Ecological Functions and Services

Ecological Functions and Services includes data describing or measuring an ecological or ecosystem process, property, or benefit to humans that is associated with habitat or biota. While many natural services are related to physical materials and energy production, this category is limited to those services and benefits that derive from ecological interactions of living organisms. Examples of processes or properties include primary productivity, secondary production, nutrient processing, biomass, biodiversity, ecological integrity, and trophic connectivity or export. Examples of services include provisioning of food; carbon storage; nutrient removal; filtration of water; and storm, wave, or flood protection. Functions and services related to biodiversity and production are included here and are further categorized and discussed below. Distributions include records of ecological processes, properties, or services at a location, obtained through direct measurement; measurement of proxies; or modeled estimates. Assessments include ecological valuation indices; calculations of yield; indices of habitat quality or biological integrity; purpose-driven, regionally-specific indicators of ecological value or condition; classifications of areas as critical to certain functions; monetization or other valuations of services; and models of benefits or values. Predictions are the results of models or projections of future distributions, values, or impacts of ecological functions or services; anticipated changes produced by natural and human processes; future projections of cumulative impacts of single or multiple stressors; scenario-testing models of loss or gain of function; and predictions of ecological or economic effects of functional changes under different management strategies. The Ecological Functions and Services category includes two sublevels, which are called out for their broad impact on other functions and services and for their frequent use in assessments.
Subtopics:
Biodiversity (10 items)

13 results listed alphabetically [list by similarity]
CMECS geoform, CMECS substrate, and surficial geology offshore of Cape Mendocino

This shapefile has substrate, geomorphic, and geologic attributed polygons in the Offshore of Cape Mendocino, California, map area, one of 83 map areas of the California State Waters Map Series, USGS Data Series 781 (Golden, 2019). The polygons are derived from multibeam echosounder (MBES) data and derivatives of that data using video-supervised and unsupervised classification. Attributes and attribute values are named following the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS; Federal ...

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CMECS geoform, CMECS substrate, and surficial geology offshore of Morro Bay (ver. 1.1, January 2024)

This part of USGS Data Series 781 presents substrate, geomorphic, and geologic attributed polygons in the Offshore of Morro Bay, California, map area, one of 83 map areas of the California State Waters Map Series. The polygons are derived from multibeam echosounder (MBES) data and derivatives of that data using video-supervised and unsupervised classification. Attributes and attribute values are named following the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS; Federal Geographic Data ...

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CMECS geoform, CMECS substrate, and surficial geology offshore of Point Buchon (ver. 1.1, January 2024)

This shapefile has substrate, geomorphic, and geologic attributed polygons in the Offshore of Point Buchon, California, map area, one of 83 map areas of the California State Waters Map Series, USGS Data Series 781 (Golden and Cochrane, 2019). The polygons are derived from multibeam echosounder (MBES) data and derivatives of that data using video-supervised and unsupervised classification. Attributes and attribute values are named following the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS; ...

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CMECS geoform, CMECS substrate, and surficial geology offshore of Point Estero (ver. 1.1, November 2023)

This substrate, geomorphic, and geologic attributed polygon shapefile in the Offshore of Eureka, California, map area is part of USGS Data Series 781 (Golden and Cochrane, 2019). The map area is one of 83 map areas of the California State Waters Map Series. The polygons are derived from multibeam echosounder (MBES) data and derivatives of that data using video-supervised and unsupervised classification. Attributes and attribute values are named following the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification ...

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CMECS geoform, CMECS substrate, and surficial geology offshore of the Eel River

This part of USGS Data Series 781 presents substrate, geomorphic, and geologic attributed polygons in the Offshore of the Eel River, California, map area, one of 83 map areas of the California State Waters Map Series. The polygons are derived from multibeam echosounder (MBES) data and derivatives of that data using video-supervised and unsupervised classification. Attributes and attribute values are named following the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS; Federal Geographic Data ...

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CMECS geoform, substrate, and biotopes offshore of Burien, Washington

This part of USGS Data Series 935 (Cochrane, 2014) presents substrate, geomorphic, and biotope data in the Offshore of Burien, Washington, map area, a part of the Southern Salish Sea Habitat Map Series. Given the variable bathymetric resolution, the complex geologic history of the region, and the lack of acoustic backscatter data, automated and semi-automated classification schemes of classifying seafloor substrate and geoform were deemed to have very low accuracy. Instead, classification of these ...

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CMECS geoform, substrate, and biotopes offshore of Seattle, Washington

This part of USGS Data Series 935 (Cochrane, 2014) presents substrate, geomorphic, and biotope data in the Offshore of Seattle, California, map area, a part of the Southern Salish Sea Habitat Map Series. Given the variable bathymetric resolution, the complex geologic history of the region, and the lack of acoustic backscatter data, automated and semi-automated classification schemes of classifying seafloor substrate and geoform were deemed to have very low accuracy. Instead, classification of these ...

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CMECS geoform, substrate, and biotopes offshore of Tacoma, Washington

This part of USGS Data Series 935 (Cochrane, 2014) presents substrate, geomorphic, and biotope data in the Offshore of Tacoma, Washington, map area, a part of the Southern Salish Sea Habitat Map Series. Given the variable bathymetric resolution, the complex geologic history of the region, and the lack of acoustic backscatter data, automated and semi-automated classification schemes of classifying seafloor substrate and geoform were deemed to have very low accuracy. Instead, classification of these ...

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CMECS substrate, geoform, and biotic component polygons derived from multibeam echosounder data and underwater video observations collected offshore of south-central California in support of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Cal DIG I, offshore alternative energy project

These metadata describe Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS; Federal Geographic Data Committee, 2012) attributed polygons derived from multibeam echosounder acoustic bathymetry and backscatter intensity data, and from underwater video collected offshore of Morro Bay, California from 2016 to 2020. The polygons have CMECS substrate, geoform and biotic component attributes. Most of the data were collected in support of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)/Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ...

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Coastal Marine Geology Program Video and Photograph Portal

Access to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program’s (CMGP) vast collection of unique and valuable seafloor and coastal imagery is made available in the CMGP Video and Photograph Portal. The portal provides a single location for data discovery and viewing. The CMGP and our research partners invest immense resources collecting, processing, and archiving seafloor and oblique coastal video and photographs. Until the publication of the CMGP Video and Photograph Portal in 2015, only ...

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Coral growth parameters, Kahekili, west Maui

Surface runoff and submarine groundwater discharge in particular are known vectors to the coastal ocean of elevated nutrients and contaminants leading to eutrophication, algal overgrowth, and coral disease. Freshwater discharging directly from submarine groundwater vents off of Kahekili Beach Park, Kaanapali, in West Maui contains elevated nutrient concentrations and lower pH values. Coral cores were collected in July 2013 from the shallow reef at Kahekili in Kaanapali, West Maui, Hawaii from ...

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Geochemical analysis of authigenic carbonates and chemosynthetic mussels at Atlantic Margin seeps (ver. 2.0, March 2019)

Isotopic analyses of authigenic carbonates and methanotrophic deep-sea mussels, Bathymodiolus sp., was performed on samples collected from seep fields in the Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons on the north Atlantic margin. Samples were collected using remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) during three different research cruises in 2012, 2013, and 2015. Analyses were performed by several different laboratories, and the results are presented in spreadsheet format.

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Seawater carbonate chemistry, Kahekili, west Maui

Time-series of seawater carbonate chemistry variables, including salinity, dissolved inorganic nutrients, pH, total alkalinity, and dissolved inorganic carbon from sites along Kahekili Beach Park, west Maui near submarine groundwater seeps and living coral reefs. Samples for seawater were collected by pumping bottom water from the seafloor using a peristaltic pump and collecting discrete water samples every 4-hrs over a 6-day period.

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