University of Southern Mississippi $6 million grant will aid coastal waters research

The goal of the four-year project is to use microbes, fish, crabs, shrimp and other species -- bioindicators -- to measure how well estuaries are functioning and the impact of changes in coastal regions.

Nine universities in the Gulf region have formed a consortium with the USM College of Marine Sciences to conduct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-funded research. In year one, a team of 14 scientists will do its scientific sleuthing in local estuaries. In years two through four, they will apply what they have learned to Apalachicola Bay, Mobile Bay and Galveston Bay -- estuaries selected for their natural features and different levels of impact from human activity.

"Our coastlines and estuarine ecosystems are threatened by over-development," said Marius Brouwer, program director of the new consortium and professor in the USM marine college's Department of Coastal Sciences.

"Our charge is to develop indicators that can help us assess the health of the estuarine ecosystem," he added. "The indicators that we develop will be transferred to state agencies that are responsible for keeping track of the health of the ecosystem."

Other USM researchers on the team are coastal sciences faculty Chet Rakocinski, assistant professor, and Richard Heard, professor. Information on the living indicators will be combined with remote sensing and other monitoring data to create computer models for use in an Index of Estuarine Ecosystem Integrity.

Brouwer said the scope of the indicators ranges from chemical changes in the cells of estuarine plants and animals to changes in populations of selected species within an ecosystem. The geographic scale extends from specific sites to entire estuaries.

The project completes the national roster of estuarine and Great Lakes programs (EAGLES) that the EPA has established to develop practical bioindicators.

"If someone proposes to develop marshland into a neighborhood, planners need to know what the impact will be," said Brouwer. "We are developing predictive indicators that coastal managers can use to answer the question: If we allow this action, what are the consequences?"

Members of the Consortium for Estuarine Ecoindicator Research (CEER) are USM, University of West Florida, Florida State University, University of Florida, University of Alabama, Louisiana State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, University of Texas Marine Science Institute and University of Washington.