1

Ecological structure and function

of Hudson River shore zones
Cary Institute (Strayer, Findlay, Malcom, Fischer, others)
HRNERR (Miller, Blair, and others)
Hudson River Foundation
Goals of Hudson River studies
What kinds of shore zones exist? (2005)
What are the physical characteristics of
these different kinds of shore zones?
(2007 08) (2007-08)
What sorts of species live in these
different kinds of shore zones? (2008)
Ecological and Environmental Attributes
Design for ecological
studies
3 clusters of 6 types
of shores
Bedrock
Physical variables (slope,
grain size, roughness, etc.)
Organic matter (wrack, logs)
Biological communities (fish,
ti d t t i l
Unconsolidated rock
Sand/mud
Riprap
Wooden bulkhead
Sheet pile seawalls
aquatic and terrestrial
invertebrates, plants)
H. Malcom
2
H. Malcom
HRNERR inventory (Tappan Zee to Troy)
Engineered 53%
Natural 47%
Unconsolidated rock 52%
(including riprap)
Mud or sand 16%
Mixed soils +rock 12%
Bedrock 8%
Concrete 5%
Timber, sheet pile, other 2% each
Variable Range Related to shoreline
type?
Slope (%) 0.4% to vertical Maybe (0.11)
Basal area of trees along shore
(m
2
/100m)
0-9.2 m
2
No (0.39)
Wrack mass 0-1227 g/m
2
Maybe (0.10)
Environmental characteristics
Vegetation cover (%) 0-7.3% No (0.31)
Logs (number/100m) 0-11 Yes (0.0003)
Pebble count 0-7 Yes (0.002)
Shoreline complexity 1-1.4 Maybe (0.09)
Rugosity 67-100 Yes (0.02)
Exposure Ranks Yes (0.02)
Invertebrates & Wrack
Provides habitat for invertebrate
communities of both the aquatic and
terrestrial systems, which attract birds and
other predators
1,3, 4
S f il i tt & t i t t Source of soil organic matter & nutrients to
upland communities
3, 4
Invertebrate community
type & rate of colonization
changes within the fauna
during decomposition
2, 5
1;Llewellyn& Shackley, 1996
2;Jedrzejczak, 2002
3;Duganet al.2003
4;Thompsonet al.2002
5;Bedford& Moore, 1982
3
m
u
l
a
t
i
o
n

(
g
D
M
/
m
2
)
1000
10000
BR
R
RR
S
S
BR=bedrock
WrackAccumulationDependsonboth
Slope&ShorelineType
Slope
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
M
a
x
i
m
u
m

w
r
a
c
k

a
c
c
u
1
10
100
BR
BR
CR
CR
R
R SW
RR
RR
RR
S
SW SW
BR bedrock
CR=cribbing
R=naturalrock
RR=riprap
S=sand
SW=seawall
y=-0.0163x+4.0713 3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4
4.1
4.2
0 5 10 15 20 25
ln
(
d
r
y
w
e
ig
h
t
)
Sandy
Series1
Series2
Series3
Series4
Linear (Series2)
Day
Decaymodel:
W
t
=W
0
e
kt
p=0.08
Ecology
PROCESS/
COMPONENT
STATUS RESULT
(related to type)
Terrestrial
Vegetation
Yes (Aliens)
Fishes Yes (Several
tt ib t ) attributes)
Wrack decay Lia Harris Polgar Maybe
Benthic
invertebrates
In Progress
Exposure
Multiple variables
Ugly
AVERAGE TURBIDITY
Categ. Box & Whisker Plot: NTUMEAN
40
60
80
100
120
E
A
N
Bedrock
Cribbing
rock
seawall
Riprap
Sand
TYPE
-40
-20
0
20
40
N
T
U
M
4
TURBIDITY vs EXPOSURE
60
80
100
120
I
D
I
T
Y
UP
SeaWall
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
EXPOS
-20
0
20
40
T
U
R
B
UP
Others