Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve: an Ecological Characterization
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Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve: An Ecological Characterization Mark S. Peterson, Gretchen L. Waggy, and Mark S. Woodrey, editors SEPTEMBER 2007 PREFACE The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Ecological Characterization (Site Profile) characterizes the environmental features, habitat types, species distribution and biological communities within the Grand Bay providing valuable insight into our current knowledge relating to this coastal gem in southeastern Mississippi.. The document is intended to highlight what is currently known about this NERR and draws on peer-reviewed and other ‘grey- literature’ sources of published information. To complete this project, the editors contacted and solicited specific chapters from colleagues recognized as experts in their respective fields who have experience working in and around the Grand Bay area. Each chapter reflects the expertise and experiences of individual authors and provides a detailed summary and overview of the current “state of knowledge” for respective topics. The thoughts, opinions, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, Grand Bay NERR staff, Grand Bay NERR Management Board, or the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. The document is organized and written to serve the many needs of valued stakeholders ranging from the scientific community to the public, and we provide complete citations pertinent to the Grand Bay NERR. Despite the relative lack of research and monitoring activities that have occurred historically within the confines of the Grand Bay NERR, we have accumulated a considerable amount of information to form this baseline and in a few cases have drawn from the wider geographic literature that we feel is appropriate and representative of the Grand Bay NERR environment. With the broad range of coastal habitats, biotic communities, environmental challenges, and human impacts within the Grand Bay NERR, this site can serve as a baseline and model for future studies on dynamic coastal ecosystems in an ever-changing landscape. The Site Profile will provide a starting point from which the Grand Bay NERR staff, resource managers and collaborators working at the site will develop research, stewardship and educational activities. With the designation of the Grand Bay NERR in 1999 as the 24th reserve within the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, our abilities and means to better understand this complex coastal ecosystem were greatly enhanced. Now, with this and other new tools and support the NERR will move its programming deep into the 21st century. The Grand Bay National Research Reserve (NERR) is pleased to have developed the Grand Bay NERR Site Profile in collaboration with Dr. Mark S. Peterson of the Department of Coastal Sciences at The University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs, MS. A special thank you is also extended to the other editors and many chapter authors for their valuable contributions. David Ruple Reserve Manager 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Site Profile was published with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Estuarine Reserves Division Grant # NA03NOS4200137. The editors thank the myriad of authors who gave of their time and energy selfishly to produce the numerous chapters in this volume. Without their help and expertise this document would not have been completed. We also specifically thank David Ruple, Manager, and Chris May, Stewardship Coordinator, of the Grand Bay NERR, for their editorial contributions and support of our efforts. Jennifer Buchanan, the Grand Bay NERR Education Coordinator, kindly provided assistance with the design and formatting of this document. We also extend our thanks to the library staff at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) who obtained some hard to find references, and Dr. Ralf Reidel of GCRL who shared the historic data in the Nekton chapter from the Gulf of Mexico Estuarine Inventory (GMEI) database. This entire document should be cited as follows: Peterson, M.S., G.L. Waggy and M.S. Woodrey (editors). (2007). Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve: An Ecological Characterization. Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Point, Mississippi. 268 pp. Individual chapters should be cited as follows: Otvos, E.G. (2007). Geological Framework and Evolution History. Pages 22-46 in Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve: An Ecological Characterization (Peterson, M.S., G.L. Waggy and M.S. Woodrey, editors). Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Point, Mississippi. 3 CONTRIBUTORS Joel A. Borden Thomas F. Lytle Department of Biology Department of Coastal Sciences University of South Alabama 703 East Beach Drive Mobile, Alabama 36688 The University of Southern Mississippi Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 Shelia A. Brown C. Smoot Major J. L. Scott Marine Education Center Department of Biology The University of Southern Mississippi University of South Alabama 703 East Beach Drive Mobile, Alabama 36688 Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 Greg Carter Chris A. May Gulf Coast Geospatial Center and Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Department of Coastal Sciences Reserve The University of Southern Mississippi 6005 Bayou Heron Road 703 East Beach Drive Moss Point, Mississippi 39562 Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 Kevin S. Dillon Jerry A. McLelland Department of Coastal Sciences Department of Coastal Sciences 703 East Beach Drive 703 East Beach Drive The University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 Gabriel Langford David H. Nelson School of Biological Sciences Department of Biology University of Nebraska-Lincoln University of South Alabama Lincoln, NE 68588 Mobile, Alabama 36688 Sara LeCroy Mark S. Peterson Department of Coastal Sciences Department of Coastal Sciences 703 East Beach Drive 703 East Beach Drive The University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 Julia S. Lytle Ervin Otvos Department of Coastal Sciences Department of Coastal Sciences 703 East Beach Drive 703 East Beach Drive The University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 4 Chet F. Rakocinski S. Christine Walters Department of Coastal Sciences Grand Bay National Estuarine Research 703 East Beach Drive Reserve The University of Southern Mississippi 6005 Bayou Heron Road Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 Moss Point, Mississippi 39562 Bradley Randall Ronald G. Wieland Mississippi Department of Marine 3025 Kyle Ave N Resources Golden Valley, Minnesota 55422 1141 Bayview Ave. Biloxi, Mississippi 39530 Gretchen L. Waggy Mark S. Woodrey Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Mississippi State University Reserve Coastal Research and Extension Center 6005 Bayou Heron Road Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Moss Point, Mississippi 39562 Reserve 6005 Bayou Heron Road Moss Point, Mississippi 39562 5 CONTENTS i. PREFACE............................................................................................................................2 ii. ACKNOWLEGMENTS ......................................................................................................3 iii. CONTRIBUTORS...............................................................................................................4 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE GRAND BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE .................................................11 1.1. Overview of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System ......................11 1.2 General Overview of the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve ...14 1.3 Grand Bay NERR Strategic Plan: 2003...........................................................18 1.4 Overview of the Site Profile/Ecological Characterization...............................19 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTINGS CHAPTER 2 GEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK AND EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY...............................................................22 2.1 Location, Landforms, and General Geologic Framework ...............................22 2.2 Geological History...........................................................................................26 2.2.1 Pliocene and Pleistocene Epochs......................................................26 2.3 Bottom Sediment Distribution, Pt. aux Chenes and Middle Bays...................32 2.3.1 Pleistocene Unit................................................................................32 2.4 Holocene and Modern Deposits.......................................................................33 2.4.1 Holocene deposits ............................................................................33 2.4.2 Modern erosive shore processes .......................................................33 2.4.3 Modern bayfloor environments.........................................................33 2.4.4 Indian mounds...................................................................................41 2.4.5 Tropical storm and hurricane events.................................................42 2.4.6 Shore erosion rates............................................................................43 2.5 Geological Future of the Grand Bay Area .......................................................44 CHAPTER 3 CLIMATE AND WEATHER OF COASTAL MISSISSIPPI .............47 3.1 Late Spring to Early Fall Season (Apr - early Oct) .........................................47