and population viability in fish and invertebrates using highly integrated field sampling, laboratory exposures, and modeling activities (see Figure 2). Responses are studied in serum and liver as well as in sectioned material. Although the techniques are complicated, some can be automated in the future for high-output pollution monitoring. For example, the incidence of apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in fish cells may have utility as a biomarker, and may be related to reproduction of fishes. Cell death in liver and gonad can directly impair reproductive output. Initially, a well-developed technique will be utilized that measures DNA cleavage (the TUNEL assay) on field and laboratory samples.
A second technique is being utilized that screens for caspase activity in primary
cultures of topsmelt liver cells. Caspase (cysteine aspartate protease) activity
is an early sign of apoptosis and is specific to the apoptotic cellular pathway.
This particular pathway has broader potential as an early-warning technique,
because caspase 3 activity is a crucial bottleneck in the apoptotic cascade.
Using a fluorogenic peptide substrate (Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-AMC) specific for caspase
3 activity (Promega), caspase activity was examined in hepatocytes exposed to
cadmium (0, 10 and 100 ppb concentrations) for 12 hours. Significantly higher
caspase 3 activity levels were detected with increasing cadmium dose in topsmelt
liver cell extracts. In addition to the TUNEL assay, the caspase technique will
be utilized in laboratory studies and on selected field samples of mudsucker
and topsmelt. The caspase technique is amenable to automation, once basic kinetics
of response are better described.
Figure 1. Summary of measurements to be made by the PEEIR Consortium
Figure 2. Relating subcellular and molecular responses to reproduction
and population viability
As Figure 2 indicates, other immunologic assays of interest will be applied
to the field collected samples. For example, choriogenin (egg shell protein
precursors) antibodies will be used as a routine tool to detect endocrine disruption
in male fish. This approach is more broadly applicable than the more commonly
used vitellogenin assay in fish, because the choriogenins are more highly conserved,
and the peptide antibody can be used on a very broad range of fish species.
All biomarkers will be related to development, growth, and fertility of aquatic
species through synoptic field sampling and laboratory validation studies. For
example, growth in model fish species (topsmelt, Atherinops affinis,
and mudsucker, Gillichthys mirabilis) will be assessed using otolith
analyses.
Biomarker responses such as apoptosis will be directly linked to reproductive outcome and population viability. Laboratory studies have been initiated to relate biomarker responses and growth alterations to reproductive outcome and population viability in a variety of models. For example, Dynamic Energy Budget Models (DEB) describe growth, development, and reproduction in single organisms in response to a specified food environment. Toxicant effects are represented through impacts on assimilation rates and efficiencies, and on respiration rates. Much of the first year effort has focused on testing the models against existing literature data. Following laboratory validation, field data can be entered into the model and population-level impacts can be projected.
An additional rapid screening tool is the CALUX bioassay for endocrine disruption. This assay uses cells transfected with constructs of dioxin-response element and fluorescent reporter genes. Studies this year have demonstrated an excellent relationship between TEQs of dioxin-like compounds and CALUX bioassay values. These and other data demonstrate the utility of this bioassay system for the detection and relative quantitation of dioxin-like compounds and related toxic/bioactive halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs) in multiple media and tissue samples. The CALUX bioassay system provides a relatively rapid and more cost-effective approach for the detection and relative quantitation of TCDD-like HAHs in sample extracts; this bioassay also can be used to detect the presence of toxicants that elicit effects via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway. Site sediments and pore waters are now being prepared for the CALUX system, and the final development of this assay for estuarine systems will be an important contribution to the PEEIR program. This assay could be used by other EaGLe centers that would like to screen for endocrine disrupting compounds at selected sites. Discussions have been initiated regarding the Great Lakes Ecosystem Indicator (GLEI) project on the use of this method, as well as the choriogenin antibody approach.
Other specific developments in the area of biomarker research include: (1) development of antibodies to specific peptide sequences within the cytochrome P450 enzymes that cross-react with fish and crustaceans-these are potentially more powerful than currently available antibodies against purified protein due to their broad reactivity across phyla, as the domain used as the specific target is highly conserved; (2) refinement of genotoxicity (COMET assay) techniques for topsmelt blood and liver; and (3) initiation of studies to elucidate acetylcholinesterase enzyme inhibition in developing topsmelt embryos as an indicator of agricultural chemical effects in early lifestages.
Relating Wetland Plant Health to Bioavailability of Toxicants at Multiple Scales
An exciting aspect of the PEEIR project is the effort to integrate measurements of toxicant bioavailibility in plants with changes in wetland plant health using assessments from the molecular to the landscape scales. Investigators have determined that leaf salt exudates of native cordgrass and saltgrass harbor significantly elevated metals, including Cd and Pb, that are not normally translocated into shoots. This finding has triggered two plant collection campaigns at Stege Marsh and China Camp with the first samples undergoing broad metals scans by ICP-MS and phytochelator analysis.
Methods to evaluate health of the wetland plants are being developed and validated. For example, pulse amplified modified (PAM) fluorescence is being used to quantify stress in cordgrass (Spartina foliosa) and pickleweed (Salicornia virginica). PAM fluorimetry measurements are calibrated in the laboratory against measures of CO2 uptake in these plants using toxicant spiking experiments. These studies also are designed to evaluate phytochelatin status and spectroradiometry as tools to further assess plant stress. Potential changes elucidated using spectroradiometry can later be discerned at the landscape scale using remote sensing.
The remote sensing component also will provide maps of the spatial extent and fragmentation of each marsh and will determine spatial patterns in the distribution and abundance of dominant species. These data will be related to field measurements of species composition, biomass, and leaf area index, extrapolating their spatial context and providing a basis for correlating the spatial distribution of bioindicators. The acquisition of high spatial resolution airborne hyperspectral imagery (AVIRIS) over northern and southern project sites in late summer 2002, will permit quantitative mapping of canopy pigments, water content, and dry standing litter. These measurements are expected to vary with site condition.
Products of this integrated effort could be useful in many applications in environmental monitoring and management. For example, plant exudates can be used to discern bioavailable contaminants in wetland plants, rather than simply revealing the amount present in sediments. Immediate linkage of these data to the health status of plants would be valuable in managing site cleanup, restoration activities, and assessing habitat quality. Tiered "aquatic life uses" of specific habitats can result from integrated measurement of habitat quality and the health of resident biota. The addition of the remote sensing techniques provides opportunity to cover much broader spatial scales and to relate findings to other forms of habitat destruction.
Other important advancements in the area of bioavailability include: (1) isolation and characterization of a class of bacteria that may contribute substantially to mercury methylation (Nelson)-these are iron reducing bacteria, rather than sulfate reducers more commonly studied at mercury contaminated sites; and (2) initial development of a fluorine NMR technique to monitor for a class of pharmaceutical compounds, the flouroquinolones.
Ecosystem Responses
Recent PEEIR data have explored the relationship between DIN and microbial community diversity using a variety of techniques. Although variability within sites can be high, and is being cautiously characterized, data have been obtained indicating a negative relationship between microbial diversity and DIN at Mugu Lagoon using T-RFLP analyse, which are based on analysis of PCR-amplified 16S rDNA using universal eubacterial primers. Using the same technique to assess microbial diversity, a negative relationship with DIN is not observed at either Morro Bay or Carpinteria Salt Marsh, suggesting the value of large-scale field studies that can be conducted in the scope of the PEEIR Consortium. Measures of species richness from the T-RFLP method are highly transferable among sites and ecosystems, making them potentially valuable indicators; however, factors driving community composition need further study. Microbial community composition and diversity measurements were expanded in the project recently to characterize these parameters along the contamination gradient at Stege Marsh in conjunction with plant exudate measurements and other biogeochemical indicators.
Additional specific achievements in ecosystem responses include: (1) analysis of trematode parasites as an indicator of bird population diversity at numerous sites, with an important new NSF grant awarded to this group augmenting the geographic range of the investigations; (2) assessment of nitrogen isotope ratios in selected biota at southern California sites to assess ecosystem responses to nutrient enrichment; and (3) refinement of methods for trophic support and biogeochemical performance indicators such as ammonification, decomposition, and nitrification rates.
Data Integration and Management
It is increasingly recognized that single indices are not adequate measures of ecosystem health. Multimetric or integrative indices are composed of multiple key attributes and associated metrics that are shown empirically to change in value along a gradient of human disturbance. The choice of metrics can be strengthened by combining field research with the analysis of archival data sources. During the past year, through The Bay Institute subcontract, and with assistance from the San Francisco Estuary Institute and Ed Smith and Associates, a plan has been developed for the Web site and database system that will facilitate the development of integrative indicators of wetland ecosystem health. The database hub will be accessible via the Web site and house key PEEIR data and archival datasets that support the development of integrative indices-indices (e.g., IBI and cross-taxa indices) that require the association of data across disciplines and datatypes. This line of research has ld to four main activities that are ongoing: (1) development of bibliographies of wetland indicator research applicable to the west coast; (2) documentation of archival data sets from the wetland sites; (3) design of a Web site that is both important as a conduit to the public and interested parties but also will serve as an important means for PEEIR scientists to communicate their work to their peers; and (4) the development of a plan for a more detailed database design to house both metadata and key datasets from both PEEIR research activities and selected archival data.
Outreach, Agency Integration, and Pan-EaGLes Collaboration
Collaboration with EPA Region IX was initiated during the first year of this grant. Meetings and conference calls during this year have focused on developing partnerships and contacts that will help the PEEIR consortium accomplish specific objectives more cost-effectively or with improved perspective on regulatory needs. Discussions with EMAP investigators and their contractors involved in the Southern California Wetland Recovery Project (SCWRP) have resulted in a collaboration to study plant exudates at a subset of wetland sites in California.
Collaboration among EaGLe centers is an important goal for the program overall. The Bodega Marine Laboratory sponsored visits by Dr. Hans Paerl (Atlantic Coast Ecosystem Indicator Consortium) and Drs. Gerry Niemi and Deb Swackhamer (Great Lakes Ecosystem Indicator Consortium) to discuss cross center collaboration. Dr. Paerl and BML investigators outlined opportunities for graduate student exchanges in topics such as microbial ecology and remote sensing. Drs. Niemi and Swackhamer recognized an immediate benefit in applying the choriogenin antibody and CALUX assay techniques to some of their recently acquired samples. This will benefit the PEEIR Consortium because it will provide an opportunity to assess the applicability of the techniques on a broader geographic scale.
Future Activities:In the coming year, more detailed technical discussions will take place regarding the development and application of specific indicators and potential regulatory applications. During the second 2 years of the PEEIR investigations, studies will be expanded to examine more numerous sites in California, as well as a greater number of stations within existing sites. This approach will allow for the development of indicators using descriptive statistics and elucidation of patterns on a larger geographic scale. Probabilistic sampling approaches can be incorporated in this phase, helping to relate the techniques to EMAP-style monitoring. Various options for scaling at this level are being considered and will be debated in working groups with other EaGLe centers and with Dr. Tony Olsen of USEPA Corvallis.
Journal Articles: 34 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other center views: | All 133 publications | 35 publications in selected types | All 34 journal articles |
| Type | Citation | ||
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Anderson SL, Cherr GN, Morgan SG, Vines CA, Higashi RM, Bennett WA, Rose WL, Brooks A, Nisbet RM. Integrating contaminant responses in indicator saltmarsh species [short communication]. Marine Environmental Research 2006;62(Suppl. 1):S317-S321. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C002 (Final) |
not available |
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Córdova-Kreylos AL, Cao Y, Green PG, Hwang HM, Kuivila K, LaMontagne MG, Van De Werfhorst LD, Holden PA, Scow KM. Diversity, composition, and geographical distribution of microbial communities in California salt marsh sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2006;72(5):3357-3366. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C003 (Final) |
not available |
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Fan TWM, Lane AN, Higashi RM. An electrophoretic profiling method for thiol-rich phytochelatins and metallothioneins. Phytochemical Analysis 2004;15(3):175-183. |
R828676C003 (2003) R825960 (Final) |
not available |
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Fan TWM, Lane AN, Chekmenev E, Wittebort RJ, Higashi RM. Synthesis and physico-chemical properties of peptides in soil humic substances. Journal of Peptide Research 2004;63(3):253-264. |
R828676C003 (2003) |
not available |
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Field KG, Chern EC, Dick LK, Fuhrman J, Griffith J, Holden PA, LaMontagne MG, Le J, Olson B, Simonich MT. A comparative study of culture-independent, library-independent genotypic methods of fecal source tracking. Journal of Water and Health 2004;1(4):181-194. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C003 (Final) R827639 (Final) |
not available |
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Fleming EJ, Mack EE, Green PG, Nelson DC. Mercury methylation from unexpected sources: molybdate-inhibited freshwater sediments and an iron-reducing bacterium. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2006;72(1):457-464. |
R828676C003 (2004) R829388C001 (2005) |
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Fujiwara M, Kendall BE, Nisbet RM. Growth autocorrelation and animal size variation. Ecology Letters 2004;7(2):106-113. |
R828676 (2003) R828676 (2004) R828676 (Final) |
not available |
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Fujiwara M, Kendall BE, Nisbet RM, Bennett WA. Analysis of size trajectory data using an energetic-based growth model. Ecology 2005;86(6):1441-1451. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C001 (2004) |
not available |
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Green PG, Fan TW-M, Higashi RM. Salt exudations from coastal wetland plants as a measure of metal mobilization from sediment. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (submitted, 2004). |
R828676C003 (2003) |
not available |
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Gurney WSC, Nisbet RM. Resource allocation, hyperphagia and compensatory growth. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 2004;66(6):1731-1753. |
R828676 (2004) R828676 (Final) |
not available |
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Hechinger RF, Lafferty KD. Host diversity begets parasite diversity: bird final hosts and trematodes in snail intermediate hosts. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2005;272(1567):1059-1066. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C001 (2004) R828676C003 (Final) |
not available |
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Huspeni TC, Lafferty KD. Using larval trematodes that parasitize snails to evaluate a saltmarsh restoration project. Ecological Applications 2004;14(3):795-804. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C001 (2002) R828676C003 (Final) |
not available |
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Hwang H-M, Green PG, Higashi RM, Young TM. Tidal salt marsh sediment in California, USA. Part 2: Occurrence and anthropogenic input of trace metals. Chemosphere 2006;64(11):1899-1909. |
R828676 (Final) |
not available |
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Lafferty KD, Holt RD. How should environmental stress affect the population dynamics of disease? Ecology Letters 2003;6(7):654-664. |
R828676C001 (2002) |
not available |
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Lafferty KD, Hechinger RF, Lorda J, Soler L. Trematodes associated with mangrove habitat in Puerto Rican salt marshes. Journal of Parasitology 2005;91(3):697-699. |
R828676C001 (2004) |
not available |
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Lafferty KD, Dunham EJ. Trematodes in snails near raccoon latrines suggest a final host role for this mammal in California Salt Marshes. Journal of Parasitology 2005;91(2):474-476. |
R828676C001 (2004) |
not available |
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Lafferty KD. Is disease increasing or decreasing, and does it impact or maintain biodiversity? Journal of Parasitology. |
R828676C001 (2002) |
not available |
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Lafferty KD, Porter JW, Ford SE. Are diseases increasing in the ocean?. Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics 2004;35():31-54 |
R828676C001 (Final) |
not available |
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LaMontagne MG, Holden PA. Comparison of free-living and particle-associated bacterial communities in a coastal lagoon. Microbial Ecology 2003;46(2):228-237. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C003 (2003) R828676C003 (Final) |
not available |
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LaMontagne MG, Leifer I, Bergmann S, Van De Werfhorst L, Holden PA. Bacterial diversity in marine hydrocarbon seep sediments. Environmental Microbiology 2004;6(8):799-808. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C003 (2003) R828676C003 (Final) |
not available |
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Li L, Ustin SL, Lay M. Application of multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) to AVIRIS imagery for coastal salt marsh mapping: a case study in China Camp, CA, USA. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2005;26(23):5193-5207. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C003 (Final) |
not available |
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Magalhaes C, Bano N, Wiebe WJ, Hollibaugh JT, et al. Comparison of ammonium oxidizing bacterial phylotypes and function between biofilms and sediments of the Douro River Estuary, Portugal. Environmental Microbiology (in review, 2005). |
R828676C001 (2004) |
not available |
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Morgan SG, Spilseth SA, Page HM, Brooks AJ, Grosholz ED. Spatial and temporal movement of the lined shore crab Pachygrapsus crassipes in salt marshes and its utility as an indicator of habitat condition. Marine Ecology Progress Series 2006;314:271-281. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Pillai MC, Vines CA, Wikramanayake AH, Cherr GN. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons disrupt axial development in sea urchin embryos through a β-catenin dependent pathway. Toxicology 2003;186(1-2):93-108. |
R828676C002 (2003) |
not available |
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Rose WL, Hobbs JA, Nesbit RM, Green PG, Cherr GN, Anderson SL. Validation of otolith growth rate analysis using cadmium-exposed larval topsmelt (Atherinops affinis). Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry 2005;24(10):2612-2620. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C002 (2004) |
not available |
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Rosso PH, Ustin SL, Hastings A. Mapping marshland vegetation of San Francisco Bay, California, using hyperspectral data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2005;26(23): 5169-5191. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C003 (Final) |
not available |
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Rosso PH, Pushnick JC, Lay M, Ustin SL. Reflectance properties and physiological responses of Salicornia virginica to heavy metal and petroleum contamination. Environmental Pollution 2005;137(2):241-252. |
R828676 (Final) |
not available |
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Rosso PH, Ustin SL, Hastings A. Use of lidar to study changes associated with Spartina invasion in San Francisco Bay marshes. Remote Sensing of Environment 2006;100(3):295-306. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C003 (Final) |
not available |
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Shaw J, Aguirre-Macedo L, Lafferty KD. An efficient strategy to estimate intensity and prevalence: sampling metacercariae in fishes. Journal of Parasitology 2005;91(3):515-521. |
R828676C001 (2004) |
not available |
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Spilseth SA, Morgan SG. Evaluation of internal elastomer tags for small, mature crabs. Crustaceana 2005;78(11):1383-1388. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C001 (2004) R828676C001 (Final) R825689C028 (Final) |
not available |
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Steets BM, Holden PA. A mechanistic model of runoff-associated fecal coliform fate and transport through a coastal lagoon. Water Research 2003;37(3):589-608. |
R828676 (Final) R828676C003 (2002) R828676C003 (Final) |
not available |
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Ward JR, Lafferty KD. The elusive baseline of marine disease: are diseases in ocean ecosystems increasing? PLoS Biology 2004;2(4):542-547. |
R828676C001 (2003) |
not available |
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Gurney WSC, Jones W, Veitch AR, Nisbet RM. Resource allocation, hyperphagia, and compensatory growth in juveniles. Ecology 2003;84(10):2777-2787. |
R828676 (Final) |
not available |
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Hwang H-M, Green PG, Young TM. Tidal salt marsh sediment in California, USA. Part 1: Occurrence and sources of organic contaminants. Chemosphere 2006;64(8):1383-1392. |
R828676 (Final) |
not available |
watersheds, estuary, ecological effects, bioavailability, ecosystem indicators, aquatic, integrated assessment, EPA Region IX. , Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Geographic Area, Scientific Discipline, Waste, RFA, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, exploratory research environmental biology, Aquatic Ecosystems & Estuarine Research, Bioavailability, Ecological Risk Assessment, Aquatic Ecosystem, Ecological Indicators, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecosystem Protection, Ecology and Ecosystems, State, biomarkers, ecosystem condition, water quality, California (CA), ecosystem indicators, ecosystem health, environmental indicators, environmental stressor, environmental consequences, wetlands, fish , statistical evaluation, GIS, plant indicator, ecological exposure, aquatic ecosystems, biological indicators, biological markers, ecosystem integrity, environmental stress, Western Center for Estuarine Research, ecological assessment, estuaries, estuarine ecosystems, biomarker
Progress and Final Reports:
Original Abstract
2003 Progress Report
2004 Progress Report
Final Report
Subprojects under this Center:
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R828676C000 Pacific Estuarine Ecosystem Indicator Research (PEEIR) Consortium: Administration and Integration Component
R828676C001 Pacific Estuarine Ecosystem Indicator Research (PEEIR) Consortium: Ecosystem Indicators Component
R828676C002 Pacific Estuarine Ecosystem Indicator Research (PEEIR) Consortium: Biological Responses to Contaminants Component: Biomarkers of Exposure, Effect, and Reproductive Impairment
R828676C003 Pacific Estuarine Ecosystem Indicator Research (PEEIR) Consortium: Biogeochemistry and Bioavailability Component