CHARACTERIZATION OF THE JACQUES COUSTEAU NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE A Profile Report Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve 130 Great Bay Boulevard Tuckerton, New Jersey 08087 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 INTRODUCTION 13 SYSTEM-WIDE MONITORING PROGRAM 15 Abiotic Monitoring 17 Meteorological Monitoring 19 Biotic Monitoring 20 Land-Use and Habitat Change Characterizations 21 JACQUES COUSTEAU NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE 23 Field and Laboratory Facilities 27 JCNERR Outreach and Education Programs 29 Coastal Training Program 29 Small Motorized Watercraft Workshop 2000 29 Stormwater Management Roundtables 30 Coastal Hazards Mitigation Outreach 30 Project Power 31 Adopt-A-Storm Drain Municipal Assistance 31 Online Outreach Training Courses 32 K-12 Education 33 Marine Activities, Resources and Education (MARE) 34 COOL Classroom 35 Shore Bowl 36 2 National Estuaries Day 37 Graduate Research Fellowship Program 37 JCNERR CHARACTERISTICS 38 Physical-Chemical Characterisitics 39 Estuary/Watershed 39 Climate 41 Geology 44 Soils 48 Topography 52 Historical and Cultural History 52 Mullica River Watershed 55 Watershed Build-out 61 Hydrography 63 Rivers and Streams 63 Estuarine Circulation 71 Great Bay 72 Little Egg Harbor 74 Water Quality 78 JCNERR Research and Monitoring Program 79 Benthic Research 84 Bottom Sediments 84 Zooplankton 85 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation 85 3 Nitrogen Enrichment 86 Fisheries 86 Aquatic Habitat Assessment 87 Stream Water Quality 88 Estuary Nutrient Dynamics 92 Estuarine Water Quality 97 Meteorology 104 Water Quality Monitoring - Data Years 1996-1998 108 Water Quality Monitoring - Data Years 1999-2000 110 Temperature 110 Salinity 113 Dissolved Oxygen 115 pH 118 Turbidity 119 Depth 121 Water Quality Discussion 121 Temperature 123 Salinity 123 Dissolved Oxygen 126 pH 128 Turbidity 129 Depth 131 Meteorological Monitoring 131 4 HABITATS 132 Watershed 132 Overview 132 Upland Forests 134 Lowland Vegetation 137 Marshes 144 Freshwater and Brackish Marshes 144 Salt marshes 146 Barrier Islands 148 Open Water 150 Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary 152 FAUNAL COMMUNITIES 158 Overview 158 Watershed Faunal Communities 160 Amphibians and Reptiles 160 Mammals 171 Birds 172 Fish 185 Insects 190 ESTUARINE BIOTIC COMMUNITIES 193 Phytoplankton 195 Zooplankton 204 Benthic Communities 210 5 Benthic Fauna 212 Benthic Flora 238 Nekton 247 Fish and Crabs 247 Recreational and Commercial Species 252 American Eel 252 Alewife and Blueback Herring 253 Bluefish 255 Striped Bass 256 Summer Flounder 258 Winter Flounder 260 Weakfish 262 Blue Crab 263 Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals 265 ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES 267 Overview 267 Reserve Species 267 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 270 SWMP Water Quality Monitoring 271 Mullica River-Great Bay Estuary 275 Current Research 278 REFERENCES 285 APPENDICES 310 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR) is one of the 27 national estuarine reserves created to promote the responsible use and management of the nation's estuaries through a program combining scientific research, education, and stewardship (Figure 1). The JCNERR, which lies on the gently sloping Atlantic Coastal Plain of New Jersey, is the 22nd program site of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), having been officially dedicated on October 20, 1997. It consists of more than 45,000 ha of aesthetic upland, wetland, and open water habitats. The Mullica River watershed is a concentrated patchwork of federal and state lands managed in partnership through a variety of agencies. These land areas are remarkably pristine largely because of the federally protected New Jersey Pinelands, state and federal managed lands surrounding the coastal bays, and only 553 ha of developed landscape (< 2% of the total area). Most of the land of the JCNERR is in public ownership. Upland vegetation in the JCNERR consists of pine-oak forests which are replaced seaward by freshwater-, brackish-, and salt (Spartina) marshes. Marsh habitat covers more than 13,000 ha (> 28%) of the reserve. JCNERR habitats generally exhibit excellent environmental quality, although Little Egg Harbor and Barnegat Bay waters have been identified as highly eutrophic. The JCNERR’s mission is consistent with that of the NERRS, that is, to preserve areas that retain a healthy ecosystem and provide the opportunity to serve the needs of long-term research and monitoring programs. Rich and diverse plant and animal communities inhabit watershed areas of the JCNERR. For example, 275 species of macroinvertebrates, 91 species of fish, and 350 species of algae have been documented in inland habitats of the Mullica River and its 7 tributaries. Watershed habitats support many species of shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl, raptors, and songbirds. Amphibians, reptiles, and land mammals also utilize wetlands, riparian buffer, and upland habitats of the JCNERR and the contiguous pinelands. Figure 1. Map showing the location and habitats of the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (highlighted areas/Legend). Lower right: location of the JCNERR with respect to the state of New Jersey. 8 A wide range of aquatic habitats exists in the JCNERR, the most extensive of which consists of open waters covering more than 27,000 ha (Figure 1). Occurring within the unique New Jersey Pinelands forest ecosystem, the Mullica River-Great Bay Estuary is of special ecological value. Other open waters of the system include Little Egg Harbor, lower Barnegat Bay, Little Bay, Reeds Bay, and Absecon Bay to the south. These estuarine waters support numerous planktonic, nektonic, and benthic organisms. A number of finfish (e.g., bluefish, Brevoortia tyrannus; weakfish, Cynoscion regalis; summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus; and winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus) and shellfish (e.g., blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus and hard clams, Mercenaria mercenaria) species are of recreational and commercial importance. Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) forms critically important habitat in the coastal bays of the JCNERR. SAV, notably eelgrass (Zostera marina) and widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), are found in lower Barnegat Bay and Little Egg Harbor. Seagrasses provide vital ecosystem services in the coastal bays, generating considerable primary production, supporting numerous benthic invertebrate populations, and comprising important spawning, nursery, and feeding grounds for an array of finfish species. Some fish (e.g., Acanthuridae and Scaridae), turtles, waterfowl (e.g., American brant, canvasbacks, and green-winged teal) and sea urchins consume SAV. In addition, these vascular plants baffle waves and currents and mitigate substrate 9 erosion, thereby stabilizing bottom sediments. Eelgrass and widgeon grass are confined to the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary. In Great Bay and coastal bays to Absecon Bay, benthic macroalgae (e.g., Ulva lactuca and Enteromorpha spp.) proliferate, but seagrass is essentially absent due to elevated turbidity. Eutrophication is an escalating problem in the coastal bays of New Jersey (Kennish and Townsend, 2007). The Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary has been classified as a highly eutrophic system (Kennish et al, 2007a). Both phytoplankton and benthic algal blooms are becoming more frequent, as evidenced by repeated phytoplankton blooms in the summer months consisting of dinoflagellates, microflagellates, ultraplankton, and pelagophytes, as well as serious macroalgal blooms consisting of sea lettuce and other nuisance forms (Kennish et al., 2008). Picoplankton blooms commonly occur in the estuary, being dominated by Nannochloris atomus and Aureococcus anophagefferens. During bloom events, the phytoplankton cell counts often exceed 106 cells/ml. Brown tides composed of A. anophagefferens have been most intense and widespread in Little Egg Harbor, but they have also been documented in Barnegat Bay and Great Bay (Olsen and Mahoney, 2001). These phytoplankton blooms are problematic because they cause a brownish water discoloration and shading effects that can be detrimental to SAV. 10 Nutrient enrichment fuels rapid phytoplankton growth in the summer months. Phytoplankton productivity in JCNERR coastal bays rivals or exceeds that of many other coastal bays in the U.S. and abroad (Seitzinger et al., 2001; Kennish et al., 2007a). Phytoplankton directly supports zooplankton and benthic invertebrate populations in the bays. Calanoid and harpacticoid copepods are major components of the zooplankton community in JCNERR estuaries. Meroplankton and ichthyoplankton are also important constituents and provide forage for benthic invertebrate and finfish populations. The benthic invertebrate community is well represented in estuarine waters of the JCNERR. More than 150 benthic invertebrate species have been recorded in Great Bay, and more than 200 benthic invertebrate species, in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary. The composition of bottom sediments, particularly the grain size, strongly influences the distribution and abundance of the benthic organisms. The amount of silt and clay is significant in this regard. Finfish assemblages are abundant in estuarine wates of the system, especially during the warmer seasons of the year. These assemblages can be divided into several major finfish groups, specifically resident species, warm-water migrants, cool-water migrants, and stray species. Forage species, such as the bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) and Atlantic silverside (Menidia