Eelgrass Beds 2017
Neckles et al. (2012) proposed a 3-tiered hierarchal strategy for mapping and monitoring SAV in estuaries of the northeastern U.S. The smallest scale of these tiers (Tier 1), utilizes true-color aerial photography whereby photo signatures of SAV are interpreted and delineated using orthophotography (aerial photographs with the distortion removed). Tier 2 surveys involve a stratified random sampling design whereby percent cover of SAV species is quantified. For the Tier 3 surveys, many metrics such as biomass and plant height are assessed along a transect. For the Long Island Sound study area, there have been four previous Tier 1 survey efforts (2002, 2006, 2009, and 2012) conducted in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the LISS (Tiner et al., 2013). The goals of the 2017 Long Island Sound survey were similar to previous surveys: 1) conduct a comprehensive survey of SAV (primarily eelgrass) using similar methods as the previous surveys, and 2) examine broad trends of eelgrass in the Long Island Sound Study area. 

Digital four-band (true color and infra-red) aerial photographs were taken by a photogrammetry vendor on June 28th, 2017. The extent of the area photographed was based on recent presence of eelgrass in Long Island Sound (Tiner et al., 2013 , Connecticut Dept. of Env. Protection, 2007).   Ground-truthing in the field was conducted by boat between September 8 and October 19, 2017.  The presence of eelgrass was determined using a high-definition,digital underwater video camera linked to a GPS . Not all polygons were ground-truthed in 2017.

Citation:  Bradley, M. and Paton, S. 2018 (revised, September). Tier 1 2017 Mapping of Zoestra marina in Long Island Sound and Change Analysis. University of Rhode Island Data Center, Kingston, RI. 18 pp.
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