Decker: Environment and Habitats

Mary Beth Decker

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 

Yale University 

Abstract

Title: Long Island Sound’s Coastal Habitats: A Bird’s Eye View

Long Island Sound is a dynamic estuarine system, which encompasses a wide variety of habitats that support birds. These range from nearshore and intertidal habitats, such as salt marshes, beaches, mud flats and rocky outcrops, to the Sound’s open waters. These habitats and the birds that depend on them are threatened directly or indirectly by climate change, sea level rise, severe storms, non-point source pollution and invasive species. Protection of these coastal habitats is key to maintaining bird populations in Long Island Sound.

Outline: Environment & Habitats (in & around Long Island Sound)

Geographical Overview (show maps)

LIS estuary, rivers, the Race, Block Island Sound, Continental Shelf

Physical Oceanography

Freshwater and saltwater sources, temperature/salinity ranges

Tides, wind, circulation

Stratification, hypoxia

Temporal variability (seasonal, inter-annual, inter-decadal)

LIS Habitats and relevance to birds

Intertidal (rocky intertidal, cobble, beaches, mud flats)

Tidal Marshes

Seagrass

Seaweeds

Nearshore open water (inside LIS)

Offshore open water (outside LIS)

Threats to Habitats

Climate change

Sea level rise

Severe storms

Notice the season cycle of river water (fresh water) entering LIS, caused mostly by snow-melt and spring rains.