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CCMA's Accomplishments 2006:
Biogeography
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CCMA Monitoring Mission Documented Massive Bleaching Event in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Widespread bleaching, which is a result of the loss of symbiotic algae from coral tissue, was found by researchers to have occurred in 21 coral species (53% of corals surveyed) at 91 randomly selected sites in the Buck Island National Reef Monument, in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands during October 16-27, 2005. Researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) and the South Florida-Caribbean Network of National Parks conducting a biannual coral reef ecosystem monitoring mission found that some species were more than 90% bleached (e.g., D. labrynthiformis, Agaricia spp., Mycetophyllia spp., and M. annularis, whereas other corals had no bleaching (e.g., A. cervicornis ; D. cylindricus, Eusmilia spp., and Scolymia spp.). Based on satellite data from the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, water temperatures in the northeastern Caribbean were warmer than normal for about 12 weeks and may have contributed to the observed bleaching event, which was part of a larger bleaching event that occurred throughout the tropical western Atlantic. Bleaching commonly occurs when corals are exposed to temperatures that are 1 degree Celcius above maximum water temperatures for an extended amount of time. Continued monitoring will be necessary to determine recovery and the overall impact of this event on the coral reef ecosystems. Ultimately, the data collected on reef habitats will assist National Park Service and local managers in planning efforts and in assessing resource management activities.
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Three-year CCMA and NMSP Collaboration Produced Biogeographic Assessment of Offshore Southern California
The Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) and the National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) concluded a three-year collaboration in 2006 to compile and assess information on the distribution of marine flora, fauna, and physical oceanography surrounding the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The results of this effort were published in A Biogeographic Assessment of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, and represented one of the most comprehensive efforts undertaken to understand large-scale marine biogeography. The information should prove invaluable for making spatially explicit management decisions, as well as for supporting regional marine science and education. In addition to the hard copy report, a digital version, along with much of the Geographic Information System (GIS) data utilized in the study, is available via a DVD and on the project website.
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Fish Habitat Utilization/MPA Report Assisted State of Hawaii in Making the Case for Effectiveness of Marine Managed Areas
The State of Hawaii's Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) used Fish Habitat Utilization Patterns and the Efficacy of Marine Protected Areas in the Main Hawaiian Islands, a study produced by the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, as background for preparing testimony about two marine managed areas bills introduced into the Hawaii State Legislature. Both of these bills would have essentially prevented the DAR from using marine managed areas (MMAs) as a resource management tool. DAR also attached a two-page, summary version of the report to support its testimony. The color histograms made a very clear case for the effectiveness of Hawaii's Marine Life Conservation District network, and provided evidence to support the State's position for retaining MMAs as part of its portfolio of management tools. After the hearings, HB 2881 was dead, and HB 2587 was amended into a form supportive of the MMA concept.
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CCMA Spatial Analysis Tool Used to Identify Options for Best Potential Research Areas within Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary
Scientists from the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment developed a spatial analysis tool that balances scientific and societal factors and identifies best potential areas within Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary to be used exclusively for scientific research. Designation of a research-only area within the sanctuary, which is located off Georgia, is under consideration by the National Marine Sanctuary Program. The results of this analysis will be used by the sanctuary staff to communicate research area placement options to constituents. The tool, which is transferable to other regions, systematically considers locations throughout the sanctuary and identifies areas with the following characteristics: 1) contains a large number and diversity of bottom types to fulfill research needs; 2) includes a large number of prior research sites, to serve as a baseline for comparison with future studies; and 3) has as few preferred bottom fishing sites as possible, to minimize displacement of users. The analysis balanced the characteristics for several boundary shapes and sizes, and resulted in identification of many good potential options for research-only areas.
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Third Season of Seafloor Characterization Completed at the Buck Island Reef National Monument and Offshore of Southwestern Puerto Rico
Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment scientists, working on board the NOAA ship Nancy Foster with a number of partners, completed a third season of scientific research to characterize the seafloor in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) and Puerto Rico, at Buck Island Reef National Monument and offshore of La Parguera. The group used multi-beam and video data to characterize a wide diversity of habitat types. The scientists determined that the biota below 200 meters, which, until this year, had never been visually characterized, included: Lophelia coral, black coral sea whips, feather stars, sea pens, sea anemones, starfish, brittlestars, urchins, sponges, isopods, sea cucumbers, lobsters, shrimps, crabs, conch, orange roughys, roundnose grenadiers, tripod fish and several types of snappers. The data collected during this mission will help NOAA meet its commitment to the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force to map moderate depth coral reef ecosystems, and will enable NOAA to update the nautical charts for the U.S. Virgin Islands. CCMA scientists joined with colleagues from the Office of Coast Survey, National Geodetic Survey, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, NOAA Marine and Aircraft Operations, the National Park Service (NPS), the USVI and Puerto Rican governments, the private sector and others to complete this fieldwork.
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Coral Reef Ecosystem Data Provided Critical Information on Resources and Impacts to U.S. Virgin Islands Marine Resource Managers
Results from a multi-agency mission in the U.S. Virgin Islands, led by the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), were provided to marine resource managers to assist them in evaluating management action effectiveness. CCMA provided them with updated coral reef ecosystem data and an assessment of ecological linkages, conducted via acoustic tracking of fishes. One preliminary determination from this mission, which included over 500 dives off of St. John, was that live coral cover outside the Virgin Island Coral Reef National Monument was reduced from patches of 40-60% to about 20%. These data, gathered in a water depth of approximately 25 meters outside the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICRNM), indicated the reductions may be due to impacts from coral bleaching and disease in 2005 and 2006. This mission was conducted July 7-30, 2006 by CCMA, the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Hawaii. Support for the mission came from NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program, CCMA, NPS and USGS.
COAST
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Post Hurricane Katrina Contaminant Monitoring Contributed to Storm Impact Assessment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other partners responded quickly after Hurricane Katrina to assess the affected coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) and Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research worked with the other partners to collect shellfish and water samples and test them for pesticides, herbicides, nutrients, metals, flame retardant chemicals, hydrocarbons, biphenyls, and human pathogens. CCMA reported in March 2006 that contamination levels of organochlorine compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons after the storm were low but levels of metals were elevated, when compared to a 20-year historical record for each site. The herbicide Atrazine was found to be within the typical measured concentration range. Fecal pollution indicator organisms were detected at higher frequencies and at higher concentrations in the study area when compared with studies farther offshore. Project results were utilized to characterize the magnitude and extent of coastal contamination in the study area and supported environmental, seafood safety, public health assessment and recovery efforts. The Mussel Watch Project will continue to collect data from the study sites as part of its ongoing monitoring program.
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CCMA Provided Advance Warning of Harmful Algal Blooms to Texas Coastal Community Managers
In a joint effort among the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), the Coastal Services Center, and CoastWatch, CCMA began providing information on the status of harmful algal blooms (HABs) of the algae Karenia brevis to coastal community managers in Texas. Karenia brevis blooms are known to cause fish kills, shellfish toxicity, water discoloration and respiratory distress in humans. Over the last several decades, HABs have caused more than $1 billion in economic losses in the U.S.; due to the blooms, shellfish beds and fisheries have closed, tourism and service industry revenues have been affected, and there have been bloom-related illnesses. The forecasting system relies on the integration of data collected from satellite imagery, field observations, and buoy data. CCMA scientists assess the data to determine bloom location and movement and notify Texas state managers when a bloom is detected, so they may conduct field sampling to confirm the bloom and take measures that may reduce impacts, including informing the public.
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Pilot Study of Coastal Eutrophication Provided Status of Systems and Presented Improved Methodology for Use in Future Assessments
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) published a report on assessing eutrophication in coastal water bodies, Improving Methods and Indicators for Evaluating Coastal Water Eutrophication: A Pilot Study in the Gulf of Maine. Eutrophication can lead to: increases in dense blooms of phytoplankton, including harmful algal blooms; increases in zooplankton, increases in other types of algae; decreased water clarity; changes in submerged aquatic vegetation; changes in coral reefs; depletion of dissolved oxygen; reductions in fish and shellfish harvests; fish kills; problems with water odor; and other adverse ecological and human use impacts. This pilot study of nine coastal bays, harbors, sounds and estuaries in the Gulf of Maine and five in the Mid-Atlantic region examined a number of items related to assessing this widespread problem. Evaluating the extent of coastal eutrophication is a first step towards coming up with strategies to address it. The study utilized a modified version of the method employed for the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment. Among other recommendations, the authors suggested that this type of assessment be conducted every two to five years, in order to be able to examine trends over time, evaluate the success of management measures, and adjust actions as needed. The report contains information for coastal and watershed managers, researchers, and others concerned with coastal water quality.
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NOAA’s National Status & Trends Program - Mussel Watch Data Portal Unveiled
The Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment unveiled NOAA’s National Status and Trends – Mussel Watch data portal at the 2006 National Monitoring Conference in San Jose, California. The portal provides a web-enabled gateway to the entire archive of bivalve and sediment contamination data for over 280 sites throughout the U.S. This represents the single largest repository of pollution monitoring data and information that is National in scale. The unveiling included live demonstrations of the data portal and discussion about the effort to produced and manage data, metadata, and automated dissemination of data and information via the web, for the nation’s longest running national monitoring program for coastal chemical impacts data. NS&T is working to promote and build interoperability and comparability with other large-scale monitoring programs in the context of the newly proposed National Monitoring Network (the theme of the conference) and the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS).
Headquarters
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National Water Quality Monitoring Network Design Developed
NOS's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) represented NOAA in the development of a design for a National Water Quality Monitoring Network and in producing a report on the design. Originally recommended by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, creation of a Network was subsequently included as an action item under the U.S. Ocean Action Plan. A team representing federal, state, tribal, regional, local and university scientists created the design, which has unique features. It provides a continuum of observations from the watershed to the open ocean; offers connectivity with contaminant sources; includes fluxes from rivers, groundwater and the atmosphere; provides observations and data management links with the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS); and ensures data quality and integrity. The Network is envisioned as a coordinated, comprehensive monitoring system that will provide information to managers on coastal waters and their tributaries, thus enabling the managers to make informed decisions, adapt management actions, and provide effective stewardship of natural resources. The design has been presented in a number of venues, and has received positive feedback. Further refinements of the Network design prior to implementation are required, and should include an assessment of existing programs, completion of pilot projects, and an evaluation of the likely benefits of moving forward with the design.
Field Missions
The Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment conducted 20 field missions in Fiscal Year 2006 as well as completing its annual field collections of coastal contaminant data. Results of these mission are used by local, state and federal U.S. stakeholders for coastal and ocean planning and management.
CCMA conducted 11 field missions to support coral reef ecosystem monitoring and assessment studies in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). CCMA and its partners safely completed over 2,000 dives to collect data for the CCMA Coral Reef Ecosystem Research and Monitoring field program. The field missions included charactering and monitoring the distribution, abundance and size of fishes and macro-invertebrates; comparative assessments of the efficacy of marine protected areas; an assessment of the U.S. Caribbean-wide bleaching event; benthic habitat characterization and bathymetric mapping in the USVI and Puerto Rico, acoustic tracking of fish movements in USVI, and a Hawaii fish habitat utilization study to define MPA effectiveness.
CCMA conducted a total of 9 field missions to support satellite monitoring and assessment studies of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in estuarine and Great Lakes waters. Over the last several decades, HABs have caused more than $1 billion in economic losses in the U.S.; due to the blooms, shellfish beds and fisheries have closed, tourism and service industry revenues have been affected, and there have been bloom-related illnesses. Field missions were designed to provide in situ validation of the presence of HABs, and to generate input data to construct improved HAB detection and forecasting models throughout the US. In FY 2006, missions took place in North Carolina, Pamlico Sound, and the adjacent continental shelf; off the coast of southern Texas in the Gulf of Mexico; in the Great Lakes region (Lake Huron and Bear Lake); and in the Potomac River.
CCMA also conducted its annual series of coordinated field missions to determine the distribution, trends and biological effects of chemical contaminants in U.S. coastal, Great Lakes and ocean waters. Missions took place in coastal, Great Lakes and ocean waters throughout the U.S. Sample collections were made in the following States and Territories: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Contamination data was gathered from sediment and bivalves, and represents the twenty-first year of continuous operations for NOAA’s Mussel Watch contaminant monitoring program.