Mangroves grow along the coast in La Parguera, Lajas, Puerto Rico. Mangroves help protect the coast during storms.
Coastal Ecosystems
Our coasts contain many types of ecosystems, including marshes, mangroves, permafrost bluffs, kelp forests, and sandy beaches. Each of these contain specific organisms that are affected by the processes and hazards of coastal change. USGS brings together expertise in biology, hydrology, ecology, landscape science, geospatial applications, and decision support for coastal habitats.
Coastal habitats include estuaries, wetlands and marshes, coral reefs, kelp forests, tidepools, and barrier islands provide essential ecosystem services. These habitats protect coastlines from storms and flooding impacts, support economically important fisheries, improve water quality by filtering out toxins, and provide habitat for diverse wildlife. The USGS provides scientific information and tools for coastal and wildlife managers to assess and forecast the health and resilience of protected and public lands, including national parks, estuarine research reserves, and wildlife refuges.
Coastal habitats serve as the interface between land and sea, and the health of our coastal ecosystems and the species that rely upon them are influenced by both terrestrial and marine conditions. USGS scientists apply their interdisciplinary expertise and collaborate to gain the most comprehensive understanding of our coastal ecosystems. We integrate hydrology, geology, chemistry, and computer modeling to study natural environments, the biology of at-risk species, and broader ecological and physiological processes. This work provides information to policymakers and aids managers in their stewardship of natural resources and in regulatory functions.
Threatened and Endangered Species
USGS science helps inform conservation strategies and recovery plans for at-risk, threatened and endangered species that use coastal habitats for all or part of their lives, such as migratory shorebirds, sea turtles, aquatic mammals, fishes, corals, and plants. Using spatial analysis and ecological modeling, USGS scientists examine and predict the effects of different management scenarios for threatened species like Gulf sturgeon, beach mice, piping plovers and other shorebirds. For example, tracking the migration of loggerhead sea turtles helps USGS scientists and managers better understand turtle movement patterns and habitat use, and assess how hurricanes, dredging operations and replenishing coastal sediments, and other nearshore activities influence their nesting and migratory behavior.
Coastal Ecosystem Threats and Responses to Change
The USGS uses innovative genetic and chemical techniques to monitor coastal ecosystem threats such as harmful algal blooms, pollution and contamination, climate change, and coral diseases. These threats are major causes of environmental degradation and wildlife mortality worldwide, so it is important to identify how they affect the health of our coastal ecosystems.
Additionally, the USGS investigates how coastal habitats are responding to changing environmental conditions, including sea-level rise, increased sea temperatures, and increased hurricane intensity and frequency, and what this might mean for the coastal communities that depend upon the services they provide. The USGS and partners are working to anticipate future changes and ensure resource managers and policy makers have the necessary information to make effective decisions related to the protection, restoration, and adaption of coastal habitats and species throughout the United States.
Publications
The role of satellite telemetry data in 21st century conservation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)
Human and ecosystem health in coastal systems
How much marsh restoration is enough to deliver wave attenuation coastal protection benefits?
Action plan for restoration of coral reef coastal protection services: Case study example and workbook
The impacts of mangrove range expansion on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States: Current understanding, knowledge gaps, and emerging research needs
Science
Walrus Research
Polar Bear Research
Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research
Coral Reef Project
Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound
Multimedia
Mangroves grow along the coast in La Parguera, Lajas, Puerto Rico. Mangroves help protect the coast during storms.
Coral reef in Tres Palmas Marine Reserve at Steps Beach, Rincón, Puerto Rico.
Coral reef in Tres Palmas Marine Reserve at Steps Beach, Rincón, Puerto Rico.
A Western sandpiper in San Francisco Bay.
A Western sandpiper in San Francisco Bay.
Three of the nine wild sea otter populations in the U.S. are federally listed as threatened. In California, USGS biologists have lead an annual population census to assess the local populations' recovery, working closely with state agencies and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Three of the nine wild sea otter populations in the U.S. are federally listed as threatened. In California, USGS biologists have lead an annual population census to assess the local populations' recovery, working closely with state agencies and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Cerulean damselfish dart around lettuce coral off the Cape Range National Park along the Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia. USGS researchers combined forces with Australian colleagues in this UNESCO World Heritage Site to conduct the most extensive study of how erosion of reefs contribute sand to the beaches—a coast’s natural armor.
Cerulean damselfish dart around lettuce coral off the Cape Range National Park along the Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia. USGS researchers combined forces with Australian colleagues in this UNESCO World Heritage Site to conduct the most extensive study of how erosion of reefs contribute sand to the beaches—a coast’s natural armor.
Red mangrove trees fringe the shoreline of a bay in Hurricane Hole, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Red mangrove trees fringe the shoreline of a bay in Hurricane Hole, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Underwater image of a wave breaking over a coral reef on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This image shows how the high hydrodynamic roughness of live, healthy corals causes friction that induces breaking of waves over coral reefs, reducing wave energy at the shoreline that can cause flooding and island overwash.
Underwater image of a wave breaking over a coral reef on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This image shows how the high hydrodynamic roughness of live, healthy corals causes friction that induces breaking of waves over coral reefs, reducing wave energy at the shoreline that can cause flooding and island overwash.
News
Climate Change Creates Novel Conditions in Aquatic Ecosystems
USGS, FWS Report Highlights Impacts of Sediment Management on Barrier Islands, Wildlife and Ecosystems
Regional Habitat Differences Identified for Threatened Piping Plovers on Atlantic Coast
Recent carbon storage and burial exceed historic rates in the San Juan Bay estuary peri-urban mangrove forests (Puerto Rico, United States)
Long-term changes in kelp forests in an inner basin of the Salish Sea
An assessment of vertical land movement to support coastal hazards planning in Washington state
Groundwater discharge impacts marine isotope budgets of Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba
Sea Level Rise and Climate: Impacts on the Greater Everglades Ecosystem and Restoration
Our coasts contain many types of ecosystems, including marshes, mangroves, permafrost bluffs, kelp forests, and sandy beaches. Each of these contain specific organisms that are affected by the processes and hazards of coastal change. USGS brings together expertise in biology, hydrology, ecology, landscape science, geospatial applications, and decision support for coastal habitats.
Coastal habitats include estuaries, wetlands and marshes, coral reefs, kelp forests, tidepools, and barrier islands provide essential ecosystem services. These habitats protect coastlines from storms and flooding impacts, support economically important fisheries, improve water quality by filtering out toxins, and provide habitat for diverse wildlife. The USGS provides scientific information and tools for coastal and wildlife managers to assess and forecast the health and resilience of protected and public lands, including national parks, estuarine research reserves, and wildlife refuges.
Coastal habitats serve as the interface between land and sea, and the health of our coastal ecosystems and the species that rely upon them are influenced by both terrestrial and marine conditions. USGS scientists apply their interdisciplinary expertise and collaborate to gain the most comprehensive understanding of our coastal ecosystems. We integrate hydrology, geology, chemistry, and computer modeling to study natural environments, the biology of at-risk species, and broader ecological and physiological processes. This work provides information to policymakers and aids managers in their stewardship of natural resources and in regulatory functions.
Threatened and Endangered Species
USGS science helps inform conservation strategies and recovery plans for at-risk, threatened and endangered species that use coastal habitats for all or part of their lives, such as migratory shorebirds, sea turtles, aquatic mammals, fishes, corals, and plants. Using spatial analysis and ecological modeling, USGS scientists examine and predict the effects of different management scenarios for threatened species like Gulf sturgeon, beach mice, piping plovers and other shorebirds. For example, tracking the migration of loggerhead sea turtles helps USGS scientists and managers better understand turtle movement patterns and habitat use, and assess how hurricanes, dredging operations and replenishing coastal sediments, and other nearshore activities influence their nesting and migratory behavior.
Coastal Ecosystem Threats and Responses to Change
The USGS uses innovative genetic and chemical techniques to monitor coastal ecosystem threats such as harmful algal blooms, pollution and contamination, climate change, and coral diseases. These threats are major causes of environmental degradation and wildlife mortality worldwide, so it is important to identify how they affect the health of our coastal ecosystems.
Additionally, the USGS investigates how coastal habitats are responding to changing environmental conditions, including sea-level rise, increased sea temperatures, and increased hurricane intensity and frequency, and what this might mean for the coastal communities that depend upon the services they provide. The USGS and partners are working to anticipate future changes and ensure resource managers and policy makers have the necessary information to make effective decisions related to the protection, restoration, and adaption of coastal habitats and species throughout the United States.
Publications
The role of satellite telemetry data in 21st century conservation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)
Human and ecosystem health in coastal systems
How much marsh restoration is enough to deliver wave attenuation coastal protection benefits?
Action plan for restoration of coral reef coastal protection services: Case study example and workbook
The impacts of mangrove range expansion on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States: Current understanding, knowledge gaps, and emerging research needs
Science
Walrus Research
Polar Bear Research
Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research
Coral Reef Project
Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound
Multimedia
Mangroves grow along the coast in La Parguera, Lajas, Puerto Rico. Mangroves help protect the coast during storms.
Mangroves grow along the coast in La Parguera, Lajas, Puerto Rico. Mangroves help protect the coast during storms.
Coral reef in Tres Palmas Marine Reserve at Steps Beach, Rincón, Puerto Rico.
Coral reef in Tres Palmas Marine Reserve at Steps Beach, Rincón, Puerto Rico.
A Western sandpiper in San Francisco Bay.
A Western sandpiper in San Francisco Bay.
Three of the nine wild sea otter populations in the U.S. are federally listed as threatened. In California, USGS biologists have lead an annual population census to assess the local populations' recovery, working closely with state agencies and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Three of the nine wild sea otter populations in the U.S. are federally listed as threatened. In California, USGS biologists have lead an annual population census to assess the local populations' recovery, working closely with state agencies and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Cerulean damselfish dart around lettuce coral off the Cape Range National Park along the Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia. USGS researchers combined forces with Australian colleagues in this UNESCO World Heritage Site to conduct the most extensive study of how erosion of reefs contribute sand to the beaches—a coast’s natural armor.
Cerulean damselfish dart around lettuce coral off the Cape Range National Park along the Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia. USGS researchers combined forces with Australian colleagues in this UNESCO World Heritage Site to conduct the most extensive study of how erosion of reefs contribute sand to the beaches—a coast’s natural armor.
Red mangrove trees fringe the shoreline of a bay in Hurricane Hole, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Red mangrove trees fringe the shoreline of a bay in Hurricane Hole, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Underwater image of a wave breaking over a coral reef on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This image shows how the high hydrodynamic roughness of live, healthy corals causes friction that induces breaking of waves over coral reefs, reducing wave energy at the shoreline that can cause flooding and island overwash.
Underwater image of a wave breaking over a coral reef on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This image shows how the high hydrodynamic roughness of live, healthy corals causes friction that induces breaking of waves over coral reefs, reducing wave energy at the shoreline that can cause flooding and island overwash.