The Effects of Eutrophication on Jellyfish Populations in New Jersey Waterways
How this issue in the Mississippi River delta can be used to predict the effects of eutrophication in New Jersey’s waterways
Tag Words: Jellyfish; Eutrophication; New Jersey; CODAR
Authors: William Pirl, Emily Pirl with Julie M. Fagan, Ph.D
Summary:
(WP) What people are doing on land is having a large effect on the coastal ocean waterways. Human beings are introducing excessive amounts of nutrients into these waterways, which is causing biological dead zones that support little productivity. With fewer fish to compete with and hide from, jellyfish are taking over in these areas. This is very true for the New Jersey coastline, specifically in Barnegat Bay. This area is highly enriched from anthropogenic nitrogen sources and there has been an explosion in jellyfish populations in recent years. By coupling research and monitoring programs that have been established in the Gulf of Mexico with CODAR Hf radar it is our goal to allow New Jersey to monitor, study and track these harmful blooms of jellyfish back to the sources of eutrophication in coastal waterways.
Video Link: http://youtu.be/S00bAylLd6s
** Listed on You Tube as “Eutrophication in New Jersey”
Jellyfish Populations Explode
(WP) Jellyfish populations around the world have skyrocketed in recent years. There have been reported increases in jellyfish blooms from Japan to Portugal and most of the areas in between. There is an extensive list of negative consequences that these large increases of jellyfish populations can have on both the environment and its inhabitants. The increase of gelatinous zooplankton directly affects the human population both physically and indirectly. Large populations increase the chances of potential jellyfish encounters by human swimmers. The stinging cells located in the tentacles fire a poisonous thread when it contacts an object. If this object is a human being, the poison will be injected into the victim. Symptoms of jellyfish stings range from mild burning and itching to muscle spasms, coma and death. In addition to having direct contact with the jellyfish, these creatures cause direct decreases in the fishing and tourism industries. Jellyfish blooms in suck massive quantities are capable of breaking through fishing nets of commercial trolling nets. In Japan, swarms of thousands of Normura jellyfish, each being up to 7 feet in diameter and weighing up to 600 pounds, rip through fishing nets ruining both equipment and profits. In fish farming, jellies have invaded fish pens and consumed large amounts of fish decreasing the amount that can be harvested and sold for profit.
There are several anthropogenic reasons for these large jellyfish populations. Warmer waters due to climate change and global warming have allowed jellyfish blooms to remain all year long as opposed to dying out during the colder winter months. Also over fishing of many different fish species has caused a steep decline in the natural predators of the jellyfish. Without larger species up the food web, jellyfish have fewer predators and are also not competing with these species for space or resources. Once jellyfish move into an area with little pressure their population explosion and eventually dominance is inevitable. In addition to these stimuli, eutrophication of coastal waterways is a dominant cause of large-scale changes in the dynamic marine food web. http://download.cell.com/trends/ecology- evolution/pdf/PIIS0169534709000883.pdf?intermediate=true http://www.seaturtle.org/PDF/Mills_2001_Hydrobiologia.pdf http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/jellyfish/index.jsp http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/02/26/giant-jellyfish-swarms-–-are-humans- the- cause/ http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/jellyfi.html Eutrophication
(EP) Eutrophication is the process by which a body of water is enriched with nitrogen and phosphorous. Much of the eutrophication of coastal waterways is due to human interactions with the land. This includes the overuse of fertilizers both in commercial agriculture and private landscaping. Golf courses historically use loads of fertilizer to keep their greens and landscaping bright green thought out the season. After heavy rain, the fertilizers runoff into rivers and storm drains that eventually drain to estuary systems. Another source for these inputs is sewage runoff from septic systems and storm drains. These activities increase the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous that the primary producers have to use in the production of oxygen. The high amount of added nutrients disrupts the ecosystem because naturally low levels of both nitrogen and phosphorus keep phytoplankton activity at a level in which it equals consumption, keeling the ecosystem in equilibrium.
This increase of nitrogen causes an increase of primary production in photosynthetic phytoplankton and disrupts the delicate balance between the marine organisms in the trophic food web. This leads to high amounts of oxygen production as well as more detritus from dying phytoplankton that sinks to the lower layers in the ocean. Bacteria at depths utilize oxygen in order to metabolize the sinking detritus particles. Their rapid consumption of oxygen to keep up with the falling detritus exceeds the production of oxygen. This creates zones of low or even no oxygen.
Large blooms of phytoplankton have other negative effects on the ecosystem and lead to many hazardous consequences for the rest of the food web. Some species of phytoplankton release harmful and toxic chemicals into the water when they bloom in large quantities, proving to be lethal for many organisms. The large, dense blooms of phytoplankton also pose a problem for those below them. The thick and dense blooms of phytoplankton prohibit light from reaching far into the surface waters causing the photoic zone to be shortened, and not providing light to those who require it. This diminishes the amount of total photosynthesis for the area. Phytoplankton need light to produce oxygen and less light in the water column means a thinner layer of oxygen producing phytoplankton. http://www.eoearth.org/article/Eutrophication http://lepo.it.da.ut.ee/~olli/eutr/html/htmlBook_4.html http://www.state.nj.us/dep/wms//Estuarine%20nutrient%20eutrophication%20r ev- %20noaa.pdf http://people.oregonstate.edu/~muirp/eutrophi.htm
Coastal Dead Zones
(EP) Coastal dead zones occur as a result of a disruption of the nutrient cycling in the marine food web. These areas are the areas usually at the end of he watershed where rivers and lakes drain to the ocean. This is because of the accumulation of high nutrients from many tributaries come to gather in these Back Bay and coastal regions. They are created when eutrophication creates a large bloom of phytoplankton. As these organisms die, their bodies sink to the deep parts of the area where they are decomposed by bacteria and other organisms.
These bacteria need a large amount of oxygen to be able to work so as their supply of detritus increases so will their respiration to keep up with it. They also are consuming this oxygen at a fast rate and the production of new oxygen cannot keep up. When this level gets so low that the water can no longer sustain life, it becomes a dead zone. The lack of oxygen is detrimental to the inhabitants of these areas. Motile creatures such as fish and crabs, have the ability to move out of the area and find new niches to inhabit. Other organisms that are sessile are not so lucky and they will die in these hypoxic conditions. This leads to a decrease in species richness of the area, which causes a decline of the overall health of the ecosystem.
There are several areas that have shown signs of low or no oxygen all around the world and many right here in the Untied States. A very large and notable dead zone is located at the mouth of the Mississippi River delta where the majority of the water from the United States drains to the ocean. This dead zone reaches out into the gulf and is said to be about the size of New Jersey and it is growing. All of the fertilizers used on the nearby farming land coupled with sewage both human and animal, this area has become a dead zone. Other dead zones are becoming more common in coastal water along every coastline in the United States from Florida to Maine and lining the Gulf of Mexico. http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/05-17/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-usa- global- article.htm http://people.oregonstate.edu/~muirp/eutrophi.htm http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/US_Coastal_Dead_Zones_Grow_100911
Jellyfish Thrive in Low Dissolved Oxygen
(WP) The low oxygen levels in dead zones creates by eutrophication do not support very much life. Many species either die out or are forces to move into new niches when oxygen levels in the water plummet. Larger consumers such as fish, sea turtles and even marine mammals are not supported because of food scarcity and higher levers of competition. However these conditions are suitable for jellyfish populations for many reasons. First, with larger organisms that prey on jellyfish such as sea turtles and sunfish jellyfish populations are not being controlled by the preditors-prey relationship and the jellyfish are able to increase their population size. When the sea turtles and sunfish die or vacate the area, they are no longer a threat to the jellyfish because they do not inhabit the same area in the water to consume jellyfish as prey.
Also the limited food supply, due to low oxygen levels, is not an issue for jellyfish because their diet is so varied that they are able to feed on something else if what it prefers takes a population dip. They feed almost by accident as their tentacles as run across their prey as they are freely floating in the water column. Because jellyfish do not actively seek one particular type of prey, anything that they run into will serve as an acceptable source of nutrients during consumption. The rapid reproductive and growth habits of jellyfish also allow them to survive the harsh conditions of a dead zone and take control a population in a relatively short period of time. Jellyfish polyps can sit sessile on the bottom of an ecosystem for long periods of time until conditions are right for them to release and become free-swimming medusas. Large numbers of jellyfish causes over grazing issues and less diversity and energy transfer in the marine ecosystem. http://faculty.disl.org/Publications/condon/Condon_et_al_Hydrobiologia_2001_451 _89_ScyphoLowDO.pdf http://download.cell.com/trends/ecology- evolution/pdf/PIIS0169534709000883.pdf?intermediate=true
Barnegat Bay Eutrophication (EP) Barnegat Bay is located behind the barrier islands off the coast of New Jersey. This bay is a large estuary that has a significant role in nurturing young sea creatures, filtering pollutants from the water and also serves as a source of recreation for human beings. The Barnegat Bay watershed is the area in which water that rains down on the land and eventually drains to the bay. 13 large rivers and creeks and 38 municipalities feed the Barnegat Bay watershed and dump the contents of their water flow into the estuary everyday. The rivers and estuaries that lead to the Barnegat Bay watershed are carrying pollutants with them from many different areas in New Jersey. The route causes pollution in this area are from over population, streets and major roadways, construction of new buildings and overuse of fertilizes.
Eutrophication has been rapidly increased in this area and is causing large changes for this important ecosystem. An rapid increase of people moving into the area is causing a rise in the creation of new condominiums and developments that are a major source of pollution into the Barnegat bay. These new homes use a lot of fertilizers in their gardens and landscaping and have numerous pets whose waste is also adding to the rise of nutrients in the bay. Studies have been done showing that Barnegat Bay has an abundance of chlorophyll indicating large blooms of phytoplankton. These blooms are having many of the negative effects mentioned above and are causing a great disruption in the ecosystem.
The high load of terrestrial nitrogen that is entering the marine system creates these blooms and these blooms are leading to devastating losses in the Barnegat bay. These include but are not limited to losses in crab, fish, snail and bottom dwelling photosynthetic plants that provide a necessary habitat for young organisms that inhabit the bay. The clam population has also seen a drastic drop in recent years, which proves to cause devastating losses for people who depend on the harvesting of these organisms for their livelihood. The loss of these organisms is causing the species richness of the bay to plummet and many native species are moving out or dying off. This is offsetting the whole balance of the delicate estuarine ecosystem whose health is necessary for the survival of many ecologically important species. http://www.bbwa.org/ http://nj.usgs.gov/projects/2454DSK/ http://www.eutro.org/indexcal.aspx?SID=28 http://ian.umces.edu/neea/siteinformation.php http://www.savebarnegatbay.org/news_215.shtml
Jellyfish in the Barnegat Bay
(WP) Jellyfish populations in the Barnegat Bay have made it practically impossible to enjoy a midsummer’s swim without displaying painful symptoms of a jellyfish sting. Many local news stories highlight the abundance of jellyfish in the bay areas that are frequented by tourists. Stories of swimmers who have been stung fill these articles and there is mention of this phenomenon is affecting the tourist industry in these areas, which could cost many people thousands of dollars in lost revenue. The eutrophication problem in the bay is making it easy for jellyfish populations to explode. As mentioned above, the loss of the jellyfish’s natural preditors is making it easier for the jellyfish to populate an area because more of them are not being eaten.
With the growing eutrophication problem in the Barnegat bay, the estuary ecosystem is becoming an increasingly more suitable location for jellyfish to thrive and crowd. This increase of jellyfish has not only caused problems in the marine ecosystem but it is also putting a damper on the tourist industry in this area that relies on the bay for profit. Beaches and water sport companies take hits when bathers cannot go into the water due to the threat of jellyfish stings. http://www.bbwa.org/ http://www.nj.com/shore/blogs/updates/index.ssf/2008/07/barnegat_bay_hostin g_a_bumper.html http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/top_three/article_403dd3a4-70b8-11df-857a- 001cc4c03286.html http://bbp.ocean.edu/pages/323.asp
Future Population Management
(EP) It is evident that there is an abundance of information that scientists still do not understand about jellyfish. Implementing solutions to manage and maintain jellyfish populations are a necessity. One solution will not address all the issues regarding jellyfish populations but there are several solutions that could be implemented to decrease jellyfish populations down to normal levels. Small short-term solutions could include fishing the large jellyfish population for their medicinal and economical uses such as food or even cutting the jellyfish blooms physically with nets that kill the large blooms. Long term and more permanent solutions include reducing eutrophication thus returning “dead zones” back to their natural state. These solutions are only speculated to combat the increased jellyfish population. What is needed before any of these possible solutions can be attempted, is a plan to monitor and track jellyfish populations locally. Eutrophication and jellyfish population explosions has been linked and studied extensively in other parts of the world and it is time to study this interaction of chemistry and biology in New Jersey waterways. A thorough understanding of why jellyfish populations are increasing is the first step in managing the problem. http://download.cell.com/trends/ecology- evolution/pdf/PIIS0169534709000883.pdf?intermediate=true http://galloway.patch.com/articles/eutrophication-threatens-barnegat-bay
Spotting Jellies is First Step Towards a Solution
(WP) Researchers at the Dauphin Island Sea Labs in Alabama have created a unique and effective jellyfish watch program. They have setup a hotline as well as a website in which beach goers can report any jellyfish sightings in different bay locations. If an individual on a boat, dock or beach spots a jellyfish or jellyfish bloom, they are encouraged to call the program hotline or log onto the website and document a host of information about the bloom of jellyfish that they encountered. These factors include are and water temperature as well as weather and water conditions such as salinity and clarity. Scientists of this program also encourage individuals who see a jellyfish to collect a tissue sample or the whole organism for further studies in the lab.
The first step to identifying and solving the problem of overpopulated jellyfish is finding out where these organisms are and where they have been. This can be difficult since these creatures are delicate and would be difficult to tag and because they float with the currents and are mostly at the mercy of where that current wants to carry them. But knowing where they are right now can be done through the program. If this were to be designed and implemented to fit the needs and specifics of the Barnegat Bay, this will give scientists studying the area, a database of sightings to refer to when conducting research. There will be a current and up to date database of all the reported findings along the bay. This will allow scientists to have eyes all over in order to better spot and document jellyfish sightings. http://dockwatch.disl.org/Access/submitjelly.asp
CODAR
(EP) Technology for remote sensing of the ocean has become commonplace in the marine laboratory in recent years. These technologies allow scientists to study the dynamic and changing components of the world’s ocean without physically being out on the ocean to observe things first hand. The best part of these new technologies is their ability to withstand many of the forces of the ocean. Instruments do not get sea sick or cold; they do not crumble at high pressures or temperatures. Instead, these instruments are deployed and set up to observe and record information about the ocean during her worst and most violent moments.
One of these remote sensing instruments is CODAR. This is a high frequency (HF) radar system that allows scientists to measure ocean surface currents remotely without having to be in the water. This is done through two antennas that are set up on the beach. The first antenna is responsible for sending out the HF radar signal out into the open ocean surface. It transmits a low wattage signal that strikes the ocean surface. The second antenna is responsible for receiving the signal that is transmitted back. Once the HF radar signal hits the ocean surface, part of the signal bounces back in the same direction of the two antennas on the beach. The signal is received and interpreted by a computer located onsite with the antenna. These signals, when coupled with other CODAR locations are able to give accurate readings of the speed and direction of surface currents. These currents are then mapped visually using curly vectors to give a visual depiction of what currents are doing at a particular moment in time. http://www.codar.com/ http://www.thecoolroom.org/instruments/instrument_codar.htm http://www.coolclassroom.org/whats_cool/codarantennae.html
New Techniques in Tracking Jellyfish Blooms
(WP) Science is highly multidisciplinary in nature. Different fields overlap in order to create the most effective and valid research studies. This is no different when it comes to studying the ocean. It is in this practice that scientists will find the best solution to studying and tracking jellyfish blooms and their roots in nutrient polluted waters. If a program were to be implemented that encompasses three disciplines of marine science (biological, chemical and physical oceanographers), success in monitoring, tracking and resolving the increase in jellyfish populations could occur. The program would be similar to that started in the Gulf of Mexico by scientists at Dauphin Island Sea Labs in that it would track jellyfish sightings by the public. This would be done in a similar fashion by allowing individuals who spotted jellyfish blooms to relay information about the sighting to research scientists through the phone or Internet. But the program would take this monitoring a step farther and would track the jellyfish bloom back to where it started.
Using the maps of surface currents generated by the CODAR system, scientists will be able to take the information reported about a specific jellyfish sighting and track where the jellyfish have been. Because jellyfish are at the mercy of the currents, daily current maps generated by CODAR technology will allow for back tracking of blooms of jellies. The tracking will eventually lead back to coastal waterways, which will lead to studies of water chemistry in these areas. By knowing a better location of where jellyfish masses have been, scientists will know where to focus their efforts in studying eutrophication. From this information, scientists will be able to identify the waterways and watersheds of the Barnegat Bay that are most adding to the eutrophication problem. This will lead to a better-informed public about how everyday activities are causing detrimental problems in their watershed. Hopefully residents and visitors alike will make a conscious effort to significantly reduce the use of eutrophication sources such as fertilizer and improperly disposed pet waste. This program will not only create an open database for jellyfish sightings and blooms but it will hopefully begin the numerous steps that are needed to return the Barnegat bay back to its natural state
Conclusion
(WP) An increase and acceleration of eutrophication activities will lead to the collapse of many fragile marine habitats. This is a large scale and prevalent example of how humans on land are directly connected to life in the oceans. Things that we are doing both on land and in the sea are directly affecting marine environments. We are changing the chemical composition of the oceans by introducing more nutrients into the water creating eutrophic conditions and dead zones where the jellyfish can adapt to live while other organisms cannot. These activities are modifying ecosystems and if they continue, they have the potential to eliminate entire populations and degrade ecosystems around the world. For the future it is key to understand that human beings directly influence the oceans. The future success and health of our plane will rely on a change in our present actions; better management plans for the future, and a better understanding of jellyfish interactions with the environment. By implementing jellyfish watch programs and the use of CODAR to track blooms, scientists in New Jersey have the ability to track jellyfish blooms back to the areas in which they arose. This will allow for a better understanding of where the blooms are beginning and the start of tracking sources of eutrophication. http://download.cell.com/trends/ecology- evolution/pdf/PIIS0169534709000883.pdf?intermediate=true
Service Project on Eutrophication and Jellyfish
Scientific Journal Article
(WP) It is the goal of our service project to reach the correct audience with the information that we have uncovered. We want to relay our message to two different groups. First is the public to remind them that their actions are directly responsible for the health of the environment that they live. Second it to connect with scientists either environmental scientists or marine scientists. It is our goal to put this preliminary idea out into the scientific community. We have done the background work and created a project that is worth taking on because of the numerous benefits associated with it. The method in which academics communicate their works is through science journals. Getting an article published in a science journal would open the window tremendously of who would have access to the information provided above.
(EP) The article includes all of the necessary background information on eutrophication, jellyfish and CODAR technology. We made a close the connection between the increased nitrogen and low dissolved oxygen in the water of the Barnegat Bay and the problematic jellyfish blooms that have occurred in the past few summers. We then give a detailed account of the plan to monitor these jellyfish populations by combining a watch program with CODAR surface current information.
Journal Article to be submitted to The American Littoral Society: http://www.littoralsociety.org/
Technology Tracks Growing Problem in New Jersey Coastal Waterways
Authors: Emily A. Pirl, William P. Pirl with Julie M. Fagan, Ph.D Key Words: Jellyfish; Eutrophication; New Jersey; CODAR Abstract In recent years, New Jersey waterways have seen a large increase in jellyfish populations along coastal waterways. These blooms have be come a problem particularly in the Barnegat Bay. There are many theories as to why this is but one of the most dominant explanations is the high levels of eutrophication that have been reported in these areas. Eutrophication is caused when human activities introduce excessive amounts of nutrients into the waterways. The Barnegat Bay is a highly enriched ecosystem with anthropogenic sources of both nitrogen and phosphorous. These high level of nutrients results in biological dead zones that support little life and diversity. With fewer fish to compete with and hide from, jellyfish are taking over in these areas. These exploding jellyfish populations are on the rise and need to be stopped or important coastal ecosystems will be lost. A proposed strategy to reduce jellyfish populations aims to determine sources of eutrophication and therefore where jellyfish blooms originated. By coupling research and monitoring programs that have been established in the Gulf of Mexico to map jellyfish sightings with CODAR Hf radar, researchers in New Jersey will be able to monitor, study and track these harmful blooms of jellyfish back to the sources of eutrophication in coastal waterways. From here further action can be taken to stop eutrophication in the most polluted areas of the Barnegat Bay.
Introduction Eutrophication is a huge problem in the Barnegat Bay off the coast of New Jersey. In recent years, studies have shown that the Barnegat Bay. According to the New Jersey State Department, about 66% of the total nitrogen that enters the Barnegat Bay comes from surface runoffs (4). Large watersheds such as the Barnegat Bay cover a large area including farmlands and private developments that can be big sources of nitrogen and phosphorous. These areas introduce new sources of nutrients into the marine environment through the over use of fertilizers both in private and commercial landscaping and the mismanagement of sewage systems and storm drains (5). The increased amount of nitrogen and phosphorous that are washed into rivers, bays and estuaries is causing a great disruption in the marine ecosystems in affected areas. The nutrients most associated with eutrophication, nitrogen and phosphorous, are limiting agents for primary production in phytoplankton. With an increase in the available amount of these nutrients in the water, the growth and reproduction of phytoplankton species increases dramatically (1). The increased bloom eventually leads to an increased amount of detritus that sinks in the water column when these blooms die. When these blooms die and sink, there are bacteria in the water column that decompose them. As these bacteria metabolize the sinking detritus, they deplete the water of oxygen. If the amount of oxygen consumption surpasses the amount of oxygen production by primary producers, than the water column is slowly depleted of oxygen. These areas are known as coastal dead zones because the low levels of lack of oxygen makes it difficult for aerobic organisms to thrive in this environment (2). This leads to a decline in fish and crustacean populations, which could devastate local fisheries. One of the largest dead zones is along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana. This dead zone is almost the size of New Jersey and is caused by nitrogen and phosphorous inputs from anthropogenic sources. This area is experiencing losses in species diversity especially in benthic communities (6). Opposite to the decrease in benthic organisms, the Gulf has seen a population explosion of jellyfish. The decreased species diversity in these areas provides a good habitat for jellyfish species. They low oxygen levels drive the jellyfish’s natural preditors and competitors out of the area, allowing jellyfish populations to skyrocket (5). These increased jellyfish populations cause many problems for human beings besides the obvious problem of stings to swimmers. These blooms are also responsible for decreased tourism, broken fishing nets, destruction of aquaculture fish farms and depletion of fish stocks for commercial fishing resources. The New Jersey Barnegat Bay is seeing a similar increase in jellyfish population’s area behind its barrier islands has seen a burst of jellyfish populations in recent years and is causing many of the problems above. Many local news stories from areas surrounding Barnegat Bay highlight the increased jellyfish problem for swimmers and boaters. This increase in jellyfish populations is a direct result of loss of biodiversity in some areas due to eutrophication. This shift is causing the whole Barnegat Bay ecosystem to be disrupted, decreasing efficiency and productivity. The overall health of the ecosystem has thus declined and a solution to restore this vital ecosystem back to its original equilibrium is needed. We propose a solution that will track these jellyfish populations back to their origin so the problem can be rectified at its source.
Methods In order to stop this growing problem, areas of eutrophication need to be identified and returned to normal conditions. To find the areas of eutrophication that are causing the jellyfish population explosions, two methods of jellyfish monitoring and tracking are needed. First, a jellyfish watch program is necessary to determine where the blooms of jellyfish populations end up. Research scientists in the Gulf of Mexico have established this program and use it to record jellyfish sightings along the coast. This aspect of the program will include a website as well as a phone service that allows the public to call in any jellyfish sightings. A variety of information will be collected both about the jellyfish that was observed as well as the water and weather conditions. This will create a database for jellyfish sightings that scientists will be able to reference for future studies. Once a significant amount of data has been collected through the watch program, researchers will be able to utilize CODAR (Coastal Ocean Dynamics Applications Radar) to track previous jellyfish movement. CODAR data for the New Jersey coast is already available and can be used to determine where the bloom originated because jellyfish lateral movement is reliant on surface currents, which CODAR measures both in magnitude and direction. By coupling the watch program with the use of CODAR, scientists will be able to map where jellyfish have most likely travel. If this path is tracked through the Barnegat Bay area, the origin of these jellyfish blooms can be determined. Once an area is found to be the origin of a jellyfish bloom, it can be further sampled and analyzed for causes such as eutrophication.
Conclusion The health of coastal estuaries is essential to supporting a healthy ocean. These areas provide excellent nurseries for young organisms and hold a large amount of species diversity, essential to the health of the entire ecosystem. It is our responsibility to study these areas and make sure that they maintain healthy and normal states. It is also of primary concern to fix the problems within the system that are due to anthropogenic influences. The jellyfish problem in the Barnegat Bay is just one of the major issues that arise when eutrophication is accelerated. By utilizing jellyfish as a marker of areas of increased eutrophication, we will be able to locate the most problematic areas. If we are able to manage and return jellyfish populations in Barnegat Bay back to normal numbers, the ecosystem will be well on its way to recovering from the significant disruption that eutrophication causes. A healthy ecosystem will provide human beings resources for many years into the future.
References
1. Anderson, Donald M., Patricia M. Gilbert, and JoAnn M. Burkholder. "Harmful Algal Blooms and Eutrophication: Nutrient Sources, Composition, and Consequences." Estuaries 25.4b (2002): 704-26. 2. Diaz, Robert J., and Rutger Rosenberg. "Spreading Dead Zones and Consequences for Marine Ecosystems." Science 321 (2008): 926-29. 3. Graham, W. M. "Numerical Increases and Distributional Shifts of Chrysaora Quinquecirrha (Desor) and Aurelia Aurita (Linné) (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) in the Northern Gulf of Mexico." Hydrobiologia 451 (2001): 97- 111. 4. Kennish, Michael J., 2010. Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor: Eutrophication Update. Presentation at NJ Water Monitoring Council Meeting. New Jersey State Department. 5. Nixon, Scott W. "Coastal Marine Eutrophication: a Definition, Social Causes, and Future Concerns." Ophelia 41 (1995): 199-219. University of Rhode Island.
1. "Barnegat Bay Nutrient Loading and Eutrophication." USGS: Science for a Changing World. U.S. Geological Survey, 11 Jan. 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.
Editorials
(EP) Sent to: Ocean Star News Group and Published on 11/18/11
The summer is the best time for family fun down at the jersey shore. But in recent years, local beaches have seen a dramatic increase in jellyfish blooms to favorite swimming beaches. The stinging tentacles of these jellyfish make for an unpleasant trip to the beach for swimmers. Recent studies have shown that a leading cause of these blooms of jellyfish is due to eutrophication of the water that they live in. This is the process by which nutrients are added to the water through sewage and fertilizer runoff. By doing this, the whole marine food web in that area is thrown out of balance allowing for a jellyfish invasion. Advances in technology have made it possible for scientists to track many dynamic features of the ocean using remote sensing. One such type of technology is CODAR. This is Coastal Ocean Dynamics Applications Radar uses radar to measure surface currents. This technology could be used to locate areas of eutrophication that are hot spots for jellyfish blooms. Once a jellyfish bloom is sighted, scientists can back track currents in previous days to determine where the jellyfish bloom “sprung up.” This will allow scientists to better pinpoint eutrophication sources and in turn end them. This will allow the marine ecosystems to return to normal states, making it safe to go back into the water.
(WP) Sent to: NY Daily News and Publication is pending
Many New Yorkers travel to New Jersey’s beach communities every summer. New Jersey’s beaches are a great place for children, adults and families to enjoy the summer months. This summer however, many people noticed usually high numbers of jellyfish. The large numbers of jellyfish make for an unpleasant, even painful swimming experience and point to a larger problem in New Jersey’s coastal waters. Eutrophication is a physical process by which sewage and fertilizers dump a massive excess of nutrients into streams, rivers and bays, particularly the Barnegat Bay. This process can lead to poor water quality. It also disturbs naturally occurring food chains and creates conditions in which large blooms of jellyfish can thrive. Areas where the Barnegat Bay and inlets empty into the ocean area primary sites for poor water quality lead to jellyfish population explosion. There is technology that, if implemented, could lead to major improves in detection, tracking and prevention of eutrophication caused by pollution. CODAR, or Coastal Ocean Dynamics Applications Radar, can be used to track ocean currents remotely. When jellyfish blooms are observed CODAR can be used to determine where currents, carrying the jellyfish, poor quality water and pollution originated from. This technology exists locally, being run by Rutgers University. It is important to support this type of technology to ensure the quality of New Jersey beaches for generations to come.