The Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) is a private, nonprofit organization that was created in 1971. At that time, the members of two regionally based organizations, the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS) and the New England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS) recognized the need for a third estuarine organization that would address national (now worldwide) estuarine and coastal issues. Today, CERF is a multidisciplinary federation of members and seven regionally based affiliate societies dedicated to the understanding and wise stewardship of

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environme ...

and coasts worldwide.

Mission

CERF advances understanding and wise stewardship of

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environmen ...

and

coastal ecosystems A marine coastal ecosystem is a marine ecosystem which occurs where the land meets the ocean. Marine coastal ecosystems include many different types of marine habitats, such as estuaries and lagoons, salt marshes and mangrove forests, seagrass me ...

worldwide. Its mission is to: https://www.cerf.science/about-us *Promote research in

and

*Support education of scientists, decision-makers and the public *Facilitate communication among these groups Membership in CERF is open to all who support these goals. The Federation currently has approximately 1,650 members, and approximately 1,000 more who are members of the Affiliate Societies. CERF addresses the purposes listed above by convening conferences in odd-numbered years (see Meetings), through the more frequent meetings of its Affiliate Societies in their regions and through regular publication of the scholarly journal Estuaries and Coasts and the Newsletter. In addition, the Federation serves as a source of advice on estuarine and coastal matters by responding to requests for information from legislative and management organizations.

History

In the mid 1960s estuarine scientists around the globe were beginning to recognize that wide dissemination of information concerning estuarine water circulation patterns, rates of exchange of materials within coastal and marine waters and the

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

of estuarine organisms was essential to the realistic management of

in the future. This wide recognition of the intertwined interest between knowledge of estuarine systems and

eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phyt ...

characterizes the task oriented nature of the study of estuaries. In the Fall of 1969, a special committee was assembled to explore the formation of a new society not dedicated to any particular geographic region in order to accommodate a larger domestic and international membership. The new group known as the Estuarine Research Federation (ERF) was created. In an effort to identify the true scope of ERF interests to ALL people who may be interested in participating in the Federation's activities, ERF members voted by mail, in the summer of 2007, to approve a name change to Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF).

Meetings

CERF (formerly ERF) has hosted 26 international conferences during the years since the Federation's inception:

Leadership

CERF has endured and evolved during its short history under the leadership of the individuals listed below. Those who have led the society are important members of the estuarine and coastal science communities. The list provide below includes the name of each president and the most significant scientific contribution made by each individual prior to their Presidencies. *L. Eugene Cronin, 1971–1973 *:"Anatomy and histology of the male reproductive system of '' Callinectes sapidus rathbun''." ''Journal of Morphology'' 1947 *H. Perry Jeffries, 1973–1975 *:"Stress syndrome in hard clam '' Mercenaria mercenaria''." ''Journal of Invertebrate Pathology'' 1972 *F. John Vernberg, 1975–1977 *:"Studies on the physiological variation between tropical and temperate zone

fiddler crabs The fiddler crab or calling crab may be any of more than one hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae, well known for their sexually dimorphic claws; the males' major claw is much larger than the minor claw, while ...

of the genus UCA.2. Oxygen Consumption of whole organisms." ''Biological Bulletin'' 1959 *Michael Castagna 1977-1979 *:"Culture of bay scallop, '' Argopecten irradians'', in Virginia." ''Marine Fisheries Review'' 1975 *Robert J. Reimold, 1979–1981 *:"Movement of

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

through

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

cord grass, '' Spartina alterniflora loisel''." ''Limnology and Oceanography'' 1972 *Barbara L. Welsh, 1981–1983 *:"Role of grass shrimp, ''Palaemonetes pugio'', in a

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes are commonly zoned into lower marshes ( ...

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

." ''Ecology'' 1975 *Austin Beatty Williams, 1983–1985 *:"Swimming crabs of the genus Callinectes (''decapoda portunidae'')." ''Fishery Bulletin'' 1974 *Jerry R. Schubel, 1985–1987 *:" Turbidity maximum of northern

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

" ''Science'' 1968 *Donald F. Boesch, 1987–1989 *:"Classification and community structure of macrobenthos in Hampton Roads area,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

." ''Marine Biology'' 1973 *Robert J. Orth, 1989–1991 *:"

- An unprecedented decline in submerged aquatic vegetation." ''Science'' 1983 * Christopher F. D’Elia, 1991–1993 *:"Determination of total

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

in aqueous samples using persulfate digestion." ''Limnology and Oceanography'' 1977 *Frederic H. Nichols, 1993–1995 *:"The modification of an estuary." ''Science'' 1986 * Candace A. Oviatt, 1995–1997 *:"Patterns of productivity during

– A mesocosm experiment." ''Marine Ecology Progress Series'' 1986 * Nancy N. Rabalais, 1997–1999 *:"Comparison of continuous records of near-bottom dissolved oxygen from the hypoxia zone along the

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

Coast." ''Estuaries'' 1994 * Anne E. Giblin, 1999–2001 *:"Biogeochemical diversity along a riverside toposequence in

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

." ''Ecological Monographs''. 1991 *Dennis M. Allen, 2001–2003 *:"Interannual variation in larval fish recruitment to estuarine epibenthic habitats." ''Marine Ecology Progress Series'' 1990 *Linda C. Schaffner, 2003–2005 *:"Small-scale organism distributions and patterns of species diversity – Evidence for positive interactions in an estuarine benthic community." ''Marine Ecology Progress Series'' 1990 *Robert R. Christian, 2005–2007 *:"Multiyear distribution patterns of nutrients within the Neuse River estuary,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

." ''Marine Ecology Progress Series'' 1991 *Robert W. Howarth, 2007–2009 *:"

Nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excre ...

limitation of net

primary production In ecology, primary production is the synthesis of organic compounds from atmospheric or aqueous carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it also occurs through ...

in marine ecosystems." ''Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics'' 1998 * Susan L. Williams, 2009–2011 *:"Experimental studies of

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

seagrass bed A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and ...

development." ''Ecological Monographs'' 1990 *Walter R. Boynton 2011-2013 *:"Inputs, transformations and transport of

and

and selected tributaries." ''Estuaries'' 1995 *Kenneth L. Heck Jr. 2013-2015 *:"Explicit calculation of the

rarefaction Rarefaction is the reduction of an item's density, the opposite of compression. Like compression, which can travel in waves ( sound waves, for instance), rarefaction waves also exist in nature. A common rarefaction wave is the area of low relat ...

diversity measurement and the determination of sufficient sample size." ''Ecology'' 1975 *Robert R. Twilley, 2015-2017 *:"The exchange of organic carbon in basin mangrove forests in a southwest Florida estuary." ''Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science'' 1985 *Hilary A. Neckles, 2017-2019 *:"Relative effects of nutrient enrichment and grazing on epiphyte-macrophyte (

Zostera marina ''Zostera marina'' is a flowering vascular plant species as one of many kinds of seagrass, with this species known primarily by the English name of eelgrass with seawrack much less used, and refers to the plant after breaking loose from the subme ...

L.) dynamics." ''Oecologia'' 1993 *James W. Fourqurean, 2019-2021 *:"

Seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families ( Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the ...

ecosystems as a globally significant carbon stock." '' Nature Geoscience'' 2012 *Leila Hamdan, 2021-2023 *:"Effects of COREXIT® EC9500A on bacteria from a beach oiled by the Deepwater Horizon spill." ''Aquatic Microbial Ecology'' 2011 *Linda Blum, 2023-2025 *:"'' Spartina alterniflora'' root dynamics in a Virginia marsh." ''Marine Ecology Progress Series'' 1993

Publications

CERF publishes the journal '' Estuaries and Coasts''. Prior to 2006 ''Estuaries and Coasts'' was known as ''Estuaries''. Prior to the formation of CERF, the journal ''Estuaries'' was known as ''Chesapeake Science'' (1960–1978).

Affiliate societies

* Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS)
Southeastern Estuarine Research Society
(SEERS)
Atlantic Canada Coastal Estuarine Science Society
(ACCESS)
California Estuarine Research Society
(CAERS)
Gulf Estuarine Research Society
(GERS)
New England Estuarine Research Society
(NEERS)
Pacific Estuarine Research Society
(PERS)

References

CERF entry in The AIBS Member Society and Organization Directory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coastal And Estuarine Research Federation Environmental organizations based in the United States Coasts of the United States Estuaries of the United States Water organizations in the United States Environmental organizations established in 1971 1971 establishments in the United States