PARENT SESSION
Special Session - Marine and Coastal Applications in Landscape Ecology - Morning Session Chair(s): Nicholson, Matt¹, Hinchey, Elizabeth¹, Robbins, Brad², ¹ Atlantic Ecology Division, Narragansett, RI² Landscape Ecology Division, Sarasota, FL
Friday, April 2, 2004 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM Zeus Room B

Although applications in landscape ecology traditionally have been restricted to the study of terrestrial systems, the questions defining the science are equally relevant for marine systems. Indeed, knowledge of spatial pattern and the scales at which ecological processes take place is essential for effective management of marine environments. However, scattered and widely disparate field or ship-based observations historically precluded quantification of large-scale marine patterns. Recent advances in remote sensing and other technologies are permitting assessments of pattern and process that never before were possible. It is still unclear how the principles of landscape ecology can be translated into the marine environment, a three-dimensional milieu with physical and biological characteristics that often vary rapidly in space and time. This session will bring together researchers who are attempting to adapt the tools of landscape ecology to address ecological questions within marine and coastal systems. The unique challenges facing the growing field of “seascape” ecology will be addressed.

Coastal landscape structure and estuarine condition relationships: How does scale alter model reliability? ^*HOLLISTER, JEFF W. ¹, COPELAND, JANE L. ² and AUGUST, PETER V. ¹, ¹ University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA² Computer Sciences Corporation, Narragansett, RI, USA

ABSTRACT- Predicting water quality from landscape pattern has been a common theme in many recent ecological studies and it is now known that anthropogenic impacts significantly affect water quality. What is not well known is the role that scale plays in describing this relationship. Several studies have explored this issue in freshwater systems and found conflicting results, with some suggesting stronger links to landscape structure within a full watershed and others finding strong links to the local landscape. Since little consensus exists and few prior studies have focused on estuaries, we wanted to explore the role scale plays in describing coastal landscape/estuarine condition relationships. For the purposes of this study, estuarine sediment metals concentrations serve as a surrogate for estuarine condition. From the literature, we built and evaluated a simple general model (e.g. Sediment Metals = ₁Urban + ₂Sedimet Grain Size + ₀) of estuarine sediment metals concentrations at several scales. We used model fit and AIC to evaluate the models and found that all models were significant; however, full watershed models were slightly less reliable in predicting sediment metals concentrations than were models built upon intermediate scales (i.e., 10-20 km from sampling location). These conclusions suggest that landscape structure at intermediate scales may play a larger role in providing reliable predictions of estuarine condition than landscape structure of entire watersheds; however, estuarine processes (e.g. tidal flux, freshwater input, and estuarine type) will likely also play an important role in determining model reliability and thus, should be explored further.

KEY WORDS: scale, estuarine condition, coastal landscapes