Open Ocean

This Monitoring and Adaptive Management Activity conducted vessel-based surveys during two consecutive summers to collect information on the distribution, density, and abundance of oceanic cetaceans and seabirds in the Gulf of America. Surveys used established methods and built on past surveys conducted by the Gulf of Mexico (now Gulf of America) Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS). The collected survey data will be incorporated into existing spatial density models to update seasonally and spatially explicit density maps of marine mammals.

This planning activity will produce a draft and final restoration plan for Restoration Types that could include Birds and Sturgeon.

This project will protect high-density nesting beach habitat and enhance sea turtle hatchling productivity and survival at Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (ACNWR) located on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. ACNWR hosts the highest nesting density beach habitat in the western hemisphere for loggerhead sea turtles. It is also the most significant area for green sea turtle nesting in North America, and is becoming increasingly important nesting habitat for leatherback sea turtles.

The most direct approach to restoring Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) is to facilitate the growth of new corals to accelerate an otherwise protracted natural recovery due to the slow natural growth rates and low recruitment of mesophotic and deep benthic corals. The objective of this pilot scale project is to develop techniques that can be used for direct restoration of MDBC at a scale that is meaningful relative to the injury to these communities.

The abundance and distribution of Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) across the Gulf of America are not completely known, particularly in deeper waters, presenting a challenge to decision-making for restoration, management, and protection and to evaluations of DWH injuries and recovery. This project will conduct high-resolution mapping efforts in both mesophotic and deep benthic habitats and use this information to refine predictive models to improve the effectiveness and cost efficiency of future restoration and mapping efforts.

Despite the depth at which mesophotic and deep benthic communities (MDBC) occur, human activities threaten the health and resiliency of these communities. This project will advance the protection and management of these communities through development of a framework for management and protection, including monitoring, education, outreach, engagement, and direct threat reduction. Project activities include:

The life histories, diversity, and population structures of Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Community (MDBC) species in the Gulf of America are not well understood. The goal of this project is to fill those data gaps, determine baseline conditions and characterize key community conditions at both injured and reference sites. This project will support and inform restoration planning and implementation for MDBC through strategically designed field surveys, with subsequent laboratory-based analyses of MDBC components and interactions.

This project is developing a cloud-based platform to provide user-friendly access to data and visualization tools for assessing the health of whale and dolphin stocks in the Gulf of America (the Gulf) and to better understand the stressors that threaten them. The short name for the data platform, CETACEAN, comes the from the capitalized letters in the project's formal name: Compilation of Environmental, Threats, and Animal data for CEtacean population health ANalyses.

This project improves and enhances whale and dolphin response activities in the Gulf to address a variety of potential disasters. In the years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, NOAA has developed guidelines for marine mammal oil spill responses. However, many of these efforts have been general and not specific to situations or regional needs. There is a need for new tools and techniques to enhance our ability to respond to marine mammal disasters in the Gulf. An effective, rapid response can have positive benefits to individual animals and populations.

This project will reduce whale and dolphin exposure to human caused noise in priority areas of the Gulf of America. Whales and dolphins rely on sound for vital life functions including foraging, navigation, and reproduction. The Gulf of America environment is impacted by a variety of human-made sound sources including seismic airguns, small and large vessels, explosives, and pile driving. Increased noise levels from these sources may disrupt or displace life function behaviors and cause direct physical harm to whales and dolphins.