Increasing development and changing land use in the Skidaway River watershed is causing increased nutrient loading and increased levels of phytoplankton production and bacteria. DO levels are low even though the estuary is well-mixed horizontally and vertically by tidal cycles. The conceptual model, therefore, is based on well-mixed conditions rather than on the traditional stratification. Increasing hypoxia in the estuary is attributable to microbial respiration and oxygen depletion occurring at a greater rate than autotrophic production and reventilization. Reversing that trend will require implementing management measures that can prevent or minimize the ecological degradation (Bricker et al. 2007).
Reference:
Bricker, S., B. Longstaff, W. Dennison, A. Jones, K. Boicourt, C. Wicks, and J. Woerner. 2007. Effects of Nutrient Enrichment In the Nation’s Estuaries: A Decade of Change. NOAA Coastal Ocean Program Decision Analysis Series No. 26. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Silver Spring, MD. Accessed October 2016. https://yosemite.epa.gov/oa/EAB_Web_Docket.nsf/(Filings)/3BE82A42C7ED8C3585257B120059CB8A/$File/Opposition%20to%20Petition%20for%20Review%20–%20Ex.%2010%20Part1…23.53.pdf.