7.4 Habitat Monitoring
Water column
• Conduct stream fow monitoring and research to assess the impact of freshwater with- drawals on water column habitat and fsh populations in afected river basins.
• Continue coastal research and monitoring in order to improve our understanding of the processes of hypoxia and anoxia and the efect on fsh populations. • Implement more-detailed monitoring to assess the extent oceanfront septic systems are causing degradation to nearshore coastal waters. • Identify basic water quality parameters (fow, temperature, pH, and DO) for wastewa- ter permit applicants to monitor. If the data indicate the presence of pollutants in the discharge water, toxic chemical monitoring and toxicity testing should be required. Nutrients and ammonia should be monitored if a mass balance approach indicates excess nutrients. Biological monitoring of the macrobenthic community should be required in facilities discharging more than 0.5 million gallons per day. • Monitor port waters for algal blooms and exotic species until treatment of ballast water is required and implemented in order to minimize risks of introduction elsewhere.
Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV)
• Make certain portions of the Neuse and White Oak river basins high priorities for SAV and water clarity monitoring. Since some SAV is present in the shallow portions of the Neuse and portions of the White Oak river basins, and water quality data indicate some level of eutrophication exists, nutrient levels may be limiting survival or expansion of SAV in these areas.
• Monitor submerged grasses on a regular basis to assess the status of wasting disease and its association with human-induced stresses.
• Evaluate whether current sampling locations and methods are sufcient in estua- rine waters to monitor the suitability of water quality conditions for SAV survival and growth. • Verify recovery and determine if there is a spatial pattern of that recovery in areas where SAV restoration and enhancement projects have been implemented. If there is a pattern, special monitoring and protection should be aforded to those core areas from which SAV begins its recolonization.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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