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The Ecosystem Indicator Partnership (ESIP) is a committee of the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment. ESIP is developing indicators for the Gulf of Maine and integrating regional data for a new Web-based reporting system for marine ecosystem monitoring. Activities of ESIP initially center on convening regional practitioners in six indicator areas: coastal development, contaminants and pathogens, eutrophication, aquatic habitat, fisheries and aquaculture, and climate change.
ESIP Journal Entry, December 2009/January 2010
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| A Virginian refuge in mid-coast Maine. The restricted tidal flow over the sill allows water temperatures in the basin above the sill to attain a level sufficient for reproduction of the American oyster and several other Virginian species. |
Effects of Climate Change on the Macroinvertebrate Fauna of the Gulf of Maine: Past, Present and Future
The Gulf of Maine has undergone a rapid and complex geological evolution since the last glaciation and the biological systems have responded accordingly leading to the globally significant patterns of biodiversity that we observe today. Briefly, until about 7,000 years BP the Gulf of Maine was tideless and lagoonal in nature. This allowed for much warmer water temperatures and colonization by warm temperate (Virginian) species from the south. As sea level rose and larger and larger tides developed, the surface waters of the Gulf cooled and the warm temperate species were increasingly restricted in their range within the Gulf. The Gulf of Maine populations of Virginian species, including the American oyster, became disjunct from the main population centers in the mid-Atlantic region. The process has continued until the present time as the tidal range continues to increase with the result that these warm temperate species are now limited to largely undocumented isolated pockets, Virginian refugia, usually near the heads of estuaries, where summer water temperatures still reach levels sufficient for reproduction.
The American oyster is the most significant of these species. It is especially important because of the ecological services it provides. These services include providing habitat space for a myriad of other species including invertebrates and fishes, serving as a food resource for fishes, birds and invertebrates, improving water quality through its legendary filtering ability, as a force in benthic/pelagic coupling, reducing erosion by stabilizing sediments and as a resource species itself. Recent research has shown that secondary productivity in oyster habitat is four times that in any other, including salt marshes and seagrass beds. Oyster reefs globally, however, are one of the most threatened estuarine habitats with over 85% of reefs having been extirpated. Degradation of oyster reefs has resulted in not only the collapse of an important fishery but also the loss of the valuable ecosystem services associated with oyster reefs.
By their very nature, the populations in Virginian refugia are vulnerable. They are limited in areal extent and the resident populations are small. Given their isolated locations at the headwaters of estuaries it is clear that even a limited environmental perturbation could wipe out an entire unique population. Indeed, environmental regulators are unaware of the existence of relict Virginian populations, hence, they are not even considered in the decision making process. Relict Maine American oyster populations have been isolated from the main populations for at least hundreds of years. Living oysters have disappeared from several locations since colonial times. The remaining populations may provide a divergent genetic resource that will be significant in the face of climate change. In addition, it is important to realize that oysters, and their associated faunal community, were the characteristic community of upper estuaries in the Gulf of Maine. This is the same habitat area where the first signals of climate change are likely to be observed along the coastal zone because the freshwaters entering the estuaries will warm faster than the seawater entering estuarine mouths. There is evidence that another Virginian shellfish species, the quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria, is returning to its historical abundance levels in Maine.
A multidisciplinary group of Gulf of Maine marine scientists is endeavoring to provide the critical historical, environmental, and ecological information necessary for protection and restoration of relict Maine American oyster populations and associated Virginian species. The efforts focus on identifying the present distribution, abundance, and population characteristics of the native oyster for the first time. Habitat areas from which oysters have been extirpated in recent history will also be identified, as they may now be suitable for restoring native oysters. For further information contact Peter Larsen at .
Read prior journals in the journal archive!
ESIP Fact Sheet Available
The ESIP Steering Committee is pleased to announce the release of the
first ESIP fact sheet. This initial fact sheet contains information on
the selected indicators and both of our webtools. Many individuals
assisted with the production of this document and we're thankful for all
of the effort and time dedicated by our ESIP team. If you would like to
receive hard-copies of the document, please contact Christine Tilburg at
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- Summary Notes of ESIP meeting in Boston (DOC, 84 KB)
The Gulf of Maine regional indicators and reporting initiative is guided by the following objectives:
- Provide baseline data and information, using historical data where available, about ecosystem conditions against which future changes can be compared;
- Develop ecosystem indicators for assessing the state of the Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy that have a scientific grounding and that are relevant to management issues of concern in the region;
- Provide consistent, scientifically-sound, credible information that can be used to strengthen environmental policy and guide management decisions with environmental and social implications;
- Utilize a collaborative, interactive process that involves a variety of partners and data sources; and
- Ensure that information reaches decision-makers within the Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy region in a manner that is useful to them.
Although decision-makers receive information from multiple sources, the Gulf of Maine indicators and reporting program will uniquely convey linkages between science, management, and ecosystem goals at a regional scale and elucidate connections between ecosystem conditions and human needs. This initiative will begin with modest short-term goals and gradually extend the scope of its effort to expand 1) the depth and breadth of management-relevant issues that are covered, 2) the level of integration across specific management issues, 3) the spatial scale of focus, and 4) the audience that is reached through products of this program. It will rely heavily on partnerships with existing government agencies, environmental organizations, community groups, business and trade groups, academic institutions, and other programs operating within the region and at national and international scales.
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Questions about how to use the ESIP Indicator Reporting Tool? Download the ESIP Indicator Reporting User Guide (PDF, < 0.5 MB).
Interactive map of monitoring sites
The long-term goal of ESIP is to provide Web-based access to synthesized monitoring data collected in the Gulf of Maine and its watershed. Numerous government agencies and non-government organizations conduct monitoring programs in the region. The purpose of the ESIP Monitoring Map is to provide information regarding where monitoring programs exist in the Gulf of Maine. Although data can be accessed by following data links back to the parent organization, the purpose of this map is not to provide data. Instead, this map provides a means of assessing the type of monitoring data that is available in the Gulf of Maine. Data from these programs will be made available in the ESIP Indicator Map, under development now.
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Questions about how to use the ESIP Monitoring Map? Download the revised ESIP Monitoring Map User Guide 2 (PDF, 1.3 MB).
To add your program to the ESIP Monitoring Map, please contact ESIP Program Manager Christine Tilburg.
Data displayed on the ESIP Monitoring Map can be downloaded in database files or accessed via Web Mapping Services (WMS). Click here for more information.
Funding to develop the pilot version of the ESIP Monitoring Map was provided by the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET).
Jawed Hameedi
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Susan Russell-Robinson
United States Geological Survey
Jason Naug
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Charles Strobel
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Kathryn Parlee
Environment Canada
Coastal Development Subcommittee
Fisheries and Aquaculture Subcommittee
Christine Tilburg
ESIP Program Manager
Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment
ESIP overview | Vision statement and core principles | Primary Indicators | Data | Events and documents