Uploaded on 2017-01-04 by Colleen Dunning

What ecosystem services do you have in and around your living area? The city of Boston is surrounded on three sides by water - Boston Harbor, Mystic River and the Charles River provide the defining boundaries of the city with a few exceptions. These water ecosystems play a critical role in the functioning of the city. The Harbor (and the Atlantic Ocean) provide provisioning services in the form of commercial seafood for Boston restaurants and regional seafood markets. The large mass of water is a regulating service, as bodies of water can absorb more heat than comparable land masses and cool more slowly in the winter, providing an equalizing effect on the local temperature. As a marine habitat, Boston Harbor and the two rivers have recovered from contamination in the mid 1900s. They are now full of local wildlife and migrating bird species. Boston residents also use the Harbor and the rivers as space for recreation (a cultural service). There are facilities for sailing and kayaking, whale-watching tours and cruises that sail the Harbor, and a series of parks that cover the outlying islands. (Note - photograph is from the internet, Fair Use License)