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A Case History of the Science and Management Collaboration in Understanding Hypoxia Events in Long Bay, South Carolina, USA

Environmental Management volume 46, pages 340–350 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Communication of knowledge between the scientific and management communities is a difficult process complicated by the distinctive nature of professional career goals of scientists and decision-makers. This article provides a case history highlighting a collaboration between the science and management communities that resulted from a response to a 2004 hypoxia, or low dissolved oxygen, event in Long Bay, off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A working group of scientists and decision-makers was established at the time of the event and has continued to interact to develop a firm understanding of the drivers responsible for hypoxia formation in Long Bay. Several factors were found to be important to ensure that these collaborative efforts were productive: (1) genuine interest in collaboratively working across disciplines to examine a problem; (2) commitment by agency leadership, decision-makers, and researchers to create successful communication mechanisms; (3) respect for each others’ perspectives and an understanding how science and management are performed and that they are not mutually exclusive; (4) networking among researchers and decision-makers to ensure appropriate team members are involved in the process; (5) use of decision-maker input in the formulation of research and monitoring projects; and (6) commitment of resources for facilitation to ensure that researchers and decision-makers are communicating effectively.

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Acknowledgments

The research conducted for this case history has been a true collaboration among numerous agencies, universities, and local businesses. The authors would like to thank the following agencies and universities for providing resources such as staff time, graduate students, facilities, and equipment: S.C. Department of Natural Resources, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, University of South Carolina, and Coastal Carolina University. In addition, the authors would like to thank the Grand Strand pier owners for allowing access to their facilities for this research. The authors also thank three anonymous reviewers and Rick DeVoe for their valuable suggestions in revising the manuscript.

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Affiliations

  1. South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, 287 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC, 29401, USA

    Denise Sanger

  2. Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association, Charleston, SC, USA

    Debra Hernandez

  3. Marine Science Department, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC, USA

    Susan Libes, Eric Koepfler & Joseph Bennett

  4. Earth and Ocean Sciences Department, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    George Voulgaris

  5. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Charleston, SC, USA

    Braxton Davis

  6. North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Georgetown, SC, USA

    Erik Smith

  7. Fisheries Office of Science and Technology, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Rebecca Shuford

  8. School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Dwayne Porter

Authors
  1. Denise Sanger
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  2. Debra Hernandez
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  3. Susan Libes
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  4. George Voulgaris
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  5. Braxton Davis
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  6. Erik Smith
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  7. Rebecca Shuford
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  8. Dwayne Porter
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  9. Eric Koepfler
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  10. Joseph Bennett
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Denise Sanger.

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Sanger, D., Hernandez, D., Libes, S. et al. A Case History of the Science and Management Collaboration in Understanding Hypoxia Events in Long Bay, South Carolina, USA. Environmental Management 46, 340–350 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-010-9529-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-010-9529-8

Keywords

  • Hypoxia
  • Water quality
  • Science to management
  • Coastal resource management
  • Long Bay
  • South Carolina