Seagrass Abundance and Productivity in Pensacola Bay and Santa Rosa

Seagrass abundance and productivity in Pensacola Bay and

Santa Rosa Sound

Final Technical Report

Submitted to

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Photo credit: B. Albrecht

Jane M. Caffrey, Barbara Albrecht, Rachel Capps

Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation

University of West Florida

January 31, 2017 Deliverable 1 - Historical Perspective A variety of information related to seagrasses in Pensacola Bay and Santa Rosa Sound has been collated. This includes available seagrass data, publications, maps and imagery and was included in the Progress report and Appendix 1. The results from the workshop conducted on January 29- 30 were reported in the Progress report and are included in Appendix 2. The Pensacola Bay System (PBS) is located in the extreme western panhandle of Florida. The PBS covers 372 km2 and receives drainage from 18,130 km2 in northwest Florida and southern Alabama. The PBS encompasses the Escambia, Blackwater, East, and Pensacola Bays. It is a drowned river valley with a small outlet into the Gulf of Mexico at the western end of Santa Rosa Island. A 1948 survey of the PBS reported extensive seagrass beds, followed by reports of seagrass die off beginning in 1955 with the most rapid loss in Escambia Bay near industry.Historically, the PBS has had problems with anthropogenic inputs, both point and non- point source, discharging into its waters (Olinger 1975). Large areas of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and oyster reefs were lost in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. After the implementation of regulatory standards in the 1970’s, the condition of the system improved. Current priorities for the PBS include; sediments traveling downstream into the bays, and the potential eutrophication of portions of the system due to changes in nutrient loadings. (USEPA 2004). A 1960 survey of Santa Rosa Sound identified roughly 10,000 acres of seagrass beds (Lewis et al. 2008).The last comprehensive survey in 2010 survey identified 1,053 acres in Pensacola Bay and 2894 acres in Santa Rosa Sound (Harvey et al. 2015). Seagrass coverage in 2014 declined following high rainfall and runoff (Harvey et al. 2015). As part of this project, a reanalysis of data collected as part of a project on the impact of seagrasses on sediment biogeochemistry was conducted and is described below. Most of the sediment biogeochemistry results are presented in Devereux et al. 2011, but we present some additional unpublished data (Devereux, pers. Comm.). Several sites were visited in Santa Rosa Sound between 2002 and 2005 (Fig.1).

Figure 1 – Location of sampling sites in Santa Rosa Sound from Deverereux et al. (2011) study. Reproduced from Devereux et al. (2011) Salinity during the sampling period ranged from 18 to 28 with lowest values occurring during late Jul 2004 (Fig. 2). This high frequency data suggests that while daily variation in salinity is generally low, rain events can

2 lead to declines in salinity in Santa Rosa Sound. Daily variations in salinity appear to be tied to local circulation with higher salinity at high tide (Figure 3). Figure 2 – Continuous 40 Temp 4 Salinity measurements of 35 Depth 3.5 temperature, salinity and

30 3 water depth at experimental locations. 25 2.5 Unpublished data from R. Devereux

20 2 or or Salinity Depth, Depth, m

15 1.5 Temp

10 1

5 0.5

0 0

1/18/05 4/21/05 5/15/04 6/15/04 7/16/04 8/16/04 9/16/04 2/18/05 3/21/05

11/17/04 12/18/04 10/17/04

28.5 Salinity Depth 1.8 Figure 3 – Salinity and water depth in Santa Rosa 1.5 28 Sound between March 10, 1.2 2005 and March 25, 27.5 2005.Unpublished data

0.9 from R. Devereux Salinity

27 m Depth, 0.6 26.5 0.3

26 0

Above Ground Biomass

400

300 shallow 200 mid deep

100 grams/square meter grams/square 0 Jun-02 Jul-02 Sep-02 Jun-03 Jul-03 Sep-03 Nov-03 Apr-04 Jul-04 Oct-04 Feb-05 sampling months

Figure 4 – Aboveground biomass (g dw/m2) of Thalassia testudinum in Santa Rosa Sound between June 2002 and February 2005 at 3 water depths. Unpublished data from R. Devereux Aboveground biomass of Thalassia testudinum ranged from 50 to 300 g dw/m2. Biomass was generally highest during the summer. There were no consistent differences between biomass from different water depths (R. Devereux, pers. Comm.). Leaf production was also measured at these sites. Highest rates of production occurred during June and were positively correlated to salinity (Fig 5).

Shallow Mid Deep 5 Shallow Mid Deep 4.5 Linear (Shallow) Linear (Mid) Linear (Deep) 5 4 4.5 y = 0.1272x - 0.9424 R² = 0.4287 3.5 4 y = 0.107x - 0.5053 3 3.5 R² = 0.3638 2.5 3 y = 0.0937x - 0.1991 2.5 2 R² = 0.3365 2 1.5

Leaf production Leaf production mg shoot/d 1.5 Leaf production Leaf production mg shoot/d 1 1 0.5 0.5 0 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 10 15 20 25 30 35 Month Salinity Figure 5 – Leaf production by month (left panel) and leaf production versus salinity. Unpublished data from R. Devereux

Porewater sulfide concentrations were highest during July, with higher concentrations in the shallow and mid beds compared to the deeper beds (Devereux et al. 2011, Figure 6). Several profiles throughout the year show concentrations in excess of 1 mM (Figure 6), a concentration which can be toxic to Thalassia testudinum. Sulfide (mM)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 Dec Shallow Feb Shallow 2 April Shallow July Shallow 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

0 July Mid Dec Mid Feb Mid 2 April Mid 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

0 July Deep Dec Deep Feb Deep 2 April Deep 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Figure 6 – Porewater sulfide concentration in Thalassia testudinum from shallow, mid and deep beds in April, July, December, and February. Reproduced from Devereux et al. (2011). Deliverable 2 - Seagrass composition, abundance and growth rates

Visual assessment of seagrass species composition in the Pensacola Bay System During this study, over 121 locations were visited in the Pensacola Bay system including Santa Rosa Sound to determine the seagrass species composition. Fifty-eight percent of the sites visited had seagrass or SAV species. The species identified at different locations are shown in Figure 7 and Table 1. Vallisneria americana and Ruppia maritima were found in the freshwater and brackish reaches of Escambia and East Bay. Not surprising given its wide salinity tolerance, Ruppia had a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in all subestuaries of the Pensacola Bay system, including Santa Rosa Sound.We were surprised to find beds of Halodule wrightii in Escambia Bay between Indian and Trout Bayous. As previous recent surveys have shown, seagrasses are rare along the northern shore of the Gulf Breeze Peninsula. However, a bed of Ruppia was located in East Bay near Navarre and in numerous small un-named sloughs along the north shore of the Gulf Breeze Peninsula and in sloughs some along the south shore that feed into Santa Rosa Sound. In addition, there is some indication that seagrasses may be present in Butcherpen Cove in Gulf Islands National Seashore, although this could not be definitely

5 confirmed. Thalassia testudinum and Halodule were abundant in Santa Rosa Sound with Ruppia occurring at isolated locations as well.

Figure 7 – Map of seagrass composition in the Pensacola Bay system including Santa Rosa Sound.

Table 1 – Summary of seagrass species found in Pensacola Bay system subestuaries Subestuary # sites # sites with Seagrass/SAV species found surveyed seagrasses East Bay 35 15 Ruppia & Vallisneria Escambia Bay 27 17 Ruppia, Halodule, Vallisneria Pensacola Bay 9 2 Unknown & Ruppia Bayou Grande 18 9 Ruppia & Halodule Santa Rosa Sound 33 28 Thalassia, Halodule, Ruppia Total 121 70

Percent cover The seagrass species composition and basal cover of seagrasses and macroalgae was estimated at 68 sites in Santa Rosa Sound in May and June (Figure 8). On average, basal cover of Thalassia was 29% and Halodule was 7%. Macroalgae were predominantly red and represented 20% of the cover, with the remaining area as bare. At 7 sites in East Bay with seagrass beds, basal cover was 18% of Vallisneria, 14% Ruppia and the remainder was bare. The remaining sites in East Bay were 100% bare. Most sites in Escambia Bay were bare, except those in and near Indian Bayou, Trout Bayou and many smaller un-named bayous on the Garcon Peninsula where cover of Ruppia was estimated to be about 40%.

Figure 8 – Average percent basal cover of seagrasses and macroalgae in Santa Rosa Sound. Number in bar represents the number of quadrats analyzed. Seagrass Growth Rates Growth rates of Thalassia were estimated at 6 locations in Santa Rosa Sound using the leaf punch method. Three sites were along the north side of Santa Rosa Sound at Shoreline Park, Naval Live Oaks (NLO) and Oriole Beach and three were along the south side at the EPA facility, Big Sabine Point (BSP) and Opal Beach. Productivity quads were established at all 6 locations in June and September. In addition, two sites were revisited in July. Biomass at the different locations was variable, but generally higher in September compared to June (Figure 9). Opal Beach had the lowest biomass in June, 240 g/m2 and the highest biomass in September, 780 g/m2.

Thalassia Biomass 900

800

700 Figure 9 – Biomass 600 fractions

500 (g/m2) of Thalassia in 400

Biomassg/m2 productivity

300 quads in June, July 200 and

100 September in Santa Rosa 0 EPA BSP Opal Shoreline NLO Oriole BSP NLO EPA BSP Opal NLO Oriole Shoreline Sound Beach Park Beach Beach Beach Park Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jul Jul Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep

LivePunchedLeaves LVLBLD LVBLD LVSS LVRORH DDLBLD DDSS DDRORH ODB

Thalassia productivity as measured by leaf turnover ranged from 1.8 to 3.8% per day (Figure 10). The highest leaf turnover was in July, and the lowest was in September. Net productivity of Thalassia was determined by multiplying leaf turnover by aboveground live biomass. Rates were highly variable, particularly in June (Figure 11). In June, Shoreline Park had the highest productivity, 17.4 g dw/m2/d due to high biomass. Average productivity was highest in July. Productivity remained high in September, with higher rates at Naval Live Oaks and Oriole Beach, 10.3 and 10.8 g dw/m2/d, respectively.

Thalassia Productivity 5%

Figure 10 – Daily 4% leaf turnover (%) in Thalassia in June, July and September 3% in Santa Rosa Sound

2% Daily%/d turnover

0% EPA BSP Opal Shoreline NLO Oriole BSP NLO EPA BSP Opal Shoreline NLO Oriole Beach Park Beach Beach Park Beach Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jul Jul Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep

Thalassia Productivity 30

25 Figure 11 – Net production 20 (g/m2/d)in Thalassia in June, 15 July and g/m2/d September in

10 Santa Rosa Sound

0 EPA BSP Opal Shoreline NLO Oriole BSP NLO EPA BSP Opal Shoreline NLO Oriole Beach Park Beach Beach Park Beach Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jul Jul Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep

Optical water quality in the Pensacola Bay system Optical water quality was assessed at 19 sites in the Pensacola Bay system and 8 sites in Santa Rosa Sound in August and October. Chlorophyll a, turbidity, TSS, and dissolved nutrients (ammonium, nitrate+nitrite, and dissolved inorganic phosphate) were measured at these locations. Chlorophyll a, nitrate and silicate concentrations were highest during August near the

Escambia and Blackwater Rivers, with chlorophyll a concentrations exceeding 10 µg/L (Figure 12).

20 Figure 12 – Chlorophyll a 15 (µg/L), nitrate plus nitrite (µM), 10 and dissolved 5 silicate (µM) in

Chlorophyll a µg/L Chlorophyll the Pensacola 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 Bay system in NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB Aug Oct August and October 8

7 6 5

4 3 2

Nitrate+Nitrite µM Nitrate+Nitrite 1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB Aug Oct

200 180 160 Concentrations 140 of these 120 constituents was 100 DSi µM DSi 80 generally lower 60 in October. Santa 40 Rosa Sound had 20 consistently low 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB concentrations of Aug Oct nutrients and chlorophyll a (Figure 12). Ammonium concentrations were generally less than 2 µM and DIP concentrations were less than 0.5 µM (data not shown). TSS was quite variable with no consistent patterns either temporally or spatially (Figure 13). Turbidity was higher in August than October (Figure 13). Concentrations were generally highest closest to Escambia and Blackwater Rivers. Bottom water salinity was generally similar in both months and consistently high in Santa Rosa Sound

(Figure 14). The lowest salinity was closest to the Escambia River mouth, particularly in October.

18 16 14 Figure 13- TSS 12 (mg/L) and 10 turbidity (NTU) in 8 Pensacola Bay TSS TSS mg/L 6 systemin August 4 and October 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB Aug Oct

8 7

6 5 4

Turbidity NTU Turbidity 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB Aug Oct

35 Figure 14 – 30 Bottom water

25 salinity in the

20 Pensacola Bay

15 system in August

Bottom Salinity Bottom and October 10 5 0 E W 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NGB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB NPB August October Deliverable 3 - Seagrass Experiment We conducted an experiment in Thalassia and Halodule beds at Big Sabine Point in Santa Rosa Sound to examine how additions of glucose and nitrate to pore water influenced porewater sulfide and growth rates. Glucose stimulates the growth of bacteria and can enhance rates of

11 sulfate reduction, leading to increased concentrations of sulfide in the porewaters. Nitrate can be a nutrient enhancing plant growth. It also may inhibit sulfate reduction because the energy yield for bacteria from nitrate reduction is much greater than that of sulfate reduction. Experiments were begun on May 23rd when five gallon buckets with the bottoms cut off were installed at Big Sabine Point (Figure 15). Nine buckets were installed in a monoculture of Thalassia and nine in a monoculture of Halodule. Seagrasses were allowed to recover and on July 5th porewater sippers were installed inside buckets. Samples were collected for porewater sulfide, ammonium and DIP. Treatments (glucose, nitrate, or control) for buckets were determined using a random number table. Triplicate diffusers containing either glucose, nitrate or nothing (control) were placed in each bucket in the Thalassia bed on July 23rd and in the Halodule bed on July 28th.

Figure 15 – Photo of installation of buckets in seagrass bed at Big Sabine Point for treatment

Porewater sulfide concentrations were measured routinely until the end of the experiment when biomass was harvested on September 19th. Variability among the treatments was high (Figure 16). Concentrations were higher in the glucose treatment than the control treatment for both species 4 of the 6 times that they were sampled following the dosing. Porewater ammonium and DIP were measured at the beginning and end of the experiment (Figure 16). Ammonium concentrations were higher in September than July in all treatments. DIP concentrations were generally higher in September than July.

6000 Halodule wrightii 6000 Thalassia testudinum

Control Control 5000 5000 Glucose Glucose

Nitrate Nitrate 4000 4000

3000 3000

Sulfide Sulfide uM Sulfide Sulfide uM 2000 2000

1000 1000

0 0

50 Halodule wrightii 30 Thalassia testudinum 45 Control 25 40 Control Glucose 35 Glucose Nitrate 20 30 Nitrate

25 15

20 Ammonium µM Ammonium Ammonium µM Ammonium 10 15

10 5 5

0 0 5-Jul-16 19-Sep-16 5-Jul-16 19-Sep-16

4 Halodule wrightii 1.6 Thalassia testudinum

3.5 1.4 Control Control 3 Glucose 1.2 Glucose Nitrate 2.5 1 Nitrate

2 0.8

DIP µM DIP DIP µM DIP 1.5 0.6

1 0.4

0.5 0.2

0 0 5-Jul-16 19-Sep-16 5-Jul-16 19-Sep-16

Figure 16 – Porewater sulfide (top panel), ammonium (middle panel) and dissolved inorganic phosphate (bottom panel) concentrations in Halodule and Thalassia experimental treatments.

Biomass from the Thalassia glucose treatments was lowest, while nitrate treatments were highest. (Figure 17). Growth rate or daily leaf turnover showed a clear depression in the glucose treatment (1.3%/day) compared to the other treatments and measurements in the nearby bed (Figure 18). Growth rate was highest Sulfide Experiment in the nitrate treatment (2.9%/day). 450 Net production was lowest in the glucose treatment and highest in the 400 control from the nearby bed because

350 of higher biomass compared to the buckets. The nitrate treatment was 300 significantly higher than bucket

250 control suggesting either a repression of sulfate reduction or stimulation of 200 plant growth. These results clearly Biomassg/m2 show that addition of glucose can 150 enhance sulfide concentrations, 100 reducing biomass and growth of the plants. 50 Figure 17 – Biomass fractions from 0 Con Glu NO3 Thalassia experimental treatments for

LivePunched Leaves LVLBLD LVBLD control (Con – no addition), glucose LVSS LVRORH DDLBLD addition (Glu), or nitrate addition DDSS DDRORH ODB (NO3)

Sulfide Experiment Sulfide Experiment 9 3.0% 8

2.5% 7

6 2.0%

5 1.5%

4 Daily Turnover %/d DailyTurnover

1.0% g/m2/d production Net 3

2 0.5%

1 0.0% Control Bucket Glucose Nitrate 0 Control Control Bucket Control Glucose Nitrate

Figure 18 – Daily leaf turnover (%/day – left panel) and net production (g/m2/d – right panel)from Thalassia experimental treatments for Control (nearby bed), Control bucket, glucose addition, and nitrate addition. Acknowledgements We thank Katherine Haynes, Jenna Sleek and Jordan Rains for the many long hours they put into this project in the field and laboratory. Field and laboratory assistance was also provided by Jakob Schliewen, Lily Casson, Dianne Langguth, Matt Davis, Kendra Brooks, Florian Cesbron, Carrie Daniels, and Porsha Hernandez. We thank Steve McLin and Fritz Sharer for piloting the boats for the OWC sampling.

Literature Cited

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Appendix 1 –Resources related to Seagrasses

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Benthic and Water Column Processes in a Gulf of Mexico Estuary: Pensacola Bay, Florida, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 2009;81(4):501-12. 99. Murrell MC and E.M. Lores. Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Seasonal Dynamics in a Subtropical Estuary: Importance of Cyanobacteria. Journal of Plankton Research. 2004;26(3):371-82. 100. NMFS. The Lethal Pathogen, Labrithomyxa marina, and Other Causes …the Escambia bay, Florida Oyster Mortality of September, 1971. National Marine Fisheries Service of NOAA, 1971? 101. Nocker A, M. Burr, and A.K. Camper. Genotypic Microbial Community Profiling: A Critical Technical Review. Microbial Ecology. 2006;54(2):276-89. 102. NWFWMD. Resource Evaluation of the FDIC Garcon Point Tract, Santa Rosa County. Northwest Florida Water Management District, 1991. 103. Oil G. East Bay Project Tour Guide. Getty Oil Company, 1983. 104. Olinger LW, R.G. Rogers, P.L. Fore, R.L. Todd, B.L. Mullins, F.T. Bisterfeld, L.A. Wise. Environmental and Recovery Studies of Escambia Bay and the Pensacola Bay System. EPA, 1975. 105. Patrick R. Stream Survey Report for the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1953. 106. Patrick R. A Study of the Numbers and Kinds of Species Found in Rivers in Eastern United States. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 1961;113:215-58. 107. Paulic M, J. Hand. Florida Water Quality Assessment 1994 305 (b) Report. FDEP, 1994. 108. Peters WL, J. Jones. Historical and Biological Aspects of the Blackwater River in Northwestern Florida. 109. Phillips K. The Wetlands Controversy. Pensacola News Journal. 1992. 110. PHS, Service PH, editors. Interstate Pollution of the Conecuh-Escambia River1962; Council Chambers, City Hall, Pensacola, FL. 111. Purpura JA, W.M. Sensabaugh. Coastal Construction Setback Line. Florida Cooperative Extension Service. 112. Rao KR. Environmental Research and Community Health Studies in Northwest Florida. Executive Summary. UWF, 2009. 113. Reed H. The Evolution and Lessons Learned with Seagrass Restoration in Northwest Florida. Focus on Seagrass - St Joe Bay State Buffer Preserve2014. p. 22. 114. Resources FDoN. Ft Pickens Aquatic Preserve Management Plan. 1992. 115. Rogers R. Final Environmental Impact Statement for Designation of a New Ocean Dredged Materials Disposal Site. Pensacola, FL: United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1988. 116. Ruth BaLRH. Seagrass Status and Trends in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: 1940-2002 Choctawhatchee Bay. 2006. 117. Schwartz M. Gulf Coast Network Seagrass & Water Quality Sites at Gulf Islands National Seashore, FL. Series of Maps from Perdido Key to Destin Pass. UWF2010. 118. Schwenning L, T. Bruce, and L.R. Handley. Seagrass Status and Trends in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: 1940-2002. USGS; 2006. p. 14. 119. Senate F. Select Committee on Property Rights and Land Acquisition. Final Committee Report on the "Talking Issue" The Florida Senate, 1976. 120. Smith KAaJMC. The Effects of Human Activities and Extreme Meteorological Events on

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Appendix 2 – Results of Workshop Subject matter experts were identified, located and individually contacted and invited to participate in a full day workshop. During the early exchange regarding the workshop, attendees were provided a homework assignment.

The Workshop was held 29-30 Jan 2016 at the Ft Pickens Auditorium. Thirty eight individuals representing academia, business, governmental, non-profits, retired professionals and citizens attended and participated. Of the 38: 20 attendees were from governmental agencies, fed & state, 8 are academicians, 5 are from business, one NGO, two citizens, and two retired subject matter experts.

Perdido& Pensacola Bay Seagrass Workshop Homework

Homework assignments requested any information the participant may have or be aware of that could facilitate natural recovery of seagrasses in our target estuaries; Recognizing that the roadblocks to seagrass recovery are not necessarily the same as the reasons for historical seagrass loss. To that end, we want to inventory and locate all publications and data related to seagrass loss and recovery in these estuaries. Please list seagrass, sediment, and water quality related projects in which you have been involved. • For each project, please list resulting reports and scientific papers. • For each project, please indicate where data, imagery, and other work products reside and in what format. • Finally, based on your expert knowledge of each system: o What caused historical seagrass losses? o When did seagrass losses begin? o Where is seagrass loss continuing? o Where is recovery occurring? o In your expert opinion, what is the most important roadblock to seagrass recovery? o List multiple barriers if appropriate.

Perdido& Pensacola Bay Seagrass Workshop Agenda 2016

Date: Friday, 29 January, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM Saturday, 30 January, 8:30 AM – 12:00 Noon Location: Gulf Islands National Seashore Ft. Pickens Auditorium. Friday Morning 8:15 - 8:30…………..Early bird coffee 8:30 - 8:40…………..Introductions 8:40 – 9:00………….Overview of Project – Paul Carlson 9:00 – 9:20………….History of the Bay Systems – Ernie Rivers Keynote Presentations 9:20 – 9:45…………. …Historical changes in seagrass coverage in Perdido and Pensacola Bay Systems and causal factors – Mike Lewis 9:45 – 10:00…………..Current assessment of seagrass coverage – Ken Heck 10:00 – 10:30…………Current trends in water clarity, nutrient loads and salinity – Jim Hagy 10:30 – 10:45………..Coffee Break 10:45 – 11:15………..Hurricane impacts Donald Ray 11:15 – 11: 45……….Seagrass Restoration (impact of Living Shoreline projects) – Open Discussion 11:45- 1:00 PM……..Lunch 1:00 – 1:25…………..Potential impact of Oil spill funded Projects – Chips Kirschenfeld& Robert Turpin 1:25-1:50……………..Water Quality Targets for Seagrass Recovery in Pensacola and Perdido Bays – Dave Tomasko 1:50--- 3:15 …………Open Discussion - Map and Literature Discussion of “Roadblocks” • Light stress • Salinity pulses • Stratification and anoxia • Wind, wave, and tidal action • Sediment toxicity • Animal disturbance • Prop scarring

Where in the Pensacola and Perdido systems might each of these stressors be operating (maps)? Are there data and publications that have documented these stressors? Friday Afternoon Continued 3:15—3:30…………….Break 3:30 – 4:30…………….Similarities and differences between Perdido and Pensacola, Synthesis and Discussion Saturday Morning 8:15 - 8:30…………..Early bird coffee 8:30 - 8:40…………..Summary of Friday Workshop – What did we miss? 8:40 – 9:45………….Assessing and summarizing new data sources/information 9:45 – 10:30………..Remaining Data Gaps 10:30 – 10:45………Coffee Break

10:45 – 11:30………Information needed to guide future restoration 11:30 – Noon……….Public workshop goals Meeting adjourns.

Appendix C - Perdido& Pensacola Bay Seagrass Workshop Attendees

Last Name First Name Affiliation Albrecht Barbara UWF - CEDB Alexander Shelly Citizen Bourdreau Darryl The Nature Conservancy Broker Michael Ne3rd, LLC Bromley Cassity NPS - Gulf Islands Brown JD Citizen - BFA Byron Dottie Dauphin Island Sea Lab Caffrey Jane UWF - CEDB Capps Rachel UWF - CEDB Carlson Paul FL FWCC Eble Jeff UWF - CEDB Fugate Beth FL DEP - CAMA Fulford Rich US EPA Grounds Elizabeth NPS - Gulf Islands Hagy Jim US EPA Heck Ken Dauphin Island Sea Lab Hoggard Riley Retired NPS - Gulf Islands Kirschenfeld Chips Escambia County Kruczynski Bill Retired US EPA/NOAA Lessard Kristin NPS - Gulf Islands Lewis Graham NWFWMD Lewis Mike US EPA Lores Skeet Retired - USEPA Morton Dana Escambia County Murphy Kate USEPA Nicholas Mark NPS - Gulf Islands Parson Kyle Escambia County Parson Ryan UWF - Earth Sciences Poniatowski Mike FL FWCC Ray Donald Retired FL DEP Biologist RayCulp Melody US FWS Reed Heather Ecological Consulting Services

Robertson Stuart NPS - Gulf Islands Rodriguez Alexandra Dauphin Island Sea Lab Scolaro Sheila FL FWCC Segura Martha Gulf Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network Stoler Sarah Escambia County Taylor Mollie Escambia County Thibalt Tim Barry Vittor& Associates Thorpe Paul NWFWMD Tomasco Dave ESA - Environmental Science Associates

Turpin Robert Escambia County - Marine Resources Verlinde Chris SeaGrant Way Carl Barry Vittor& Associates

Wipf Brent Escambia County