TY - CHAP
TI - An integrated seafloor habitat map to inform marine spatial planning and management: a case study from Long Island Sound (Northwest Atlantic)
AU - Zajac, R
AU - Stefaniak, L
AU - Babb, I
AU - Conroy, C
AU - Penna, S
AU - Chadi, D
AU - Auster, P
T2 - Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat
AB - Long Island Sound (LIS) is a large estuary on the Atlantic coast of the highly developed northeast United States. However, limited spatially comprehensive habitat information has been available at sufficient resolution to inform planning and management of conflicting uses. A pilot project was conducted at a site with diverse topography and sediment characteristics in central LIS. The aim of the study was to develop methodologies to characterize the variety of benthic habitats and infaunal and epifaunal communities. This information was then used to produce habitat maps to inform stakeholders and decision-makers.Backscatter was processed using supervised segmentation with final acoustic “habitat” patches defined by sediment grain size, bathymetry, slope, and a topographic roughness index. Ecological attributes were determined using diversity indices and multivariate and image analyses of species composition data collected seasonally via grab samples, photography, and video. Some community dominants exhibited stability across seasons while others were seasonal in occurrence. Linkages between species and community distributions to seafloor characteristics occurred across multiple spatial scales. An integrated habitat map synthesized the general characteristics of seafloor habitats and associated species to provide a first order visualization of this complex subtidal landscape.
DA - 2020/01//
PY - 2020
SP - 199
EP - 217
PB - Elsevier
UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128149607000105
LA - English
KW - Marine Energy
KW - Ecosystem Processes
KW - Physical Environment
KW - Human Dimensions
KW - Marine Spatial Planning
ER -