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Circular 1348

Pubs Warehouse

### Prepared in partnership with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program

## Integrating Science and Resource Management in  Tampa Bay, Florida

#### Edited by Kimberly K.  Yates, Holly Greening, and Gerold Morrison

| Preface
Tampa  Bay is recognized internationally for its remarkable progress towards recovery  since it was pronounced “dead” in the late 1970s. Due to significant efforts by  local governments, industries and private citizens throughout the watershed,  water clarity in Tampa Bay is now equal to what it was in 1950, when population  in the watershed was less than one-quarter of what it is today. Seagrass extent  has increased by more than 8,000 acres since the mid-1980s, and fish and  wildlife populations are increasing.

Central  to this successful turn-around has been the Tampa Bay resource management  community’s long-term commitment to development and implementation of strong  science-based management strategies. Research institutions and agencies,  including Eckerd College, the Florida Wildlife Commission Fish and Wildlife  Research Institute, Mote Marine Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric  Administration, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, University of  South Florida, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey,  local and State governments, and private companies contribute significantly to  the scientific basis of our understanding of Tampa Bay’s structure and  ecological function. Resource management agencies, including the Tampa Bay  Regional Planning Council’s Agency on Bay Management, the Southwest Florida  Water Management District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management Program,  and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, depend upon this scientific basis to develop  and implement regional adaptive management programs.

The  importance of integrating science with management has become fully recognized  by scientists and managers throughout the region, State and Nation. Scientific  studies conducted in Tampa Bay over the past 10–15 years are increasingly  diverse and complex, and resource management programs reflect our increased  knowledge of geology, hydrology and hydrodynamics, ecology and restoration  techniques. However, a synthesis of this research and its integration into  resource management has not been prepared for Tampa Bay since the mid-1980s.

The  need for an up-to-date synthesis of Tampa Bay science and management has  resulted in the production of this document. The U.S. Geological Survey  recently completed a 5-year Tampa Bay Integrated Science Study, and the Tampa  Bay Estuary Program updated the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan  for Tampa Bay in 2006. These efforts build upon results of the many research  and management studies and programs summarized here.           | First posted November 15, 2011
- Report cover  (1.9 MB)
- Front matter  (0.7 MB)
- Chapter 1  (3.0 MB)
- Chapter 2  (3.0 MB)
- Chapter 3  (6.6 MB)
- Chapter 4  (5.4 MB)
- Chapter 5  (4.3 MB)
- Chapter 6  (2.9 MB)
- Chapter 7  (7.0 MB)
- Chapter 8  (8.4 MB)
- Highlight Boxes  (10.1 MB)

**For additional information contact:**Kim Yates          USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center600 Fourth Street SouthSt. Petersburg, FL 33701-4846          Phone: 727-803-8747http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/

Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge. |
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### Suggested citation:

Yates,  K.K., Greening, Holly, and Morrison, Gerold, eds., 2011, Integrating Science  and Resource Management in Tampa Bay, Florida: U.S. Geological Survey Circular  1348, 280 p., available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1348/.  

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|   | ContentsChapter 1.   An Introduction to Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Study—Integrating Science and Management

 References Cited
Chapter 2.  Environmental Setting
 Land Use

 Climate and Weather

 Tributaries and Freshwater Inflow

 Tides

 Circulation

 Coming Challenges—Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise

 References Cited
Chapter 3.  Origin and Evolution of Tampa Bay
 Geologic History

 Stratigraphy

 Paleoenvironments

 Anthropogenic Changes to the Bay and its Watershed

 References Cited
Chapter 4.  Seagrass
 Seagrass Species Found in Tampa Bay

 Seagrass Habitat Requirements

 Types of Seagrass Beds in Tampa Bay

 Factors Affecting Seagrass Cover in Tampa Bay

 Water and Sediment Quality

 Dredge and Fill

 Currents and Wave Energy

 Propeller Scarring

 Planting and Transplanting

 Sea-Level Rise and Other Components of Global Climate Change

 Status and Trends in Seagrass Cover

 Seagrass Management Strategy

 Anticipated Challenges

 References Cited
Chapter 5.   Water Quality 
 Connectivity between the Bay and its Watershed and Airshed

 Eutrophication in Tampa Bay—Past Problems, Recent Successes, and Ongoing Challenges

 Water-Quality Monitoring

 Estimating Pollutant Loads and Bay Responses

 Adaptive Management

 Current and Anticipated Water-Quality Management Issues

 Nutrient Inputs and Eutrophication

 Factors Affecting Phytoplankton Productivity in Tampa Bay

 External Nitrogen Sources and Estimated Annual Loadings

 Internal Nutrient Cycling and its Implications for Bay Management

 Setting Water-Quality Goals and Nitrogen Loading Goals Based on the         Light Requirements of Seagrasses

 Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium

 Toxins and Harmful Algal Blooms

 Mercury in Fish Tissue

 Harmful Algal Blooms

 Florida Red Tide

 Other Harmful Algal Blooms

 Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products, and other Emerging Contaminants

 Pathogen-Related Water-Quality Impairments

 Anticipated Future Challenges from Ongoing Population Growth

 References Cited
Chapter 6.   Freshwater Inflows 
 Anthropogenic Hydrologic Modifications

 Urban Development and Increased Imperviousness

 Changes to Surface-Water Conveyance Systems

 Coastal Old Tampa Bay Basin

 Hillsborough River Basin

 Coastal Hillsborough Bay Basin

 Alafia River Basin

 Coastal Middle Tampa Bay Basin

 Little Manatee River Basin

 Coastal Lower Tampa Bay and Terra Ceia Bay Basins

 Manatee River Basin

 Boca Ciega Bay Basin

 Changes in Groundwater Systems

 Northern Groundwater Basins

 Southern Groundwater Basin

 Rainfall and Streamflow Patterns

 Long-Term Trends in Spring Discharge and Instream Flows

 Management Responses to Anthropogenic Alterations

 Stormwater Management

 Water Withdrawals for Human Use

 Discharges of Treated Effluent and Irrigation Water

 Future Challenges

 References Cited
Chapter 7.  Sediment Contaminants and Benthic Habitat Quality 
 Contaminant Concentrations and Disbribution

 Identification of Contaminants of Concern

 Risk-Based Assessment of Contaminant Concentrations

 Contaminants of Concern Sources and Estimated Inputs

 The Tampa Bay Sediment Quality Management Strategy

 Benthic Diversity and Abundance

 Next Steps and Future Challenges

 References Cited
Chapter 8.   Habitat Protection and Restoration 
 Emergent Tidal Wetlands

 Mangrove Forest

 Salt Marsh

 Salt Barrens

 Oyster Bars

 Hard Bottom

 Tidal Rivers and Tributaries

 Artificial Habitats

 Coastal Uplands

 Freshwater Wetlands

 Hatitat Threats

 Dredge and Fill

 Urbanization

 Water and Sediment Quality

 Consumptive Water Use

 Climate Change

 Sea-Level Rise

 Increasing Temperature

 Increasing Acidification of Coastal Waters

 Management Responses

 Paradigms for Habitat Restoration and Protection

 "Restoring the Balance" 

 The "Habitat Mosaic" Approach

 Habitat Restoration and Protection Targets

 Emergent Tidal Wetlands

 Other Habitat Types

 References Cited   |
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