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Home :: Study Area :: Image Gallery :: Maps :: Shape Files :: References :: Acknowledgement |
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The Submerged Aquatic
Vegetation Cooperative Habitat Mapping Program delineates the distribution
and abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the estuarine
and coastal riverine ecosystems of North Carolina Surveys of submerged
aquatic vegetation have been conducted in North Carolina's estuaries
(Davis and Brinson 1989, Ferguson et al. 1989, Ferguson and Wood 1994).
The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries mapped SAV habitat as
part of the Shellfish Abundance and Habitat Mapping Program. Much of
these data are in digital format in a Geographic Information System
(GIS). Little spatial data exists for submersed rooted vascular plants
in oligohaline waters (0.5 - 5.0 ppt). This would include species such
as Vallisneria americana, Potamogeton perfoliatus, Ruppia maritima,
Myriophyllum spicatum, Stuckenia pectinata, and Najas guadalupensis.
Comprehensive mapping of SAV beds is needed to update the existing data
while adding to our knowledge of oligohaline systems. A long-term study
of the distribution patterns, species composition, and abundance of
SAV is presently being conducted in the Chesapeake Bay and Florida. Coastal resource
managers, wildlife and fisheries biologists and estuarine scientists
recognize the important ecological functions of SAV habitat to fisheries,
waterfowl, and water quality. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS), National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Albemarle-Pamlico
National Estuary Program (APNEP), North Carolina Department of Natural
Resources (NCDENR) Division of Water Resources (DWR), Division of Water
Quality (DWQ), Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), and the North Carolina
Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) all support efforts to develop
a long term SAV habitat study. The USFWS and the APNEP have listed SAV
habitat mapping and restoration as a high priority for research needs
and funding. SAV has been identified
by the NCDENR Coastal Habitat Protection Planning effort as a strategic
habitat that supports juvenile and adult populations of economically
valuable commercial and recreational fisheries, as well as forage species
important to the ecological integrity of coastal aquatic ecosystems.
Applications of remotely sensed data, both aerial photography and digital
aerial imagery, can be used to identify, quantify, protect and enhance
this critical habitat. Credit: Image:Brian Montgomery, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Text: Water Cycle Study Group, A Plan for a New Science Initiative on the Global Water Cycle (2001) |
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Jacklyn C. James Web Page Designer Elizabeth City State University |
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