Resources

References

Cape Cod’s water resources:

Cape Cod Commission website on Water Resources.

Economic value of the blue economy:

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce website on economic value of Cape Cod’s tourism industry.

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Urban Harbors Institute, and Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, 2021. Port by Port: Profiles and Analysis of the Massachusetts Commercial Fishery.

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Cape Cod Water Resources Restoration Project, Why It Matters to Massachusetts Economy.

Nutrient pollution:

Cape Cod Commission. 2015. Cape Cod Areawide 208 Water Quality Management Plan.  

Cape Cod Commission watershed reports.  Click on an individual watershed to get the report for that watershed.

Cape Cod Commission, Ponds and Lakes

Center for Coastal Studies website on water quality monitoring program

Massachusetts Estuaries Project. 

Massachusetts Estuaries Project, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and Technology (SMAST)

Geist, G. September 14, 2023. Phosphorus and nitrogen together are impacting freshwater ponds in Falmouth. Reporting on a workshop by Dr. Chris Neill, Woodwell Climate Research Center.

Kniffin, M., C. Neill, R. McHorney, and G. Gregory. 2009. “Nutrient limitation of periphyton and phytoplankton in Cape Cod coastal plain ponds.” Northeastern Naturalist 16(3), 395-408. 

Mischler, J.A., P.G. Taylor, and A.R. Townsend. 2014. Nitrogen limitation of pond ecosystems on the plains of eastern Colorado.

Other Coastal Monitoring Programs:

Beach water quality monitoring: Barnstable County webpage on bathing beach water quality

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries webpage on shellfish sanitation and management

Freshwater Initiative and Pond Monitoring Program:

Cape Cod Commission, Freshwater Initiative. Authorized by Barnstable County in 2022, the Freshwater Initiative is a science-based, information-driven planning process to engage stakeholders and enable action to protect and restore Cape Cod’s freshwater resources. The project includes a Ponds and Lakes Atlas, monitoring program, remote sensing, data management and analysis, physical characteristics, strategies database, engagement and outreach, economic analysis, and legal and jurisdictional analysis. Progress report.

Cape Cod Pond Monitoring Program

Cyanobacteria:

Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Cyanobacteria monitoring program

Commonwealth of Massachusetts webpage on cyanobacteria

Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Harmful algal blooms and the environment.  Cites increasing frequency of HABs.

Leland, N.J., J.F. Haney, K. Conte, K. Malkus-Benjamin and B. Horseley. 2019. Evaluation of size structure in freshwater cyanobacteria populations: methods to quantify risk associated with changes in biomass and Microcystin concentrations. Journal of Water Research and Protection, 2019, 11, 810-829. Leland, Haney, Conte, Malkus-Benjamin and Horseley, 2019

Leland, N.J., R. A. Landon, and J.F. Haney. September 2020. Trophic interactions between anadromous juvenile Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and cyanobacterial populations in a shallow mesotrophic pond. Natural Resources, 2020, 11, 394-419.  Leland, Landon, and Haney, 2020

Leland, N.J. and Haney, J.F., 2018. Alternative Methods for Analysis of Cyanobacterial Populations in Drinking Water Supplies: Fluorometric and Toxicological Applications Using Phycocyanin. Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 10, 740-761. Leland and Haney, 2018

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2017, updated 2021. Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative Program (CMC). 2017. Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) for the Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative Program. Rev: 0, April 26, 2017

U.S. EPA webpage on Harmful Algal Blooms

U.S. EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water webpage. Managing Cyanotoxins in Public Drinking Water Systems

Sylvain Merel, David Walker, Ruth Chicana, Shane Snydera, Estelle Baurès, Olivier Thomas. State of knowledge and concerns on cyanobacterial blooms and cyanotoxins. Environment International 59 (2013) 303–327

Buzzards Bay Eutrophic Index for evaluating coastal eutrophication:

Costa, J. E., B. L. Howes, A. Giblin, and I. Valiela. 1992. Monitoring Nitrogen and indicators of nitrogen to support management action in Buzzards Bay, p. 497-529. In McKenzie et al.(eds) Ecological Indicators, Elsevier, London.

Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program webpage on the Buzzards Bay Eutrophic Index

Gunn, E., D.S. Janik and J.E. Costa. 1994. Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for the Buzzards Bay Project

Buzzards Bay Coalition website on Bay Health Index

Carlson Trophic Index for evaluating freshwater eutrophication:

Carlson, R.E. 1977. A trophic state index for lakes. Limnology and Oceanography Vol. 22, pp. 361-369.

Carlson, R.E. and J. Simpson. 1996. A Coordinator’s Guide to Volunteer Lake Monitoring Methods. North American Lake Management Society. 96 pp.

Grading drinking water:

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). 2003. What’s on Tap: Grading Drinking Water in U.S. Cities.

Fish consumption advisories in ponds:

Mercury in ponds and lakes

Emerging contaminants and pharmaceutical compounds:

Silent Spring Institute website

Center for Coastal Studies webpage on pharmaceuticals in marine waters

PFAS:

Commonwealth of Massachusetts website on PFAS and MassDEP PFAS Drinking Water Regulation Quick Reference Guide

U.S. EPA website on PFAS

PFAS Primer on APCC’s State of the Waters: Cape Cod website.

Protecting Cape Cod’s Priority Natural Resource Areas:

Association to Preserve Cape Cod, “Hanging in the Balance” report, 2023.

R Programming:

R Core Team. (2025). R: A language and environment for statistical computing (Version 4.5.2) [Computer software]. R Foundation for Statistical Computing.