Marine vulnerability assessment of Cumberland Island National Seashore: Determining the vulnerability of marine habitats at Cumberland Island National Seashore to climate change stressors
McDowell Peek K, Coburn A, Stafford E, Tormey B, Young RS, Thompson H, Bennett L, Fowler A. 2016. Marine vulnerability assessment of Cumberland Island National Seashore: Determining the vulnerability of marine habitats at Cumberland Island National Seashore to climate change stressors. Natural Resource Report. NPS/CUIS/NRR—2016/1281. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The goal of this project is to develop a methodology framework for assessing the vulnerability of NPS-managed marine habitats, beginning with a pilot project at Cumberland Island National Seashore (CUIS). This framework employs an assessment approach in which vulnerability is defined as the sum of exposure (the magnitude of the stressor), sensitivity (how strongly a system is affected by the stressor), and adaptive capacity (the potential to adjust in response to the stressor). Nine marine habitats within CUIS, including marine nearshore subtidal, intertidal beach, low salt marsh, salt flats, high fringing salt marsh, shellfish beds, tidal mud flats, tidal creeks, and estuarine nearshore subtidal, were identified, delineated and assessed for their vulnerability to four climate change-related stressors: SLR, temperature change, salinity change, and ocean acidification. For each habitat-stressor combination, exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity were rated on a qualitative scale of low-medium-high. In addition to climate change-related stressors, non-climate stressors were also considered. The primary non-climate stressors impacting CUIS marine habitats include feral horses, erosional impacts of boat wakes, and water quality degradation resulting from development and upstream contamination. This vulnerability assessment serves as a foundation upon which effective strategies for managing CUIS marine resources and habitats vulnerable to both climate and non-climate stressors can be developed and implemented.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- McDowell Peek, Katie; Coburn, Andy; Stafford, Emily; Tormey, Blair; Young, Robert; Thompson, Holli; Bennett, Laura; Fowler, Alicia
- Date of Issue
- 2016-08-30
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- CUIS , NRSS , WRD
- Keywords
- climate change, coastal, Georgia, marine, ocean, ocean acidification, sea level rise, vulnerability assessment