Ocean Special Area Management Plan Chapter 2 Ecology of the Ocean SAMP Region Table of Contents List of Figures................................................................................................................................. 3 List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. 7 Section 200. Introduction............................................................................................................... 8 Section 210. Geological Oceanography....................................................................................... 13 Section 220. Meteorology............................................................................................................. 21 220.1. Wind............................................................................................................................... 21 220.2. Storms......................................................................................................................... 23 Section 230. Physical Oceanography............................................................................................ 25 230.1. Waves ......................................................................................................................... 28 230.2. Tides and Tidal Processes .............................................................................................. 28 230.3. Hydrography................................................................................................................... 31 230.3.1. Temperature............................................................................................................. 31 230.3.2. Salinity..................................................................................................................... 34 230.3.3. Stratification........................................................................................................ 37 230.4. Circulation .................................................................................................................. 40 230.4.1. Block Island Sound.................................................................................................. 43 230.4.2. Rhode Island Sound................................................................................................. 46 Section 240. Chemical Oceanography......................................................................................... 49 240.1. Nutrients ..................................................................................................................... 49 240.2. Toxins ......................................................................................................................... 51 Section 250. Biological Oceanography........................................................................................ 55 Ocean SAMP DRAFT of 7/23/10 Chapter 2 Page 1 of 127 Ocean Special Area Management Plan 250.1. Plankton.......................................................................................................................... 55 250.1.1. Phytoplankton Productivity..................................................................................... 56 250.1.2. Phytoplankton Seasonality ...................................................................................... 59 250.1.3. Zooplankton............................................................................................................. 60 250.1.4. Microbes .................................................................................................................. 63 250.1.5. Fish and Invertebrate Eggs and Larvae ................................................................... 64 250.1.6. Harmful Algal Blooms ............................................................................................ 69 250.2. Benthic Ecosystem..................................................................................................... 70 250.2.1. Invertebrates ............................................................................................................ 76 250.2.1.1. Block Island Sound............................................................................................... 77 250.2.1.2. Rhode Island Sound.............................................................................................. 79 250.3. Fishes.............................................................................................................................. 80 250.4. Marine Mammals ........................................................................................................... 87 250.4.1. Cetaceans................................................................................................................. 87 250.4.2. Pinnipeds ................................................................................................................. 97 250.5. Sea Turtles...................................................................................................................... 98 250.6. Avifauna ................................................................................................................... 100 Section 260. Emerging Issues.................................................................................................... 108 260.1. Native Species Explosions........................................................................................ 108 260.2. Invasive species........................................................................................................ 108 260.3. Marine Diseases........................................................................................................ 109 Section 270. Policies and Standards ........................................................................................... 111 270.1 General Policies………………….……………………………………………..…..115 270.2 Regulatory Standards……………….…………………………………………..…..115 Section 280. Literature Cited ...................................................................................................... 113 Ocean SAMP DRAFT of 7/23/10 Chapter 2 Page 2 of 127 Ocean Special Area Management Plan List of Figures Figure 2.1. General geographic layout, basic bathymetry, and major features of the Ocean SAMP area as discussed in this chapter...................................................................................................... 9 Figure 2.2. Schematic of approximate location of major glacial lakes and direction of drainage flows approximately 19,000 years ago, and which helped create current seabed topography. Adapted from Uchupi et al. (2001)............................................................................................... 14 Figure 2.3. Location of glacial moraines in the Ocean SAMP area. The map is a composite of the moraines as defined by several researchers, shown according to compositional materials to emphasize the largest possible extent of the more substantial bottom materials such as boulders. These features help shape physical oceanographic forces such as currents, as well as benthic ecological habitats......................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 2.4. Bottom characteristics in a section of Rhode Island Sound as interpreted from sidescan sonar images (McMullen et al. 2008; their Figure 14 (upper) and Figure 10 (lower)). Note the large expanses of sandy area punctuated by scattered boulders in the upper panel. Yellow area in the lower panel shows more stable habitat areas, with orange (sand areas in the upper panel) areas being more transitory...................................................................................... 19 Figure 2.5. Average annual, average maximum, and average minimum wind speeds over the Ocean SAMP area. (www.crmc.ri.gov/samp_ocean/Wind_Energy_RI_EBC.pdf). .................... 22 Figure 2.6. Hurricane tracks where the eye moved over Rhode Island, intersecting the Ocean SAMP area (http://csc-s-maps-q.csc.noaa.gov/hurricanes/viewer.html)...................................... 23 Figure 2.7. Schematic representation of northern cold water currents, southern warm water currents, and Gulf Stream warm core rings entering the Ocean SAMP area, making it a very dynamic ecosystem. Warm core rings graphic from: Coastal Carolina University ; http://kingfish.coastal.edu/gulfstream/p6.htm. ............................................................................. 27 Figure 2.8. Water current velocities in Block Island Sound, particularly at The Race, showing the intense current speed in that area. (www.crmc.ri.gov/samp_ocean/Ocean SAMP_Renewable_Energy.pdf)................................................................................................... 30 Figure 2.9. MARMAP water temperature data for all stations located within the Ocean SAMP area, and for all years of sampling (Taylor et al. 2009). Seasonality of collected data, as well as level of sampling effort over time, are shown in the stacked graphs to the right. ........................ 32 Figure 2.10. Seasonal water temperatures at sea surface, 20 m depth, and seafloor in the Ocean SAMP area, based on archived CTD data collected between 1980 and 2007 (from Codiga and Ullman 2010). ............................................................................................................................... 33 Ocean SAMP DRAFT of 7/23/10 Chapter 2 Page 3 of 127 Ocean Special Area