Tidal Wetlands of the Hudson River Estuary

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511550539.022

20 - Tidal Wetlands of the Hudson River Estuary

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 January 2010

Erik Kiviat ,

Stuart E. G. Findlay and

W. Charles Nieder

Edited by

Jeffrey S. Levinton and

John R. Waldman

Show author details

Erik Kiviat: Affiliation:
Hudsonia Ltd.
Stuart E. G. Findlay: Affiliation:
Institute of Ecosystem Studies
W. Charles Nieder: Affiliation:
Hudson River NERR/New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Jeffrey S. Levinton: Affiliation:
State University of New York, Stony Brook

Book contents

Get access

Summary

abstract There are about 2,900 ha of tidal wetlands in the Hudson River. Tidal flow between wetlands and the “main river” moves sediment, nutrients, organic matter, and organisms in and out of the wetlands. Sediment deposition rates in the tidal wetlands are about 0.05–2.9 cm yr−1. In wetlands separated from the main river by a railroad, scoured pools remain just inside the openings and large tidal creeks radiate into the gradually-filling landward part of the wetland. Although large areas of the estuary have been filled, there has been a net gain of wetland area. Sediments, vegetation, animal communities, and ecosystem functions may be different in the railroad-sheltered wetlands and the wetlands on sandy dredged material than they were in unaltered wetlands. In Hudson River tidal wetlands, the elevation gradient, from near Mean Low Water through the intertidal zone to near Mean High Water, is correlated with increases in sediment organic matter (SOM), plant litter cover and litter mass, and aboveground peak biomass, height, and species richness of vascular plants. Among different marshes, SOM is correlated with abundance and diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates and fish species richness. Tidal waters are the main source of nitrogen for the marshes, whereas phosphorus appears to come from upland tributaries or decay of organic matter in sediments. The lower intertidal zone is nearly bare of vascular vegetation in the more brackish and the more sandy wetlands; in silty freshwater tidal wetlands this zone is occupied by spatterdock and pickerelweed. The middle intertidal zone is occupied by saltmarsh cordgrass in the most brackish marsh, but by a mixture of many broadleaf and grasslike plants in lower salinity wetlands.

Type: Chapter
Information: The Hudson River Estuary , pp. 279 - 295

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511550539.022 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Austin, K., and Findlay, S. 1989. Benthic bacterial biomass and production in the Hudson River Estuary. Microbial Ecology 18:105–16CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Barbour, S., and Kiviat, E. 1986. A survey of Lepidoptera in Tivoli North Bay (Hudson River estuary), in Cooper, J. C. (ed.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Sanctuary Program, 1985 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, [Albany, NY], pp. IV-1 to IV-20Google Scholar

Beecher, E. C. 1984. “The accumulation of cadmium and lead in the rhizomes of Typha angustifolia and Typha glauca from fresh-water tidal marshes.” Senior Project, Bard College, Annandale, New York

Benoit, G., Wang, E. X., Nieder, W. C., Levandowsky, M., and Breslin, V. 1999. Sources and history of heavy metal contamination and sediment deposition in Tivoli South Bay, Hudson River, New York. Estuaries 22:167–78CrossRef Google Scholar

Brinson, M. M., Lugo, A., and Brown, S. 1981. Primary productivity, decomposition and consumer activity in freshwater wetlands. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 12:123–61CrossRef Google Scholar

Buckley, E. H., and Ristich, S. S. 1976. Distribution of rooted vegetation in the brackish marshes and shallows of the Hudson River estuary, Paper 20, in Hudson River Ecology; Fourth Symposium on Hudson River Ecology, Bear Mountain, New York, 28–30 March 1976. Hudson River Environmental Society, [Poughkeepsie, NY]

Buckley, E. H., and Ristich, S. S. 1977. Rooted vegetation, in Weinstein, L. H. (ed.), An Atlas of the Biologic Resources of the Hudson EstuaryBoyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Yonkers, New York, pp. 12–33, 95–96Google Scholar

Connors, L. M., Kiviat, E., Groffman, P. M., and Ostfeld, R. S. 2000. Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) disturbance to vegetation and potential net nitrogen mineralization and nitrification rates in a fresh-tidal marsh. American Midland Naturalist 143:53–63CrossRef Google Scholar

DeVries, C., and DeWitt, C. B. 1986. Freshwater tidal wetlands community descriptions and relation of plant distribution to elevation and substrate, in Cooper, J. C. (ed.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Sanctuary Program, 1985Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp.IX-1 to IX-43Google Scholar

Duryea, M., and Schmidt, R. E. 1987. Feeding biology of the tessellated darter (Etheostoma olmstedi atromaculatum) at Tivoli North Bay, Hudson River, New York, in Blair, E. A. and Cooper, J. C. (eds.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve Program, 1986 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, [Albany, NY], pp. III-1 to III-19Google Scholar

Feeley-Connor, B. 1978. “The ecology of corticolous lichens in northern Dutchess County, New York.” Senior Project, Bard College, Annandale, New York

Fernberg, L. S. 1997. “Causes and consequences of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) invasions on native wetlands.” Doctoral Dissertation. Fordham University, Bronx, New York

Findlay, S., Dye, S., and Kuehn, K. A. 2002b. Microbial growth and nitrogen retention in litter of Phragmites australis and Typha angustifolia. Wetlands 22:616–25CrossRef Google Scholar

Findlay, S., Howe, K., and Austin, K. 1990. Comparison of detritus dynamics in two tidal freshwater wetlands. Ecology 71:288–95CrossRef Google Scholar

Findlay, S. E. G., Kiviat, E., Nieder, W. C., and Blair, E. A. 2002a. Functional assessment of a reference wetland set as a tool for science, management and restoration. Aquatic Sciences 64:107–17CrossRef Google Scholar

Findlay, S. E. G., Sinsabaugh, R. L., Fischer, D. T., and Franchini, P. 1998. Sources of dissolved organic carbon supporting planktonic bacterial production in the tidal freshwater Hudson River. Ecosystems 1:227–39CrossRef Google Scholar

Foley, D. D., and Taber, R. W. 1951. Lower Hudson Waterfowl Investigation Pittman-Robertson Project 47-R. New York State Conservation Department, Albany, New YorkGoogle Scholar

Goldhammer, A., and Findlay, S. 1988. Estimation of suspended material flux between a Trapa natans stand and the Hudson River estuary, in Waldman, J. R. and Blair, E. A. (eds.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve Program, 1987. Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp. VIII-1 to VIII-43Google Scholar

Howard, T. G., Jaycox, J. W., and Weldy, T. W. 2002. Rare Species and Significant Natural Communities of the Significant Biodiversity Areas in the Hudson River Valley Report to Cornell University and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation – Hudson River Estuary Program. New York Natural Heritage Program, Albany, New YorkGoogle Scholar

Kiviat, E. 1974. A Fresh-water Tidal Marsh on the Hudson, Tivoli North Bay, in Third Symposium on Hudson River Ecology. Hudson River Environmental Society, Bronx, NY, Paper 14, 36 unnumbered pagesGoogle Scholar

Kiviat, E. 1978a. Hudson River East Bank Natural Areas, Clermont to Norrie. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia

Kiviat, E. 1978b. Vertebrate use of muskrat lodges and burrows. Estuaries 1:196–200CrossRef Google Scholar

Kiviat, E. 1980a. Are Muskrats Declining in New York? Why? A Preliminary Study. Report to Wildlife Pathology Unit, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Delmar, New York

Kiviat, E. 1980b. A Hudson River tidemarsh snapping turtle population. Transactions of the Northeast Section, The Wildlife Society, 37:158–68Google Scholar

Kiviat, E. 1981. Hudson River estuary shore zone annotated natural history bibliography with indexScenic Hudson, Poughkeepsie, New YorkGoogle Scholar

Kiviat, E. 1989. The role of wildlife in estuarine ecosystems, in Day, J. W., et al. (eds.). Estuarine Ecology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 437–75Google Scholar

Kiviat, E. 1994. Muskrat: Manager of the marsh. News from Hudsonia 10(3):1–3Google Scholar

Kiviat, E. 1996. American goldfinch nests in purple loosestrife. Wilson Bulletin 108(1):182–6Google Scholar

Kiviat, E. 1997. Where are the reptiles and amphibians of the Hudson River? Part 1. News from Hudsonia 12(2–3):1, 3–5Google Scholar

Kiviat, E. 1998. Where are the reptiles and amphibians of the Hudson River? Part 2. News from Hudsonia 13(3):1–7Google Scholar

Kiviat, E., and Beecher, E. 1991. Vegetation in Fresh-Tidal Habitats of Tivoli Bays, Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve Report to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hudsonia Ltd., Annandale, New YorkGoogle Scholar

Kiviat, E., Stapleton, J. J., Schmidt, R. E., and Zeising, N. 1982. Final Environmental Impact Statement; Proposed Estuarine Sanctuary grant award to the State of New York for a Hudson River Estuarine Sanctuary U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.CGoogle Scholar

Kiviat, E., and Stevens, G. 2001. Biodiversity Assessment Manual for the Hudson River Estuary Corridor. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New Paltz, New YorkGoogle Scholar

Kiviat, E., and Talmage, E. Submitted. Bird use of common reed and cattail in a Hudson River freshwater tidal marsh. Journal of Field Ornithology

Krause, L. H., Rietsma, C., and Kiviat, E. 1997. Terrestrial insects associated with Phragmites australis, Typha angustifolia, and Lythrum salicaria in a Hudson River tidal marsh, in Nieder, W. C. and Waldman, J. R. (eds.), Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program 1996. Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp.V-1 to V-35Google Scholar

Lampman, G., Caraco, N. F., and Cole, J. J. 1999. Spatial and temporal patterns of nutrient concentration and export in the tidal Hudson River. Estuaries 22:285–96CrossRef Google Scholar

Leonardi, L. 1991. Bryophytes of two New York State freshwater tidal swamps. Evansia 8(1):22–5Google Scholar

Leonardi, L., and Kiviat, E. 1989. A Moss and Liverwort Survey of Freshwater Tidal Swamps along the Hudson River Report to the Alan DeVoe Bird ClubGoogle Scholar

Leonardi, L. and Kiviat, E. 1990. Bryophytes of the Tivoli Bays tidal swamps, in Waldman, J. R. and Blair, E. A. (eds.), Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program 1989. Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp.III-1 to III-23Google Scholar

McGlynn, C. A., and Ostfeld, R. S. 2000. A study of the effects of invasive plant species on small mammals in Hudson River freshwater marshes, in Waldman, J. R. and Nieder, W. C. (eds.), Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program, 1999. Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp.VIII-1 to VIII-21Google Scholar

Merrill, J. Z. 1998. Tidal Freshwater Marshes of the Hudson River as Nutrient Sinks: Long-term Retention and Denitrification Final Report to the Hudson River Foundation, Fellowship GF/03/96Google Scholar

Mihocko, G., Kiviat, E., Schmidt, R. E., Findlay, S. E. G., Nieder, W. C., and Blair, E. A. 2003. Assessing Ecological Functions of Hudson River Fresh-Tidal Marshes; Reference Data and a Modified Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach Report to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Hudson River Estuary Program. Hudsonia Ltd., Annandale, New YorkGoogle Scholar

Muenscher, W. C. 1935. Aquatic Vegetation of the Mohawk Watershed Biological Survey 9 (Mohawk-Hudson Watershed), Supplement to the Annual Report, New York State Conservation Department 24:228–49

Muenscher, W. C. 1937. Aquatic Vegetation of the Lower Hudson Area Biological Survey 11 (Lower Hudson Watershed), Supplement to the Annual Report, New York State Conservation Department 26:231–48Google Scholar

Newell, S. Y., and Porter, D. 2000. Microbial secondary production from saltmarsh-grass shoots, and its known and potential fates, in Weinstein, M. P. and Kreeger, D. A. (eds.), Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 159–85CrossRef Google Scholar

Newman, W. W., Thurber, D. H., Zeiss, H. S., Rokach, A., and Musich, L. 1969. Late Quaternary geology of the Hudson River estuary; A preliminary report. Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences Series 2, 31:548–70CrossRef Google Scholar

Odum, W. E. 1988. Comparative ecology of tidal fresh-water and salt marshes. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 19:147–76CrossRef Google Scholar

Odum, W. E., and Heywood, M. A. 1978. Decomposition of intertidal freshwater marsh plants, in Good, R. E., Whigham, D., Simpson, R. L. and Jackson, C. G. (eds.), Freshwater Wetlands. New York: Academic Press, pp. 89–97Google Scholar

Odum, W. E., Smith, T. J. III, Hoover, J. K., and McIvor, C. C. 1984. The Ecology of Tidal Freshwater Marshes of the United States East Coast: A Community Profile U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. FWS/OBS-83–17Google Scholar

Parsons, T. L., and Lovett, G. M. 1992. Land use effects on Hudson River tributaries, in Waldman, J. R. and Blair, E. A. (eds.), Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program 1991. Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp.IX-1 to IX-34Google Scholar

Peller, P., and Bopp., R. 1986. Recent sediment and pollutant accumulation in the Hudson River National Estuarine Sanctuary, in Cooper, J. C. (ed.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Sanctuary Program, 1985. Hudson River Foundation, New York. NY, Section VII, pp.VII-1 to VII-29Google Scholar

Picard, E. 2002. 1998. Tidal Wetland Inventory Draft, Tappan Zee Bridge to Troy Dam New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New England Interstate Water Pollution Control CommissionGoogle Scholar

Reinson, G. E. 1979. Barrier island systems, in Walker, R. G. (ed.), Facies Models. Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1, Geological Association of Canada, Toronto, Ontario, pp. 57–74Google Scholar

Reschke, C. 1990. Ecological Communities of New York StateNew York Natural Heritage Program, Latham, New YorkGoogle Scholar

Richard, E., and Schmidt, R. E. 1987. Feeding ecology of the banded killfish (Fundulus diaphanus) at Tivoli North Bay, Hudson River, New York, in Blair, E. A. and Cooper, J. C. (eds.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve Program, 1986. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, [Albany, NY], pp.II-1 to II-20Google Scholar

Ristich, S. S., Fredrick, S. W., and Buckley, E. H. 1976. Transplantation of Typha and the distribution of vegetation and algae in a reclaimed estuarine marsh. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 103(4):157–64CrossRef Google Scholar

Roberts, E. A., and Reynolds, H. W. 1938. The Role of Plant Life in the History of Dutchess County Privately published, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New YorkGoogle Scholar

Robideau, R. M. 1997. “Sedimentation rates in Hudson River marshes as determined by radionuclide dating techniques.” Master's thesis, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York

Rooth, J. E., Stevenson, J. C., and Cornwell, J. C. 2003. Increased sediment accretion rates following invasion by Phragmites australis: The role of litter. Estuaries 26:476–84CrossRef Google Scholar

Royte, J. L. 1985. “The lichen community of Skillpot Island.” Senior Project, Bard College, Annandale, New York

Rozycki, C., and Kiviat, E. 1996. A low density, tidal marsh, painted turtle population, in Blair, E. A. and Waldman, J. R. (eds.), Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program 1995. Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp. V-1 to V-35Google Scholar

Rubbo, M. J., and Kiviat, E. 1999. A herpetological survey of Tivoli Bays and Stockport Flats, in Nieder, W. C. and Waldman, J. R. (eds.), Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program 1998. Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp. VIII-1 to VIII-22Google Scholar

Schmidt, K. A. 1986. The life history of the chrysomelid beetle Pyrrhalta nymphaeae (Galerucinae) on water chestnut, Trapa natans (Hydrocariaceae [sic]) in Tivoli South Bay, Hudson River, NY, in Cooper, J. C. (ed.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Sanctuary Program, 1985. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, [Albany, NY], pp. V-1–V-38Google Scholar

Schmidt, R. E. 1986. Fish Community Structure in Tivoli North Bay, a Hudson River Freshwater Tidal Marsh NOAA Technical Report Series OCRM/SPD, U.S. Department of CommerceGoogle Scholar

Schmidt, R. E. 1993. Fishes of Manitou Marsh with Comments on other Aquatic Organisms Report to Museum of the Hudson Highlands. Hudsonia Ltd., Annandale, NYGoogle Scholar

Schmidt, R. E., and Kiviat, E. 1988. Communities of Larval and Juvenile Fish Associated with Water-chestnut, Watermilfoil and Water-celery in the Tivoli Bays of the Hudson River Report to Hudson River Foundation, New York, NYGoogle Scholar

Senerchia-Nardone, P., Reilly, A., and Holland, M. M. 1986. Comparison of vascular plant zonation at Iona Island Marsh (Hudson River estuary) and Lord's Cove (Connecticut River estuary), in Cooper, J. C. (ed.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Sanctuary Program, 1985. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, [Albany, NY], pp.III-1 to III-35Google Scholar

Sharma, V., and Kiviat, E. 1992. Habitats of the monkeyflowers Mimulus alatus and Mimulus ringens on the Hudson River, in Blair, E. A. and Waldman, J. R. (eds.), Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program, 1991. Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp. V-1 to V-36Google Scholar

Simoes, J. C., and Chambers, R. M. 1999. The diamondback terrapins of Piermont Marsh, Hudson River, New York. Northeastern Naturalist 6:241–8CrossRef Google Scholar

Sinsabaugh, R. L., and Findlay, S. 1995. Microbial production, enzyme activity and carbon turnover in surface sediments of the Hudson River Estuary. Microbial Ecology 30:127–41CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Squires, D. F. 1992. Quantifying anthropogenic shoreline modification of the Hudson River and estuary from European contact to modern time. Coastal Management 20:343–54CrossRef Google Scholar

Stapleton, J., and Kiviat, E. 1979. Rights of birds and rights of way: Vegetation management on a railroad causeway and its effect on breeding birds. American Birds 33(1):7–10Google Scholar

Stevens, G. (ed.). 2001. Natural Resource / Human Use Inventory of Six State-Owned Properties on the Hudson River in Columbia and Greene Counties Report to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Hudsonia Ltd., Annandale, New YorkGoogle Scholar

Stevenson, K. A., Armstrong, R. and Schell, W. R. 1986. Chronological determination of mercury, lead, and cadmium in two Hudson River freshwater tidal marshes, in Cooper, J. C. (ed.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Sanctuary Program, 1985. Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp. VIII-1 to VIII-27Google Scholar

Stone, W. B., Kiviat, E., and Butkas, S. A. 1980. Toxicants in snapping turtles. New York Fish and Game Journal 27(1):39–50Google Scholar

Swift, B. L. 1989. Avian Breeding Habitats in Hudson River Tidal Marshes Report to the Hudson River Foundation. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Delmar, New YorkGoogle Scholar

Templer, P., Findlay, S., and Wigand, C. 1998. Sediment chemistry associated with native and non-native emergent macrophytes of a Hudson River marsh ecosystem. Wetlands 18:70–8CrossRef Google Scholar

Vernon, M. 2002. Phosphorous saturation in wetland soils: The relationship between loading history and removal rates in freshwater tidal wetlands, in Berkowitz, A. R., Findlay, S. E. G., Keesing, F. and Ostfeld, R. S. (eds.), Occasional Publication of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies No. 16, pp. 83–8Google Scholar

Vos, J. H., Ende, P. J., Ooijevaar, M. A. G., Oosthoek, A. J. P., Postma, J. F., and Admiraal, W. 2002. Growth response of a benthic detritivore to organic matter composition in sediments. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 21:443–56CrossRef Google Scholar

Weinstein, L. H. (ed.) 1977. An Atlas of the Biologic Resources of the Hudson EstuaryBoyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Inc.Yonkers, NYGoogle Scholar

Westad, K. E. 1987. Addendum to flora of freshwater tidal swamps at Tivoli Bays, in Blair, E. A. and Cooper, J. C. (eds.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve Program, 1986. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, [Albany, NY], p. X-1Google Scholar

Westad, K. E., and Kiviat, E. 1986. Flora of freshwater tidal swamps at Tivoli Bays Hudson River National Estuarine Sanctuary, in Cooper, J. C. (ed.), Polgar Fellowship Reports of the Hudson River National Estuarine Sanctuary Program, 1985. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Hudson River Foundation, and U.S. Department of Commerce, pp.III-1–III-20Google Scholar

Winogrond, H. G., and Kiviat, E. 1997. Invasion of Phragmites australis in the tidal marshes of the Hudson River, in Nieder, W. C. and Waldman, J. R. (eds.), Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program 1996. Hudson River Foundation, New York, NY, pp. VI-1–VI-29Google Scholar

Yozzo, D. J., Smith, D. E., and Lewis, M. L. 1994. Tidal Freshwater Ecosystems: Bibliography Virginia Sea Grant College Program VSG-94–12, Charlottesville, VirginiaGoogle Scholar