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Chapter 1 - IntroductionFigure 1-1. The Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment study area.Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment • Phase 1 Report 1-
Chapter 1 - Introduction1) Gulf of Maine, from Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundyto the tip of Cape Cod, including Georges Bank;2) Southern New England, ranging from the base ofCape Cod to the southern coast of Long Island;3) Mid-Atlantic Bight, from Sandy Hook, NewJersey south to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.Gulf of Maine BiogeographyThe Gulf of Maine is a semi-enclosed sea located inthe Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy ecoregion of the ColdTemperate Northwest Atlantic marine province (Spaldinget al. 2007). The Gulf is bounded by Georges Bank andBrowns Bank to the east and the coastlines and nearshoreestuarine waters of Massachusetts, New Hampshire,Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia to the west andnorth. The Gulf spans over 90,000 square kilometers andhas average depth of 150 meters.The geology of the Gulf has been shaped by glaciation,volcanism, erosion, subsidence, and sea level rise and featuresprominent banks, basins and channels. The mostnotable seafloor features include: Georges Bank, BrownsBank, Georges Basin, and the Northeast Channel to theeast; Stellwagen Bank, Jeffreys Ledge, Cashes Ledge, andWilkinson Basin to the west; the Great South Channelto the south; and Jordan basin to the north. There arefour hydrographically distinct sub-regions in the Gulf ofMaine each having unique physical, hydrographic, andoceanographic conditions: estuarine areas, coastal regions,the central Gulf, and shallow offshore banks (NCCOS2006).The Gulf of Maine is one of the most productive marinesystems on the planet. The Gulf’s high productivity isheavily influenced by interactions between the LabradorCurrent from the north and the Gulf Stream from thesouth. When these currents meet, cold nutrient-rich waterenters the Gulf through the Northeast Channel. Thesecurrents and tidal action in the Bay of Fundy create acounter-clockwise gyre that delivers nutrient-rich watersto the Gulf’s banks and ledges, and along the coastalshelf. These nutrient-rich waters rise to the surface andenter the euphotic zone, creating optimal conditions forphytoplankton production, with primary productivitylevels ranging from 270 gC m-2 yr-l in the offshore watersof the Gulf to over 400 gC m-2 yr-l on Georges Bank(Townsend et al. 2006). These high levels of primaryproductivity support a wide diversity of zooplankton species(predominantly copepods) and planktivorous fishesthat form the base of the Gulf of Maine food web.High rates of primary and secondary productivity in theGulf of Maine support a wide diversity of marine life.Planktivorous fish including herring, mackerel, sand lance,and menhaden that thrive in the Gulf provide a criticalforage base for a variety of species including demersalfishes, tunas, whales, marine mammals, and birds. Thediversity of marine life in the Gulf if also characterizedby a diversity of organisms including anemones, sea stars,sponges, kelp forests, and deep water corals.Southern New England BiogeographyThe Southern New England bays, beaches and riversstretch from the mouth of the Hudson River to the tip ofCape Cod, and include four National Estuarine Reserves(Peconic Bay, Long Island Sound, Narragansett Bay,and Buzzard’s Bay). The region shares a glacial morainethat creates the east-west archipelago of Long Island-Block Island-Martha’s Vineyard (USFWS 1997). Thesubregion’s rivers historically supported vast Americanshad runs, eel populations, and even Atlantic salmon,all of which have severely declined and are now highlymanaged. This subregion includes parts of what is oftenreferred to as the American “megalopolis” from Bostonto Washington that is home to one-in-five Americansalthough it only makes up 1.5% of the United States’ landmass(Gottman 1961). Roughly 12.25 million people livein the subregion, with roughly 7.5 million on Long Islandalone (US Census 2001).This landscape encompasses several highly productiveecosystems situated in the most densely populated regionof the Unites States. The coastal stretches of this regionare comprised of beaches, bluffs, dunes, rocky shores, bays,estuaries, mud flats, tidal wetlands, and maritime forests.These coastal wetlands and beaches are home to a variety1-Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment • Phase 1 Report
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Chapter 3 - Benthic HabitatsTechnic
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Chapter 3 - Benthic HabitatsAPPENDI
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Chapter 3 - Benthic HabitatsDepth (
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Physical OceanographyCHAPTER4Caroly
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CHAPTER5Marine Fishes:Introduction
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Chapter 5 - Marine Fishes: Introduc
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Diadromous FishAlison BowdenCHAPTER
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Chapter 7 - Demersal FishSelection
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Large Pelagic FishCHAPTER9Jennifer
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Chapter 10 - CetaceansSelection of
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Sea TurtleAdam Whelchel and Melissa
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Humans Within NorthwestAtlantic Eco
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Next StepsCHAPTER14Jay Odell, Mark
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Chapter 14 - Next StepsDeveloping I
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Chapter 14 - Next StepsLiterature C
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