TITLE:
The National Estuarine Research Reserve System: A Review of Research and Monitoring Initiatives
AUTHORS:
Michael J. Kennish
KEYWORDS:
NERRS, Estuaries, System-Wide Monitoring Program, Integrated Research, Sentinel Sites, Climate Change
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.9 No.3,
March
21,
2019
ABSTRACT: The National Estuarine Research Reserve System
(NERRS) is an integrated network of 29 protected and coordinated estuarine
reserve sites in 23 states and one territory (Puerto Rico) covering more than
525,000 ha of estuarine habitat, adjoining wetlands, and uplands that encompass
19 biogeographical regions along the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific
coasts, as well as the Caribbean Sea and Great Lakes. NERRS is an
ecosystem-based research and monitoring network of sites serving as platforms
to develop quantitative databases of value to coastal management programs in
identifying and tracking short-term variability and long-term changes in the
integrity and biodiversity of estuarine systems nationwide due to natural
perturbations and anthropogenic disturbances. The reserve sites also play a
vital role in assessing coastal issues of local, regional, and national
significance for the purpose of sustaining estuarine systems and coastal lands,
such as evaluating their responses to climate
change and other major stressors to inform coastal decision-making and public
awareness for the protection and resilience of natural resources and coastal
communities. Over the past four decades, NERRS sites have collected large
volumes of research and monitoring data of great utility in characterizing
estuarine environments and addressing an array of resource-management concerns,
including degraded water quality, loss and alteration of essential habitat,
impacted fisheries, invasive species, and conservation.