Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA)

What’s New?

November 2009

Biogeography Research Compares Benthic Habitat Survey Methodologies
A scientist from CCMA’s Biogeography Branch presented a poster at the 62nd annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute Meeting, held November 2-6th in Cumana, Venezuela; the poster outlined preliminary results from a comparison study of habitat survey methodologies between CCMA and Center for Coastal Fisheries Habitat Research (CCFHR). The comparison analyzed potential differences in estimates of percent bottom cover between CCMA’s and CCFHR’s methodology. Preliminary analyses show no statistical difference in the estimates between methods, but the comparison does note differences in post processing time and initial equipment costs. Both survey methodologies are used in the collaborative Integrated Biogeographic Assessment of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve, currently in preparation. This research is significant in that it explores data comparability between NCCOS centers conducting coral reef research. For more information, contact Kim Edwards at 252-838-0811 or Kimberly.Edwards@noaa.gov

Biogeography collaborates with NMFS to develop coastal component of National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP) 2010 Assessment
The Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment’s Biogeography Branch has launched a cooperative project with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Office of Science and Technology to complete the coastal component of an assessment for the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP). CCMA will use existing sources of data to develop and deliver a GIS spatial framework and database of fish habitat indicators for coastal watersheds and estuaries nationwide. Summaries and analyses of the compiled data will contribute to a national assessment of fish habitat to be completed in 2010, and will be used by the NFHAP Board for setting conservation priorities. NFHAP was launched in 2006 with the overall mission to protect, restore, and enhance the nation’s fish and aquatic communities through partnerships that foster fish habitat conservation, with participation from federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and local citizens. For more information, contact David Moe Nelson at (301) 713-3028 x154 or David.Moe.Nelson@noaa.gov

NCCOS Unveils Interactive Mapping Tool for St. John, USVI Data - St. John BIOMapper
The Biogeography Branch of NOAA/NCCOS/CCMA announces the launch of the St. John Biogeography Integrated Online Mapper (BIOMapper). The BIOMapper lets users interactively view data, aerial imagery, dive photography, underwater video and related publications for the benthic habitat mapping off St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Reef National Monument project. The tool is an easy way to view the benthic habitat data, examine the attributes of the data and show different thematic representations of the data. In addition, photography and videos taken during dive missions are viewable, linked to the location of the dives. PDF maps can be produced of user-selected areas in a pre-formatted template. The site is viewable in all browsers that have a Flash plugin. The BIOMapper was developed for the following Biogeography Branch project, but can be applied to other projects as well: Benthic Habitat Mapping off St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Reef National Monument.

The St. John BIOMapper provides NOAA and National Park Sevice managers and scientists improved access to coastal and ocean data and a way to print customized maps of specific areas of interest. For more information on the BIOMapper contact Ken Buja at Ken.Buja@noaa.gov or 301-713-3028 x140.

October 2009

CCMA and the National Park Service Launch a Gap Analysis of Marine Ecosystem Data for Ten U.S. Tropical Parks which Include Coral Reef Ecosystems
In September 2009, NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment’s Biogeography Branch, in partnership with the National Park Service’s Inventory & Monitoring Program (NPS) launched an effort to collect, assimilate, and distribute marine geospatial information in order to support monitoring and management of coral reef ecosystems included in the NPS  jurisdiction.  NPS manages and protects more than 250,000 acres of coral reef in the ten Parks.  The project includes Buck Island Reef National Monument, Virgin Islands National Park, Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Reserve, Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, War-in-the Pacific National Park, National Park of American Samoa, Kalaupapa National Historic Park and Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park.  In addition to collecting and sharing information for Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the project will also establish priorities for future investment in information to support monitoring and management of marine natural resources. For more information, visit the project webpage or contact Dan Dorfman at (301) 713-3028 x112 or Dan.Dorfman@noaa.gov

September 2009

Scientists from NOAA, NPS and USGS Collaborate to Characterize and Monitor the Health of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the Virgin Islands National Park and Monument
Biologists from NOAA’s Biogeography Branch, working in collaboration with scientists from the National Park Service, NPS’s South Florida/ Caribbean Network and the U.S. Geological Survey and with support from NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, successfully completed their annual monitoring and characterization mission in and around the waters of St. John’s Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument and Virgin Islands National Park. Four scientific dive teams of 15 scientists completed 170 sites within the two-week mission. Data were collected on fish populations, habitat health, invertebrate abundance and coral disease prevalence and location. The coral disease study is being conducted in conjunction with Erinn Muller, a Nancy Foster Scholar from Florida Institute of Technology. Collaboration continues to be key in the success of this long-term project. This mission was completed safely and incident-free. For more information, visit http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/reef_fish.html or contact Kimberly Woody at Kimberly.Woody@noaa.gov or (301) 713-3028 x229.

CCMA's Biogeography Branch, NMFS & UNCW use Multibeam SoNAR to Map Deep Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern near Oculina Bank, off East Florida
Scientists from CCMA's Biogeography Branch, in cooperation with NMFS's Panama City Lab and University of North Carolina at Wilmington, collected bathymetry and backscatter data on deep coral habitats from September 2^nd to 8^th onboard the NOAA ship, Nancy Foster. These acoustic datasets were collected approximately 40 nm off the east coast of Florida, extending from Cape Canaveral to Ft. Pierce, using a multibeam (MBES) sound navigation and ranging (SoNAR) sensor well suited for mapping marine environments between 300 and 800 m. The resulting 579 km2 of bathymetry and backscatter imagery will support the characterization, sampling and exploration of a series of deep-water limestone mounds and ridges primarily colonized by the stony coral, Lophelia pertusa. This slow-growing, branching coral is an ecologically and economically important species because it creates habitat utilized by commercially-valuable fish, such as the wreckfish (Polyprion americanus), blackbelly rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus), red bream (Beryx decadactylus) and the conger eel (Conger oceanicus). This coral may be threatened in the future by the expansion of bottom fishing and energy exploration activities into deeper waters within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. For more information, please contact Bryan Costa at Bryan.Costa@noaa.gov

August 2009

Candidate Sites Characterized for Potential Sanctuary Network in American Samoa
NCCOS scientists recently quantified key ecological attributes of candidate areas under consideration for an expanded network of National Marine Sanctuaries in the Territory of American Samoa. At August 10-13 meetings in American Samoa, NCCOS presented coral and fish data highlighting the relative importance among the candidate sites to several local interest groups including the Governor of American Samoa, Fagatele Bay Sanctuary Advisory Council, Coral Reef Advisory Group, Office of Samoan Affairs, and the American Samoa Fono or Legislature. The findings were used by Sanctuaries staff and meeting participants to refine a list of preferred candidate sites that will move forward in the NEPA process to expand the sanctuary network in the territory. For more information, contact Matt Kendall or Gene Brighouse of Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

July 2009

Study Evaluates Agricultural Best Management Practices in Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico
Scientists from NOAA’s Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (COAST and BIOGEO) recently completed a field mission designed to help determine the impacts of agricultural pollution on corals near the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.  Working in collaboration with the Reserve and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, scientists sampled 16 sites for coral tissues, which will be analyzed for a suite of contaminants including major and trace elements (including heavy metals), selected pesticides, Polychlorinated biphenyls (better known as PCBs), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (flame retardants).  This field work is a component of a larger cooperative to assess the effectiveness of agricultural best management practices in the watershed.  For more information, contact Dave Whitall at (301) 713-3028 x138 or Dave.Whitall@noaa.gov, or Adam Zitello at (301) 713-3028 x176 or Adam.Zitello@noaa.gov, or visit http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/CEAP.html

Study Establishes Environmental Baseline in Puerto Rico to Support Watershed Restoration.
Scientists from NOAA’s Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (COAST and BIOGEO) recently completed contaminant sampling in and around Guanica Bay, Puerto Rico.  As part of a watershed restoration project lead by the NOAA Restoration Center, these data contribute to a baseline assessment of the Bay and the adjacent coral reef ecosystem.  Restoration activities would seek to reduce the impact of land based sources of pollution on the Bay and on the coral reef ecosystems outside the Bay.  Coral and sediment samples will be analyzed for a suite of contaminants including major and trace elements (including heavy metals), selected pesticides, PCBs, PAHs and PBDEs (flame retardants).  For more information please contact Dave Whitall 301-713-3028x138, Dave.Whitall@noaa.gov or Adam Zitello at (301) 713-3028 x176, Adam.Zitello@noaa.gov.

June 2009

Report Offers In-depth Look at Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Life and Ecosystems
A new NOAA report published by the Biogeography Program of CCMA/NCCOS and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries provides the sharpest picture yet of the marine life and ecosystems of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM). A Marine Biogeographic Assessment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands examines the geographic distribution of the island chain’s marine life and habitats, and the conditions that determine where they are found. Monument managers will use the report as a baseline to monitor changes in the NWHI, to identify resource management and research priorities, and to develop a Natural Resources Science Plan for conducting future studies in the NWHI. To download the report or request a hard copy or CD, visit http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/sanctuaries/nwhi/ or contact Mark Monaco at Mark.Monaco@noaa.gov.

May 2009

Identification of Key Fish Habitat Helps Make Case for Prioritizing Hard Bottom Areas
Scientists conducting a collaborative study have identified correlations between fish communities and seafloor features at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS). The study quantifies specific factors that link fish to limestone ledges, a rare bottom type in the southeastern U.S. that supports high biomass and diversity of fish and invertebrates in the region. Ledges cover only about 1-5 percent of the southeastern U.S. continental shelf, but have the highest biotic diversity. They merit high priority in regional research, conservation, and management plans. National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and GRNMS scientists worked together on this research. For more information, see publication below or contact Matt Kendall at (301) 713-3028 x144 or Matt.Kendall@noaa.gov.

Publication: Kendall, M.S., L.J. Bauer, and C.F.G. Jeffrey. 2009. Influence of Hard Bottom Morphology on Fish Assemblages of the Continental Shelf Off Georgia, Southeastern USA. Bulletin of Marine Science 84:265-286 (online: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/2009/00000084/00000003/art00002).

CCMA's Biogeography and COAST Branches Support International Climate Change Assessments in the Virgin Islands
Governments of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) and British Virgin Islands (BVI) are beginning a new partnership to understand climate change, assess threats, and develop a public outreach strategy. To support this effort, staff from the Biogeography and COAST Branches of NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) provided historical climate data (1931-2008) from NOAA's National Climate Data Center, as well as a time-series plot and remote sensing imagery from NOAA's Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database, to show sea surface temperature anomalies and thermal stress to corals since 1985. In addition, CCMA provided aragonite concentration maps for the region from 1988 and 2008, and a list of NOAA remote sensing products that could also be useful in their work to examine climate change and other stresses to coral reef ecosystems. Cross-boundary partnerships between USVI and BVI are surprisingly rare, and the rapid CCMA response helped to put climate change on the agenda for the next BVI-USVI Inter-Island Council meeting. For more information, contact Simon.Pittman@noaa.gov or call him at (340) 693-1179.

CCMA Scientists Complete Biannual Survey for Long-term Monitoring of the Coral Reef Ecosystems around Buck Island, St Croix, USVI
Scientists from CCMA's Biogeography Branch recently returned from their biannual research mission to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, March 01-14, 2009, where they continued to evaluate the health of coral reef resources both inside and outside the boundaries of the Buck Island Reef National Monument and East End Marine Park. With support from NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, CCMA’s Biogeography staff, collaborated with staff from the National Park Service (NPS), the NPS South Florida/Caribbean Network, the Virgin Islands Department of Natural Resources, the Nature Conservancy and local volunteers to gather information on the distribution and abundance of fishes, lobster, long-spined sea urchin and conch, as well as benthic composition in and around the waters of the Marine Park. The data collected is available online at http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/reef_fish.html.
Due to the recent interest in and confirmed sightings of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish around St. Croix, it is worth noting that no lionfish were seen on fish transects and roving diver surveys during this mission. These results suggest the geographic distribution of lionfish has not yet expanded into the Buck Island Reef National Monument or adjacent coral reefs. For additional information, visit http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/reef_fish.html or contact Kim Woody at Kimberly.Woody@noaa.gov or (301) 713-3028 x229.

April 2009

CCMA's Biogeography Branch, NMFS and NERRS use Interferometric SoNAR to Map Jobos Bay National
Estuarine Research Reserve, Puerto Rico
Scientists from CCMA's Biogeography Branch (BB) and NMFS's Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO), in cooperation with partners from the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (JBNERR), collected bathymetry and sidescan data from April 6th to 20th between the municipalities of Guayama and Salinas, Puerto Rico. These acoustic datasets were collected using an interferometric side-scan sound navigation and ranging (SoNAR) sensor, which is well suited for mapping marine environments that are too shallow (2 to 30 m) for multibeam echosounders (MBES) and too turbid for light detection and ranging (LiDAR). The resulting bathymetry and backscatter imagery will support the characterization of previously unknown shallow-water coral reef habitats in and around the JBNERR. They will also inform the development and implementation of a biological monitoring and sampling plan, as well as help managers better understand the effects that agricultural conservation practices may have on nearshore coral reef ecosystems. For more information, contact Bryan.Costa@noaa.gov or Adam Zitello@noaa.gov; for information on the overall projects, visit http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/CEAP.html or http://www.nerrs.noaa.gov/Monitoring/welcome.html

March 2009

Managers and Scientists Conduct Biogeographic Assessment Toward Potential Network of Samoan MPAs
Scientists from the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment and managers from the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in collaboration with counterparts from the Territory of American Samoa, are compiling and analyzing data to complete a biogeographic assessment defining a potential network(s) of marine protected areas in American Samoa. This work is directly linked to the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary management plan review and the Territory’s efforts to develop a network of marine protected areas. The NOAA team met February 8-15 with key American Samoa natural resource management agencies to exchange data and conduct dive surveys with the U.S. National Park Service across a range of habitats to characterize both the habitats and associated fauna at representative sites. The next step is to continue to implement the approved project plan, focusing on data analysis, and initiate discussions to incorporate the independent state of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) into the assessment. For more information, contact Mark Monaco at (301) 713-3028 x160 or Mark.Monaco@noaa.gov

Mission to Explore and Map Underwater Habitats off Vieques, Puerto Rico
Scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and partners are conducting a scientific expedition to explore and characterize nearshore habitats (10-300m depth) off the coasts of Vieques. The mission runs from March 27 to April 3, 2009 aboard the NOAA ship NANCY FOSTER, and marks the sixth year of the project. Scientists will collect high-resolution bathymetry; habitat hardness and roughness; and complementary video data that will provide information about the characteristics of seafloor coral reef ecosystems. Data generated during this mission will support natural resource management in Federal and territorial waters of Puerto Rico. The group will also host outreach and education events for a number of invited guests including local fishermen academia and about 35 area students. For additional information visit http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/usvi_nps/details.html or contact Tim Battista at Tim.Battista@noaa.gov or (301)713-3028 x171.

February 2009

Benthic Habitat Maps from the Biogeography Branch Support Community-based Management of Coral Reef Ecosystems in the U.S.Virgin Islands
Biogeography Branch staff and the U.S. Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service are working together to provide maps of coral reef ecosystems to local groups in the U.S. Virgin Islands to support community-based management. The St. Thomas East End Reserve Community-based Management Planning Group (an interagency effort involving the USVI Dept. Planning and Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy and the University of the Virgin Islands) used NOAA benthic habitat and watershed maps during stakeholder meetings to show the location of marine resources, and to identify hurricane mooring sites and sewage and nutrient loading sites around the perimeter of the protected area. NOAA’s benthic habitat maps have also been used to help community groups and the Magen’s Bay Management Authority design a management plan for the proposed Smith Bay Marine Park on St. Thomas, likely the last public pristine beach with significant colonies of the Federally protected elkhorn coral close to the shoreline. In addition, the maps are being used in a new book called “Waves of Change: A Resource for Environmental Professionals” to inform USVI legislators about critical environmental issues in USVI. For more information contact Simon Pittman at 340-693-1179 or simon.pittman@noaa.gov.

January 2009

Biogeography Branch Supports CEQ in Designation of Pacific Marine National Monuments
In response to a request from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), information provided by NOAA’s Biogeography Branch and Coral Reef Conservation Program significantly contributed to the designation on January 6, 2009 of three Marine National Monuments in the Pacific Ocean. The data and maps demonstrate that the new marine national monuments - Marianas Trench, Rose Atoll, and Pacific Remote Islands, contain some of the largest areas of live coral cover, high biomass, and abundance of reef fish in U.S. waters. Biogeography Branch scientists, in collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, prepared extensive GIS map products and data summaries to support the President’s Executive Order to increase conservation efforts for the Pacific areas. For more information, visit http://ocean.ceq.gov/pacific_assessment/welcome.html or contact Mark Monaco at (301) 713-3028 x160 or Mark.Monaco@noaa.gov.

December 2008

Tech report: Bauer, L.J., C. Menza, K.A. Foley, and M.S. Kendall. 2008. An Ecological Characterization of the Marine Resources of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Part I: Historical Data Synthesis. Prepared by National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Biogeography Branch in cooperation with the Office of Response and Restoration. Silver Spring, MD. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 86. 121 pp. Available in PDF format at http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/vieques.html

October 2008

New GIS Tool: GIS Sampling Design Tool Improves Efficiency, Lowers Costs. Biogeography Branch scientists recently released a Geographic Information System (GIS) Sampling Design Tool for science planning that improves sampling efficiency by integrating maps at relevant spatial scales into survey designs, while balancing factors such as statistical power, precision and cost. The Tool has two main functions:1) to help select a sample from a population, and 2) to perform sample design analysis. When these functions are combined iteratively, the tool effectively and simply achieves the goal of sample surveys to obtain accurate, high precision estimates of population metrics while minimizing cost. The tool and technical manual can be downloaded from http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/sampling/welcome.html For more information, contact Charles.Menza@noaa.gov or Ken.Buja@noaa.gov

September 2008

Biogeography Branch Kicks off Benthic Habitat Mapping and Data Integration Project at St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Biogeography Branch, in partnership with the National Park Service and NOAA’s Coastal Service Center, initiated a project to develop new benthic habitat map products for the waters off the island of St. John, USVI. This project has been designed to meet multiple management questions and issues, such as damage assessments and marine protected area evaluations. Plans are to complete the habitat and bathymetry map products in the spring of 2009 and couple them with ongoing biological assessments, to further understand species habitat affinities and to monitor recovery of living marine resources based on NPS management actions. For more information, contact Mark.Monaco@noaa.gov.

August 2008

Video/DVD: National Park Service and NOAA's Biogeography Branch. Buck Island Reef National Monument: Partners for Protection and Resource Management – A Collaborative Documentary between the National Park Service and NOAA. The video shows cutting-edge technologies used to map and monitor the marine environment, to evaluate the effectiveness of the marine protected area. This video won a CINE Golden Eagle Award in 2008. To download the video, visit Buck Island Documentary. To request a copy of the DVD, contact Tim.Battista@noaa.gov.

July 2008

Tech. Report: Waddell, J.E. and A.M. Clarke (eds.), 2008. The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2008. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 73. Available in PDF format from http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/stateofthereefs.

Journal Article: Kendall, M.S., and T. Miller. 2008. Influence of Benthic Features and Fishing Pressure on Size and Distribution of Three Exploited Reef Fishes from the Southeastern United States. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 137(4):1134-1146. Contact Matt.Kendall@noaa.gov for a copy of the report.

May 2008

Tech. Report: Friedlander, A.M., and J. Beets. 2008. Temporal Trends in Reef Fish Assemblages inside Virgin Islands National Park and around St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1988-2006. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 70. 60 pp.

Monitoring News: Bagged, Tagged and Returned for Research! http://savannahnow.com/node/500357 NOAA's Biogeography and Gray's Reef Sanctuary staff tagged several groupers to track their movements in Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary,off the coast of Georgia. This work will provide an improved understanding of fish movements and locations, which helps resource managers do a better job of conserving marine species, their prey and their habitat.

Journal Article: Kendall, M.S., and T. Miller. 2008. The influence of thematic and spatial resolution on maps of a coral reef ecosystem. Marine Geodesy 31(2):75-102. Contact Matt.Kendall@noaa.gov for a copy of the report.

Tech. Report: Pittman, S.J., S.D. Hile, C.F.G. Jeffrey, C. Caldow, M.S. Kendall, M.E. Monaco, and Z. Hillis-Starr. 2008. Fish assemblages and benthic habitats of Buck Island Reef National Monument (St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands) and the surrounding seascape: A characterization of spatial and temporal patterns., Low Quality.pdf NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 71. Silver Spring, MD. 96 pp. A DVD of the report, data and images is available upon request from sarah.hile@noaa.gov.

Tech. Report: Zitello, A.G., D.R. Whitall, A. Dieppa, J.D. Christensen, M.E. Monaco and S.O. Rohmann. 2008. Characterizing Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico: A Watershed Modeling Analysis and Monitoring Plan. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 76. 81 pp.

Journal Article: Menza, C.M. Kendall and S. Hile. 2008. The deeper we go the less we know. Revista de Biologia Tropical 56(1): 11-24. Contact Charles.Menza@noaa.gov for a copy of the report.

April 2008

Tech Report. National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). 2007. A Biogeographic Assessment off North/Central California: In Support of the National Marine Sanctuaries of Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay. Phase II: Environmental Setting and Update to Birds and Mammals. Silver Spring, MD. NOAA Technical Memorandum. NOS NCCOS 40. 302 pp. Data and information on the project is located at: http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/canms_cd/welcome.html