Ecology of the Ocean Special Area Management Plan Area: Block Island Sound Rhode Island Sound Inner Continental Shelf

Alan Desbonnet Carrie Byron

with help from Elise Desbonnet, Barry Costa-Pierce, Meredith Haas and the PELL LIBRARY STAFF and MANY, MANY Researchers

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf GEOLOGY 2,500 km2 31 m average 60 m max 1,350 km2 40 m averageAcadian vs. Virginian 100 m maxecoregions

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Boothroyd 2008 SLR 2.5-3.0 mm per year (1/10th inch) Glacial Origins--- a key element

E. Uchupi, N.W. Driscoll, R.D. Ballard, and S.T. Bolmer, 2000

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Boothroyd 2009 Downwelling – Combined Flow

Circulation/currents shaped by the geology

Bottom habitats are dynamic/ever changing

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Boothroyd 2008 Winter = NW (stronger) Summer = SW (milder) WINDS NOT a major driver of circulation

Av.Big Wave implications height for stratification = 1-3 m

Max = 7 m (9 m 100 yr. wave)

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Spaulding 2007 Most recent Cat3 = Esther in 1961 Most recent = Bob (Cat2) in 1991 No named hurricane 18 years

17 RI hurricanes: 7 Category 1 8 Category 2 2 Category 3

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf NOAA Hurricane Center online data 2010 Important in water column stratification Varies over vertical and horizontal scales TEMPERATURE

Highly seasonal Winter warmer at depth Summer cooler at depth

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Codiga & Ullman 2010; O’Donnell 2008 SALINITYVariesVaries seasonally over vertical and horizontalfall/winter scales saltier spring/summer fresher Important in water column stratification

Connecticut/Thames Rivers are key influences

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Codiga & Ullman 2010; O’Donnell 2008 Gulf Stream meanders & warm core eddies

CURRENTS & CIRCULATION

Northern/Gulf of Maine cold currents

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Gawarkiewicz 2008; Loder et al. 1998 Long Island Sound is a major influence

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Ocean SAMP Renewable Energy Talk Block Island Sound is more dynamic, better mixed Less prone to stratification

He & Wilkin 2006: Data‐assim. model Mau et al 2007: Model & CODAR [NOTE DIFFERENT SCALES] Rhode Island Sound less dynamic, less well mixed More prone to stratification The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Codiga 2008 January Seasonal “front” July

Ecological “hot spot” Distinct temperature discontinuity Weak duringFish winter congregation area

Strong during summer The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Ullman 2008 Narragansett Bay has small influence Nantucket Shoals, etc. influence not well known The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Kincaid et al. 2003; He & Wilkin 2006 Major circulatory flows in the Ocean SAMP area

Poorly Known Region

Deep Shallow

Depth [m]

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Codiga & Ullman 2010 Chemical Oceanography

Nutrients: •Sparse data from late 1970s; verifying units •Gulf Stream input suspected to be important (Gawarkiewicz 2008)

Toxins: •Dredge disposal sites: No biological toxicity reported for Brenton Reef (Battelle 2002) or RI Sound site (USACE 2002)

•North Cape spill: Minor toxicity/mortality 9 mos. post spill (Ho et al. 1999), current status not known

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Higher production inshore Trend of decreasing production withSeasonal distance and south/offshore variable year-to-year

Higher productivity spring and fall PHYTOPLANKTON Lower production during summer

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Hyde 2008 Zooplankton Mix of oceanic (beyond the shelf), neretic (shelf), littoral (sheltered bays) and estuarine (widely varying salinities) areas--- a “Mixing Basin”

Seasonal progression of native species (littoral species and larval forms) January through July, then an influx of non-native offshore species August through December (Deevey 1952)

NMFSZooplankton MARMAP species dominant data was undergoing salinity influenced analysis

Riley (1952) found zooplankton grazing NOT a control over phytoplankton in Block Island Sound

Martin (1965) found zooplankton grazing WAS a control over phytoplankton in Rhode Island Sound (at mouth of Narragansett Bay)

Kane (2007) notes, for the overall Northeast Atlantic region, recent species shifts, with small-bodied taxa becoming more prevalent, with some species reaching seasonal maxima earlier. The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Other MonthOther Eggs Larvae 10/87‐9/93 Pleuronectes 12/89‐11/90 Peprilus triacanthus ferrugineus Stenotomus January Cod chrysopsHerring, Long‐horn sculpin Pseudopleuronecte s americanus February Cod Cod, Long‐horn sculpin Tautogolabrus Ammodytes spp. adspersus Gobiosoma March Cod Cod, Long‐horn sculpin ginsburgi April Mackerel Lumpfish, Wrymouth, Cod, Long‐horn Tautoga onitis sculpin, Brassy sculpin, Hake, Tautoga onitis Anchoa mitchelli Yellowtail flounder May Mackerel, Butterfish Lumpfish, Cod, Hake, Yellowtail

Tautoglabrus flounder, Brassy sculpin, Mackerel, adspersus Butterfish June Goosefish, Cunner, Butterfish, Hake, Mackerel,Anchoa Cunner, spp. Butterfish,

ICHTHYOPLANKTONMackerel, Weakfish YellowtailOther flounder, Windowpane flounder Tautogolabrus Appear to be species adspersus July Cunner, Butterfish, Weakfish Sea horse, Pipefish, Hake, shifts over time Windowpane flounder, Yellowtail Urophysis flounder,chuss Scup, Tautog, Whiting, Weakfish, Butterfish, Cunner Paralichthys Unclear Augusthow theyCunner, relateButterfish, Weakfish to oblongusHake, Yellowtail flounder, Butterfish, Cunner, Whiting, Weakfish fish speciesSeptember shiftsButterfish, Weakfish Herring, Hake, Butterfish, Whiting, Peprilus triacanthus Tautoga onitis Weakfish 6/98‐7/98 October Weakfish Herring, Hake, Butterfish,Citharichthys Whiting, arctifrons Needs more clarification Weakfish before furtherNovember elaborationCod Herring, Hake, Whiting, Fluke December Cod Herring, Fluke

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Pfieffer-Herbert 2008; Merriman & Sclar 1952 Sediment TypeBENTHOSSpecies Association Amphipod–Ampelisca agassizi, A. Silt & Silty Sand Vadorum; Bivalve–Nucula proxima Coarse Sand/ Sand–Gravel Amphipod– Byblis serrata, Acanthohaustorius millsi; Roughness = ComplexityPolychaete–Aricidea = Diversity catherinae Mud Amphipod– Leptocheirus pinguis

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Boothroyd 2008; Zajac 2008; King & Collie 2010 (?) Species Percent of Tows Winter flounder 89.0 Little skate 83.8 Winter American lobster 77.1 Dogfish Windowpane flounder 72.2 floundernot Silver hake 65.0 widelywidely Winter skate 53.1 disperseddispersed Longhorn sculpin 52.8

Species Percent Biomass Spiny dogfishFISH 41.0 Little skate 14.3 (sort of) But not Winter skate 8.4 veryBut very Ocean pout 5.0 plentiful Scup 3.9 plentiful Winter flounder 3.2 Loligo squid 2.3

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Brown 2008 The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Brown 2008 Taxonomic Distinctness Pelagic-demersal Ratio doesn’t match ichthyoplankto 90 5.00 800 Squid n data Pelagic fish 0.01Pelagics/ 1 100 85 1.00 Benthic invertebrates Squid 0.50 80 DemersalCunner fish o

Red hake o Benthic o 75 Longhorn sculpin 600 Sea star o0.10 DemersalsSilver Invertshake o0.05 WINNERS 70 o

Taxonomic Distinctness Northern searobin Winter flounder Pelagic-to-demersal ratio o 65 Windowpane 0.01 o Horseshoe crab o 400 1960 1970Tautog 1980 1990 2000 1960o 1970 1980 1990 2000 American lobster o WeightedAtlantic Meanherring Maximum Length Weightedo Mean Preferred Temperature River herring o LOSERS o 65 Scup 13.0 Spider crab Bay Station o 60 Summer flounder o 200 Sound Station 12.5 o 55 Cancer crab

Annual mean catch per 30-min tow mean catch Annual SMALLER-SIZED FISH o Fourspot flounder 12.0 50 Lady crab o Weakfish o 45 Little skate 11.5 o 0 40 Bluefish o Striped searobin 11.0 oWARM WATER 1959Mean Lmax (cm) 35 1963 1967Longfin 1971 squid 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 oPREFERENCE Butterfish 10.5 o 30 Year Preferred temperature (°C) 25 10.0 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 Instantaneous rate of change Year The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Collie 2008 TOOTHED WHALES

BALEEN WHALES

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Kenney & Vigness-Raposa 2009 PINNIPEDS

Harbor Seal Haul Out Sites

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Kenney & Vigness-Raposa 2009 Common Name Scientific Name Seasonal Use

Eider, Common Somateria mollissima dresseri Nov–Apr Gannet, Northern Morus bassanus Waterbirds Gull, Bonaparte’s Chroicocephalus philadelphia Gull, Great Black‐backed Larus marinus Mar–Jul Gull, Herring Larus argentatus PasserinesAll Year Gull, Laughing Leucophaeus atricilla Aug–Sep Gull, Ring‐billed Larus delawarensis % of Total Capture Loon, CommonSpecies Gavia immer Scientific Name Nov–Jun (Spring/Fall) Loon, Red‐throated Gavia stellata Nov–May Gray catbirdAVIFAUNADumetellacarolinensis 17.1 / 13.2 Scoter, Black Melanitta nigra americana Dec–Apr Scoter, Surf Common yellowthroatMelanitta perspicillataGeothlypis trichasDec–Apr 13.7 / 0 Scoter, WhiteYellow‐winged‐rumped Melanitta warbler deglandi Dendroica coronateJan–Apr 10.7 / 35.1 Petrel, Wilson’sWhite Storm‐throated Oceanites sparrow oceanicusZonotrichia albicollisJun–Jul 6.6 / 0 Shearwater,Golden Cory’s ‐crownedCalonectris kinglet diomedeaRegulus satrapa Jun–Aug 0 / 4.5 Shearwater, Greater Puffinus gravis Red‐eyed vireo Vireo olivaceous 0 / 4.1 Shearwater, Manx Puffinus puffinus Shearwater, Sooty Puffinus griseus Tern, Black Chlidonias niger Tern, Common Sterna hirundo Apr–Sep Tern, Forster’s Sterna forsteri Tern, Least Sternula antillarum May–Aug Tern, Roseate Sterna dougallii Jul–Aug The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Winiarski et al. 2009; Reinert et al. 2002 The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Winiarski et al. 2009 The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Winiarski et al. 2009 Invasive Species

Native Species Explosions: EMERGING ISSUES • ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi (comb jelly) •Lion’s mane jellyfish (Cyanea sp.)

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf Bullardet al. 2007 Thank You!

The Ecology of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and the Inner Continental Shelf