Monitoring Program Design - Coastal Lagoons: Ecosystem Processes and Modeling for Sustainable Use and Development - page 307

During the past 25 years, monitoring has evolved from physico-chemical col-
lection of information to monitoring of ecosystems and biological effects. Most of
the present monitoring programs have become more integrated among disciplines
(hydrology, chemistry, biology) and have expanded to cover effluents originating
from within catchment areas. 3

7.1.4 I SSUES S PECIFIC TO M ONITORING OF L AGOONS

Lagoons are morphologically and ecologically complex, subject to constantly changing
environmental conditions generally of much greater magnitude than is the case in the
open sea ( see Chapter 2 for details). For example, temperature may range from ice
conditions to very warm waters; salinity may range from freshwater to hypersalinity;
wave action usually reaches the bottom, causing dynamic conditions and high energy
habitats; and current speed and direction may change frequently, particularly in inlets/out-
lets of lagoons and in their vicinity. Due to the transitional nature of lagoons, they usually
display a number of specific features, which require development of monitoring methods
and techniques specifically tailored to the ecosystem. In some cases, techniques utilized
in freshwater and/or saltwater bodies may not be applicable or relevant. 4 These difficulties
are compounded by the variable, dynamic nature of many lagoons.
Lagoons often contain a great variety of pelagic and benthic habitats ( see Chapter
5 for details). For example, lagoons may include some or all of the following habitats:
wetlands, marshes, sea grass meadows, intertidal flats, and upland areas, as well as
others. Lagoons may have a variety of bottom sediment and sedimentation conditions.
Due to great variability of conditions, organisms usually live under a significant
amount of natural stress; therefore, anthropogenic stress is particularly troublesome
in such an environment.
There is no general scheme for monitoring of lagoons. Lagoon monitoring there-
fore needs to be designed with the specific water body in mind. A knowledge of the
basic parameters of the given lagoon is essential, including trophic status, water
exchange, morphology, salinity, annual variability, etc. Some aspects, which may be
important for lagoon monitoring system design, are discussed in the following sections.

7.2 MONITORING SYSTEM DESIGN

There is no tradition of monitoring coastal areas as there is for monitoring open sea
or freshwater areas. Monitoring system design for coastal zones is less advanced
and in many cases needs to be developed from the beginning. Design efforts can
borrow elements from the monitoring of marine waters and fresh waters, where
monitoring has been under way for some time. 5,6
As previously mentioned, the most important consideration regarding monitoring
system design is the need to establish clear goals. These goals will then lead to
determining what information is needed to fulfill the goals. However, this may be
problematic due to differences in problem definition, understanding of cause/effect
relationships, the interjurisdictional nature of problems, etc.
Monitoring should be designed to account for the unique characteristics of a lagoon
ecosystem (see Chapters 2 and 5) and the specific environmental problems and the
socio-economic systems ( see Chapter 8) encountered in the lagoon watershed. There is