Monitoring Seagrass in National Parks of the Gulf Coast Network: Data Quality Standards

Granger, Whitney; Meiman, Joe; Segura, Martha; Carlson, Jane; bracewell, Jeff

The purpose of this report is to document the standards used by the Gulf Coast Network for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of monitoring data as described in Monitoring Seagrass in National Parks of the Gulf Coast Network: Protocol Narrative (Meiman and Segura 2019). This report and the associated quality assurance plan (QAP; forthcoming) are meant to serve as a single source, independent of the protocol, for understanding how data are collected, processed, reviewed, subjected to quality control, stored and presented—and to what standards of accuracy—so that any associated datasets can be analyzed and reported on correctly. The plan also serves as a programmatic guide and resource for identifying publications and other literature that describe associated techniques and requirements in more detail. Additional information on the overall purpose of this document and the QAP are provided in the National Inventory & Monitoring Division Quality Management Plan (in development). During network vital signs selection, both Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS) and Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS) recognized the importance of monitoring seagrass meadows, both as indicators of ecosystem health (Segura et al. 2007) and to further ongoing cooperative efforts of state and federal agencies to monitor seagrass communities that began in 1999 (Dunton et al. 2011). Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS) consists of a group of islands and associated coastal waters that lie south of Gulfport and Pascagoula, Mississippi; and south and east of Pensacola, Florida. Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS) consists of a 112.6-kilometer (70.2-mile [mi]) barrier island protecting the Laguna Madre southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. Both parks contain significant aquatic resources, including extensive seagrass meadows, which have been identified as key resources for monitoring by the network (Segura et al. 2007). Monitoring seagrass not only provides crucial information on the species themselves, but can also be indicative of habitat changes with the parks’ estuaries. These data will also contribute to regional and national databases that further our understanding of seagrass condition. Seagrass meadows exhibit high productivity and contribute valuable ecosystem functions and services to coastal waters (Hemminga and Duarte 2000). Seagrass meadow extent and densities are declining worldwide due to direct physical disturbance and indirect effects of watershed development resulting in water quality degradation (Orth et al. 2006; Waycott et al. 2009). Waycott et al. (2009) estimated that 29% of the global seagrass habitat has disappeared over the past 100 years. Recognition of these losses has led to a proliferation of seagrass monitoring efforts around the world (Neckles et al. 2012). The Northern Gulf estuaries of Gulf Islands and Padre Island National Seashores range from the hypersaline Upper Laguna Madre of south Texas through the Mississippi Sound to the lagoons and sounds of west Florida. These estuaries support five species of seagrasses, providing habitat for primary production trophic levels up through top end predators. Seagrasses also change the physio-chemical characteristics of estuarine waters through transpiration of oxygen. The primary objective for monitoring seagrass at Gulf Islands and Padre Island National Seashores is to monitor changes in seagrass percent cover, community species composition, and leaf length. The secondary objective is to collect ancillary data (physio-chemical measurements of the water column) in order to determine relationships between seagrass percent cover, species composition, and leaf length and the ancillary data. An additional programmatic objective is to participate in regional seagrass monitoring when fiscally possible.

Monitoring Seagrass in National Parks of the Gulf Coast Network: Data Quality Standards

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