|
|
|
Research at Jobos Bay, PR
|
|
 |
The primary research goal of Jobos Bay Reserve is to promote and coordinate high quality scientific research to expand knowledge of significant tropical estuarine resources in order to improve coastal management decision-making.
Research and monitoring objectives are:
- to promote and conduct long-term baseline studies to characterize flora and fauna within the Reserve and gain an understanding of the ecological inter-relationships between organisms and their environment;
- to promote a better understanding of tributary water quality conditions, particularly spatial and temporal dynamics, requirements for growth and survival of living resources, and contribution and effects of point and non-point pollution;
- to promote a better understanding of the physical processes operating within the estuary and watersheds, such as tidal influence, circulation dynamics, freshwater inflow, stratification patterns, and sediment dynamics;
- to encourage and facilitate studies that make effective use of past research and address data gaps in the Reserve's information base;
- to provide for effective communication and exchange of research results; and
- to encourage studies that promote a better understanding of human uses of the estuary, as well as the changes that have occurred as a result of human activities.
Significant research activities within Jobos Bay Reserve started prior to its designation as a Resrve in 1981. Many environmental studies took place during the 1970's, providing high quality data. Since 1995, the Reserve has implemented a Research and Monitoring Program that consists of a high temporal resolution dataset of water quality and meteorological data that is available through the Reserve System's Centralized Data Management Office.
Jobos Bay Reserve supports and encourages many other research projects that help staff to better understand and manage the estuary. Most recently, the Reserve has been collaborating with the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), a collaborative effort between NOAA and the US Department of Agriculture to address agricultural best management practices within the watershed. The Reserve is also working with science restoration projects such seagrass recovery in areas impacted by recreational boats. Research priorities within the Reserve include the effects of climate change on coastal communities and resources, sea level rise, eutrophication, habitat loss and alteration, and resource conservation.
Last Updated on: Wednesday, October 28, 2009
|
|
