Cape Cod National Seashore - Cape Cod Ecosystem Monitoring - Protocols and Operational Information (U.S. National Park Service)

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A CACO technician throws a one meter square throw-trap to sample nekton in a park estuary.

Cape Cod Ecosystem Monitoring Homepage
CCEM - Protocols and Operational Information
CCEM - Reports and Publications
CCEM - More Information
ARC - Atlantic Research Center Homepage

The Cape Cod Ecosystem Monitoring (CCEM) program maintains a variety of responsibilities including:

developing an ecosystem monitoring program that is scientifically sound and relevant to management of park resources;
testing inventory and monitoring methods;
developing and implementing long-term monitoring protocols;
conducting studies to help refine monitoring questions and to interpret monitoring results;
and sharing our experience and technical expertise with other parks and monitoring networks along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts

The following documents provide information on how we approach these objectives. Click on a highlighted report-type to view a table of available documents.

Long-Term Monitoring Protocols
Monitoring Strategy Reports
Operational Information
Annual Administrative Reports and Work Plans

Long Term Monitoring Protocols
The table below summarizes the status of protocol development and provides links to completed protocols and related documents, where available. The CCEM program has instituted an ecosystem approach to monitoring and hence, you will find the protocols grouped by major-ecosystem type. You may also want to look at the Protocol Database assembled by the National Inventory and Monitoring Program - this data base provides links to protocols developed for other parks and monitoring networks. See below the table for an explanation of terms found in the Priority column.

Estuaries and Salt Marshes
Protocol Type	Author	Status	Related Publications	Priority
Estuarine Nutrient Enrichment	Kopp, B.S. and Neckles, H.A. 2007.	Protocol	NA	Essential
Salt Marsh Sedimentation Rate Response to Sea-Level Rise	Cahoon, D.R., et al. 2006	Protocol	NA	Full
Salt Marsh Vegetation	Roman, C.T., et al. 2001.	Protocol	NA	Essential
Estuarine Benthic Macrofauna	NA	Pending	NA	Full
Estuarine Nekton	Raposa, K.B. and Roman C.T. 2001.	Protocol	NA	Full
Migrating Waterbirds	Erwin, R.W., et al. 2003.	Protocol	NA	Expanded
Beaches, Spits, and Barrier Islands
Protocol Type	Author	Status	Related Publications	Priority
Geomorphic Shoreline Change	Psuty, N.P., et al.	In Development	Draft Protocol	Essential
Beach Macroinvertebrates	NA	In Development	Draft Report	Expanded
Colonial Waterbirds	Erwin, R.W., et al. 2003.	Protocol	NA	Full
Piping Plovers	Erwin, R.W., et al. 2003.	Protocol	NA	Full
Ponds and Freshwater Wetlands
Protocol Type	Author	Status	Related Publications	Priority
Kettle Pond Water Quality	Portnoy, J., et. al. 2003.	Protocol	NA	Essential
Pond Vegetation	NA	In Development	NA	Full
Vernal Wetland Vegetation	NA	In Development	NA	Full
Freshwater Aquatic Invertebrates	NA	Pending	NA	Expanded
Freshwater Fish	NA	In Development	NA	Full
Aquatic Turtles	NA	In Development	NA	Expanded
Pond-Breeding Amphibians	Paton, P.W.C., et al. 2003.	Protocol	NA	Full
Marshbirds	Erwin, R.M., et al. 2003.	Protocol	NA	Expanded
Coastal Uplands
Protocol Type	Author	Status	Related Publications	Priority
Dune Grassland Vegetation	NA	In Development	NA	Full
Coastal Heathlands	NA	Pending	R&D Report	Full
Coastal Forests	NA	In Development	Draft Protocol	Full
Landbirds - Avian Point Counts	NA	In Development	NA	Full
Landbirds - Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship	NA	In Development	NA	Expanded
Small Mammals	NA	Pending	Inventory Report & Protocol Assessment	Expanded
Meso-Mammals	NA	In Development	NA	Full
Park-Wide/Multi-System
Protocol Type	Author	Status	Related Publications	Priority
Meteorological and Atmospheric Monitoring	Multiple Authors. 2001.	Protocol	NA	Essential
Hydrology	McCobb, T.D. and Weiskel, P.K. 2002.	Protocol	NA	Essential
Ground-Water Quality	NA	In Development	NA	Full
Cover Type Mapping	NA	In Development	NA	Essential
Visitor Use and Resource Impact	NA	In Development	NA	Full
Contaminants	NA	In Development	NA	Expanded

Essential - Fundamental components of a basic long-term monitoring program that will enhance CACO's ability to respond to long-term management issues.
Full - Key components of a long-term ecosystem monitoring program that will address high priority management issues at CACO, and meet Prototype responsibilities to the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network and the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Biogeographic Region.
Expanded - Components that will complement the projects listed above to provide a more complete understanding of ecosystem change.

NPS Image

A CACO fire crew monitors a prescribed burn coordinated with park scientists to better understand the effects of fire on Phragmites australis, an invasive plant, in a restored salt marsh.

Monitoring Strategy Reports - top of page
The following reports provide a conceptual basis for the CCEM program. A closer examination of the three documents will reveal how monitoring development and implementation has evolved given limited time and resources.

1999 Conceptual Framework

2002 Update to the Conceptual Framework

2003 Project Prioritization Report

Operational Information - top of page
The CCEM program has ever changing responsibilities at a variety of levels. The following reports describe the ways in which we approach certain objectives.

2002 Program Status Report

2002 Program Review Report

Programmatic SOP's

Safety SOP

Reporting SOP

Annual Administrative Reports and Work Plans - top of page
These documents describe program progress and procedure on a regular basis. Details pertaining to annual budgets and work plans can be found in the AARWPs.