4.2 Aquatic Communities
T ABLE 4.14 Comparison of climate change with other threats to estuarine aquatic communities
Rank Order Comments
Threat
Bottom Trawl Fishing Gear
1 Te weight and movement of bottom trawl fshing gear disturbs bottom sed- iments, displaces SAVs, and damages shell and hard bottom habitats. Mobile species may temporarily disperse but cumulative impacts from repeated use of bottom trawl gear in the same areas can lead to long-term habitat loss. 1 Dredging disturbs and damages soft, shell, and hard bottoms, SAV beds, and suspends sediments that cause turbidity within the water column. Localized impacts may allow dispersal of mobile species but long-term damage can occur to bottom habitats. 1 Pollution includes chemicals and toxins from point source discharges (e.g., indus- trial efuents and smoke stacks, stormwater discharges, wastewater treatment facilities) and nonpoint sources (e.g., roads, surface water runof, marinas, boat- yards). Aging infrastructure and rising sealevels are two challenges that must be addressed to reduce bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms from entering public waters through identifed sources (APNEP 2012) . 1 Loss of SAV beds or meadows reduces connectivity between spawning areas, primary nursery areas, and water column habitats for larval, juvenile, and adult aquatic species (DiBacco et al. 2006) . 2 Hardened shorelines will prevent natural migration of marsh habitats toward inland areas as inundation occurs from rising sea levels. Use of natural and living shorelines should be encouraged and regulatory impediments removed. 2 Low fow conditions can occur due to drought, hydraulic drawdown, and upstream impoundment. Reductions in freshwater inputs from rivers and trib- utaries will allow infuence salinities. Saltwater intrusion and concentrations upstream are likely to increase. Occurrence of temperature stratifcation and anoxic conditions are likely to increase. 3 Mineral mining, gas and oil exploration, and wind energy turbines will damage bottoms, introduce contaminants into the water column, and displace species assemblages through loss of habitat. 3 Climate change impacts will be cumulative and to some degree mitigation options are limited. Mobile species can be expected to disperse to more favorable conditions. 4 Warmer water can allow range expansion of nonnative species into open waters previously not colonized. 5 Dams block the passage of diadromous fsh species and limit access to upstream spawning habitat for anadramous fsh species.
Dredging
Pollution
SAV Loss
Shoreline Hardening
Basefow Reductions
Ofshore Development
Climate Change
Invasive Species
Infrastructure
4.2.14.5 Impacts to Wildlife Appendix G includes a list of SGCN and species for which there are knowledge gap and management concern priorities. Appendix H identifes non-marine SGCN and federally listed protected marine species that use estuarine aquatic communities. Seagrass habitats are one of the most productive systems in the world, providing not only cover and forage resources for numerous organisms but also as an important carbon
306
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online