Monitoring Rehabilitation in Temperate North American Estuaries

In this chapter, we propose that monitoring rehabilitation in estuarine ecosystems by necessity requires quantifying relationships between dynamic estuarine processes and sensitive indicators of ecosystem function. While we do discuss temperate systems in general, emphasis is placed on anadromous salmon habitats in the Pacific Northwest because anadromous fishes are such a major focus of rehabilitation efforts, and present some of the greater challenges in linking function of one segment of their life history to conditions in a specific habitat. We begin with a basic overview of the ecological and socioeconomic significance of, as well as anthropogenic effects on, estuaries. Next, we briefly summarize the various kinds of estuarine rehabilitation historically practiced in temperate regions, and review estuarine rehabilitation monitoring design and methods, highlighting the unique challenges involved in monitoring estuarine systems. We then close with a summary and conclusions.