Cultural ecosystem services (CES), one of four main categories of ecosystem services, are often described as the non-material benefits that humans receive from their interactions with the environment.

The Habitat Heartbeats project is developing a monitoring system to integrate living organisms such as oysters and mussels ("biosentinels”) with existing monitoring efforts.

The Habitat Heartbeats project was featured during the 2023 virtual symposium showcasing recent scientific studies related to the restoration and health of San Diego estuaries including the Tijuana River Estuary, San Diego Bay, and Los Peñasquitos Lagoon.

This presentation was developed for a public lecture series sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute and the Mission-Aransas NERR a part of the 2020 catalyst project to integrate acoustic monitoring into multiple reserve programs in the southeast region.This presentation describes the acoustic monitoring framework with applications to research, stewardship, and education, co-produced with the North Inlet-Winyah Bay, Rookery Bay, and Mission-Aransas NERRs, along with other regional management users.

Project Lead Chris Biggs gives a 5-minute introduction to "Listen In: Acoustic Monitoring of Estuarine Communities Facing Ecosystem Change," a catalyst project funded in 2020 by the NERRS Science Collaborative.

These public outreach materials discuss ecosystem services and the benefits to people from coastal habitats such as oyster reef and mangrove.

This project database and interactive storymap catalogs native Olympia Oyster restoration projects on the West Coast.

This story map explains mangrove habitat change at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve from 2010-2018, illustrating mangrove damage and recovery from Hurricane Irma.