The Hudson River Ecosystem

The Ecosystems Research Center (ERC) was established at Cornell U ni versity in October 1980 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the goals of: 1. Identifying fundamental principles and concepts of ecosystems sci ence and the determination of their importance in understanding and pre dicting the responses of ecosystems to stress, the description of the basic mechanisms that operate within ecosystems, and an examination of the stability of ecosystem structure and function in the face of stress. 2. Testing the applicability of those theoretical concepts to problems of concern to the EPA through a consideration of retrospective and other case studies. In line with these goals, the Hudson River ecosystem provided the basis for the first major retrospective study undertaken by the ERC. The goal of the project was to develop recommendations concerning how ecosystem monitoring can and should be carried out in support of EPA's regulatory responsibilities. Our hope was and is that the experience gained from this study will be broadly applicable to a range of manage ment problems involving estuarine ecosystems, and will lead to more effective regulation.

Since 1996, The Hudson: An Illustrated Guide to the Living River has been an essential resource for understanding the full sweep of the great river's natural history and human heritage. This updated third edition includes the latest information about the ongoing fight against pollution and environmental damage to the river, plus vibrant new full-color illustrations showing the plants and wildlife that make this ecosystem so special. This volume gives a detailed account of the Hudson River’s history, including the geological forces that created it, the various peoples who have lived on its banks, and the great works of art it has inspired. It also showcases the many species making a home on this waterway, including the Atlantic sturgeon, the bald eagle, the invasive zebra mussel, and the herons of New York Harbor. Combining both scientific and historical perspectives, this book demonstrates why the Hudson and its valley have been so central to the environmental movement. As it charts the progress made towards restoring the river ecosystem and the effects of emerging threats like climate change, The Hudson identifies concrete ways that readers can help. To that end, royalties from the sale of this book will go to the non-profit environmental advocacy group Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.

The Hudson River Estuary, first published in 2006, is a scientific biography with relevance to similar natural systems.

Biologists, historians, and social scientists explore the reciprocal relationships between humans and the Hudson River. The diverse contributions to Environmental History of the Hudson River examine how the natural and physical attributes of the river have influenced human settlement and uses, and how human occupation has, in turn, affected the ecology and environmental health of the river. The Hudson River Valley may be America’s premier river environmental laboratory, and by bringing historians and social scientists together with biologists and other physical scientists, this book hopes to foster new ways of looking at and talking about this historically, commercially, and aesthetically important ecosystem. Native people’s influences on the ecological integrity of aquatic and shoreline communities were generally local and minor, and for the first 12,000 years or so of human use, the Hudson River was valued mainly as a source of water, food, and transportation. Since the arrival of European colonists, however, commerce has been the engine that has driven development and use of the river, from the harvesting of beaver pelts and timber to the siting of manufacturing industries and power plants, and all of these uses have had pervasive effects on the river’s aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In the meantime, aesthetic movements such as the Hudson River School of painting have sought to recover and preserve the earlier pastoral landscape, anticipating the more recent efforts by environmentalists that have led to dramatic improvements in water quality, shoreline habitats, and fish populations. Despite the pervasive forces of commerce, the Hudson River has retained its world-class scenic qualities. The Upper Hudson remains today a free-flowing, tumbling mountain stream, and the Lower Hudson a fjord penetrated and dominated by the Hudson Highlands. The Hudson’s unique history continues to affect current uses and will surely influence the future in remarkable ways. Robert E. Henshaw received his Ph.D. in environmental physiology at the University of Iowa and worked for twenty years as an environmental analyst at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. He has taught in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University at Albany–SUNY, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Hudson River Environmental Society. He lives in West Sand Lake, New York.

This succinct book gives an intimate view of the day-to-day functioning of a remarkable river that has figured prominently in history and culture—the Hudson, a main artery connecting New York, America, and the world. Writing for a wide audience, David Strayer distills the large body of scientific information about the river into a non-technical overview of its ecology. Strayer describes the geography and geology of the Hudson and its basin, the properties of water and its movements in the river, water chemistry, and the river’s plants and animals. He then takes a more detailed look at the Hudson’s ecosystems and each of its major habitats. Strayer also discusses important management challenges facing the river today, including pollution, habitat destruction, overfishing, invasive species, and ecological restoration.

Biologists, historians, and social scientists explore the reciprocal relationships between humans and the Hudson River.

The Hudson River Estuary is a comprehensive look at the physical, chemical, biological and environmental management issues that are important to our understanding of the Hudson River. Chapters cover the entire range of fields necessary to understanding the workings of the Hudson River estuary; the physics, bedrock geological setting and sedimentological processes of the estuary; ecosystem-level processes and biological interactions; and environmental issues such as fisheries, toxic substances, and the effect of nutrient input from densely populated areas. This 2006 book places special emphasis on important issues specific to the Hudson, such as the effect of power plants and high concentrations of PCBs. The chapters are written by specialists at a level that is accessible to students, teachers and the interested layperson. The Hudson River Estuary is a fascinating scientific biography of a major estuary, with relevance to the study of any similar natural system in the world.

In this landmark publication, leading experts detail how remote sensing and related geospatial technologies can be used for coastal ecosystem assessment and management. This book is divided into three major parts. In the first part several conceptual and technical issues of applying remote sensing and geospatial technologies in the coastal environment are examined. The second part showcases some of the latest developments in the use of remote sensing and geospatial technologies when characterizing coastal waters, submerged aquatic vegetation, benthic habitats, shorelines, coastal wetlands and watersheds. Finally, the last part demonstrates a watershed-wide synthetic approach that links upstream stressors with downstream responses for integrated coastal ecosystem assessment and management.