An Overview of Barnegat Bay New JerseyWhat Shapes the Bay
OCC ENVI 152Fall 2013
Barnegat Bay is one of 28 Estuaries in the United States to be funded through the National Estuary ProgramOver 550,000 people now reside in the Barnegat Bay Watershed (2010) Manasquan InletBarnegat InletLittle Egg Inlet
Barnegat InletNThe length of Barnegat Bay is approximately 64 km
Barnegat Bay and its Watershed encompasses over 660 square miles (BBEP Characterization 2001)The entire Barnegat Bay system has a mean 50 day flush rate (over 30 days in winter and 74 days in summer (Kennish).
Estuaries as HabitatsEstuaries provide multiple habitat types including marshes, marsh pools, tidal creeks, and shoreline deep water habitats
Finfish can inhabit specific habitats with fish being considered seasonal residents (19%), residents (21%), nursery (38%) or strays (22%) in a study on Great Bay and Little Egg Harbor (Able et al. 1996 in Estuarine Shores).
Submerged Aquatic VegetationIn some estuaries over 300 species of fish reside all in which SAV is important:Provide habitat for juvenilesKey source of oxygen productionImportant part of nutrient cycling Binds and stabilizes sediments
Marsh ZonationHigh Marsh Not flooded regularly with predominant Spartina patens and PhragmitesSeries of marsh pools at higher elevations
Low Marsh Floods regularly with Spartina alternifloraCreeks and ditches with sometimes tidal effects Support a higher density of finfish than SAV beds (Sogard and Able 1991).
Jones & Strange 2006
Jones & Strange 2006
Jones & Strange 2006
Barnegat Bay: Anthropogenic EffectsNutrient Runoff makes it a highly eutrophic system (US EPA)Thermal Pollution from surface water cooling system at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating FacilityReduction in shellfish stocks due to changes in water quality, specific shellfish diseases and consumption
NJDEP May 2011
NJDEP May 2011
Eutrophication
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Facility The First Nuclear Generating Facility Operated in the United States (1969). Slated to be closed in 2019
Aerial View of N. Long Beach Island Aerial View of Island Beach State ParkIsland
Courtesy of Dr. Jill Lipotti, NJDEP
Ambient Water Quality Monitoring14 Bay Sites12 Tributary Sites TDMLTotal Daily Maximum Load
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Ambient Water Quality Monitoring Program (12 Tributary Sites along Barnegat Bay)Source: NJDEP August 2012
Mill Creek (BT11)Poor macroinvertebrate scoreHigh AmmoniaStafford Business Park55 acre New Landfill25 acre Old LandfillWalter Homes, Inc.
Tuckerton, New Jersey
North Sedge Island, Barnegat Bay, NJIn a Marine Conservation ZoneOptimal nesting locationCaretakers: Jackie and Tony RanieroTerrapin research upwards of 10 yearsFemales terrapins have a 75-90% return rate
Location
*from Annalee Tweitmann, BBSGP Summer 2013
Have a Great Class
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