Jason Krumholz Graduate School of Oceanography- University of Rhode Island

1. Experimental methods of quantifying and monitoring ecological response to no-take marine reserves in Northeastern National Parks Jason Krumholz Graduate School of Oceanography- University of Rhode Island RI SURFRIDER- Robert Lloyd Scholarship Presentation 5/16/06

2. What is a Marine Protected Area? Presidential Executive Order #13158 “ to protect the significant natural and cultural resources within the marine environment for the benefit of present and future generations by strengthening and expanding the Nation’s system of marine protected areas.” “any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by Federal, State, territorial, tribal, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein.” Federal Register. 2000. Executive Order #13158 Vol. 65, No. 105. Wednesday, May 31, 2000

3. Reviewing the options... www.mpa.gov/information_tools

4. National Park Service Northeast Region Acadia Boston Harbor Is CapeCod Sagamore Hill Fire Island Gateway Assateague Island Colonial George Washington Birthplace

5. Primary Focus Secondary Focus The Project... Goal: Review scientific methods for justifying and monitoring no-take reserves in Northeast National Parks • Site Selection • Ecosystem Response • Fisheries Response • Monitoring • Modeling

6. Challenges

7. Fire Island National Seashore

8. Maps and Data: Henn & Cullen. 2004 USACE/TNC Conference

9. Ecosystem Response Toolbox • Water Quality (oxygen, chlorophyll, Nutrients) • Habitat Quality (eelgrass, sediment chemistry) • Species Richness / Diversity • Benthic Infauna (Polychaetes) • Modeling (Ecosystem, Fisheries)

10. Polychaetes • Simple to Collect • Multiple Uses • Abundance • Diversity • Indicator Species • Shortfalls • Time consuming • High taxonomic res. • How can we apply this to MPA’s? A. Giangrande et.al. Mar Pollut Bull. 2005 50(11):1153-62.

11. More Big Fish Less Little Fish More Polychaetes Trophic Cascade Theory1 Ecosystem Health Theory2 Less Disturbance Higher Ecosystem Health Less Predation Less Opportunists More Polychaetes More Diversity 1 Pinnegar, J.K., et.al. 2000. Trophic cascades in benthic ecosystems: lesson for fisheries and protected-area management. Environmental Conservation 27 (2), 179–200. 2 A. Giangrande et.al. Mar Pollut Bull. 2005 50(11):1153-62.

12. Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) • Single metric for ecosystem health/change • Simplifies a lot of data into a single index • Sometimes over-simplifies • Used extensively in coral reef ecosystems • Attempted for Narr. Bay (Meng et. al., 2002) • How useful is this tool?

13. Modeling • Particularly useful in a fisheries and reserve establishment context • Generally show reserves most effective at: • Moderate size (10-25% of habitat) • Moderate to high fishing pressure • Low migration rate • High dispersal rate of larvae • Most highly adaptable models lack fine scale resolution

14. Ecospace T.A. Okey et al. / Ecological Modelling 172 (2004) 383–401

15. Conclusions • Many techniques from tropical studies can be adapted for use in the Northeast Region • Some techniques will have reduced effectiveness in temperate ecosystems • NPS must consider scientific programs of study on a park by park basis based on specific reserve goals • NPS should consider increased use of benthic infaunal sampling • Models are a viable synthetic tool for reserve management, particularly in a fisheries context

16. Acknowledgements • Dr. Charles Roman (NPS) • Dr. Candace Oviatt (GSO) • Kate Smukler (MPA center) • Cliff McCreedy & Gary Davis (NPS) Photo Credits: Brooke Longval, Eric Klos, Charles Roman, J.C. Shou Funding From: Coastal Institute IGERT Program Matt horn is gay

17. THANK YOU VERY MUCH ? ANY QUESTIONS