Symposium review: long-term shifts in faunal assemblages in eastern North American estuaries: a review of a workshop held at the biennial meeting of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF), November 2007, Providence, Rhode Island

Abstract

A workshop held at the fall 2007 meeting of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation addressed the topic of long-term changes in the faunal assemblages of estuaries along the east coast of North America. The workshop, organized by Rodney Rountree and Francis Juanes, brought together researchers who have examined data sets spanning greater than 20 years and who related their findings to various drivers. Changes in faunal assemblages were well-documented by most researchers and were associated with fishing pressure, eutrophication, warmer seawater temperatures, alterations of hydrology, natural environmental factors, and the interactions among these drivers.