Corey Garza in the field. Photo by Richard Howard.
The Long Island Sound Fish Trawl Survey conducted by Connecticut DEP on the research vessel, the John Dempsey. Photo by Richard Howard.

The Long Island Sound Study (LISS) is a partnership of scientists and citizens trying to restore and protect the sound. Everybody wants a piece of the action, it seems, which is just the way it should be in an ecosystem based management project.  This collaborative study is spear-headed by U.S. EPA, but NOAA is also a vital partner, and Corey Garza has been brought onboard at the NEFSC Milford Laboratory through a joint arrangement with EPA to serve as the NOAA liaison. He divides his time between the Milford lab, the EPA Long Island Study office in Stamford, and the field.

The study taps the talents of more than 50 oceanographers, ecologists, chemists, and mathematicians from a variety of institutions including the U.S. Geological Survey, Yale University, and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in addition to NOAA and EPA.  Citizens are also participating through an advisory committee open to individuals representing environmental organizations, businesses, industries, local governments, and other public and private organizations.

“The whole idea,” said Garza, “is to look at the Sound from several different perspectives and at the ecosystem as a larger whole, in addition to acknowledging smaller, more specific areas of study.”  Garza went on to say that a bigger picture approach like the LISS, is a relatively new way of thinking about these various fields of study, and it has become more commonly used in the past five years or so.

Garza’s past experience has prepared him well for this interdisciplinary task.  He completed his Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California at Santa Barbara and has held post-doctoral positions with the EPA Office of Research and Development and California State University, Los Angeles. His previous position with the EPA involved national coastal assessment analyses for the southeastern region of the United States and has given him experience in environmental monitoring and assessment program survey design management.

While at the Center for Environmental Analysis, he developed and tested models to see how physical and biological interactions affect marine communities. His work involved integrating various components of marine communities such as water and sediment quality and species diversity. His work at California State University in Los Angeles involved a more academic, theoretical approach, and his current position allows him to combine those experiences for a unique perspective. As the NOAA liaison to LISS, Garza works on a variety of issues, including environmental indicators, underwater habitat classification and mapping, food web structure changes, potential expressions of climate change on Long Island Sound, and coordinating research.

“One key to managing all of the varying components of an ecosystem based study is to look for consistent patterns,” said Garza. Spatial statistics and GIS allow researchers to see how certain factors can change across space and time. This can be helpful with taking issues to Congress and to the public. “While some people don’t always appreciate what numbers mean, visual representations of patterns in the ecosystem can be stunning and have a strong impact,” said Garza.

The more specific studies have not been overlooked by the LISS.  Smaller grant projects in these areas will look at more detailed issues, such as a specific portion of the habitat or certain species.  Zeroing in on specific issues help to keep the study grounded by examining topics such as water quality, invasive species, hypoxia, land-use changes, and the impact of harmful algal blooms. “One of the benefits of using GIS is that it allows the researchers to identify hotspots and that can lead scientists to examine specific areas that may have not been identified otherwise,” said Garza.

Of course, considering the volume of work that’s been done in the past 20-25 years, there are many challenges. Just dealing with logistics of getting a large group of scientists together in one place can be daunting.  Another challenge is deciding how much of this information to include in the study. “There isn’t enough time and money to address each aspect of restoring the Sound, and it is impossible to make everyone who has expressed concerns happy,” said Garza.  Still Garza believes that one of the strengths of this approach is that it calls on individuals and organizations across Long Island Sound to consider their connections rather than their divisions.  Instead of compartmentalizing research, the many components that affect and impact Long Island Sound can be understood in a more integrated way. Ultimately, knowing how many of the cogs in the ecosystem work can help managers make better decisions and help keep the Long Island ecosystem strong and healthy

Posted April 5, 2007