Recommendations on Establishing a Research Strategy in the Gulf of Mexico to Assess the Effects of Hurricanes on Coastal Ecosystems

Scientists along the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern United States inevitably are asked to investigate the environmental effects of such extreme natural events as hurricanes. Since the usual post-event sampling strategy is often based upon the application of a pre-event study design that was not ori...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuaries and coasts 2006-12, Vol.29 (6), p.1062-1066
Main Author: Bortone, Stephen A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Artificial reefs
Brackish
Coastal ecosystems
Coral reefs
Environmental assessment
Environmental changes
Environmental effects
Environmental sciences
Estuaries
Gulfs
Hurricanes
Littoral ecosystems
Marine ecosystems
Perspectives in Estuarine and Coastal Science
Research facilities
Research methods
Scientists
Studies
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Scientists along the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern United States inevitably are asked to investigate the environmental effects of such extreme natural events as hurricanes. Since the usual post-event sampling strategy is often based upon the application of a pre-event study design that was not originally intended to evaluate disturbance effects, a hurricane evaluation strategy is needed that establishes sampling coverage through a broad network. Coupling this evaluation strategy with the refinement of several estuarine indicators to assess environmental change will facilitate the evaluation of hurricane effects. Establishing the sampling network and concomitant protocols requires cooperation among scientists and agencies. Fortunately, the number and location of existing laboratories and investigations into establishing estuarine indicators is at hand. Developing a sampling network and protocols will better enable scientists to evaluate the effects of short-term, focused, and intense environmental disruptions.
ISSN:1559-2723
1559-2731
DOI:10.1007/BF02798668