PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A DEVELOPMENT SITE, AND THE CONTENT DOES NOT REFLECT THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION.
NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) is compiling a national database of the locations of deep-sea corals and sponges, beginning in U.S. waters. The DSCRTP will make this information accessible to resource managers, the scientific community, and the public over the World Wide Web. The database fulfills NOAA’s requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens … Read more
This white paper provides back ground and rationale for the priorities laid out in the Action Plan and summarizes our current understanding of mercury in the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. In addition, the Action Plan emphasizes the identification of special at-risk consumers who ingest larger than average amounts of Gulf of Mexico fish, especially fish … Read more
The present study seeks to further our understanding of ocean currents in and around the Mariana archipelago and their potential influence on larval transport. We combined observational data on ocean currents from satellite-tracked surface drifters with computer simulations of larval dispersal driven by an ocean circulation model to achieve the following objectives: 1. Characterize the … Read more
A State-Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Nutrient Innovations Task Group concluded in a 2009 report (State — EPA Nutrient Innovations Task Group, 2009) that ‘continuing the status quo at the national, state, and local levels and relying upon our current practices and control strategies will not support a positive public health and environmental outcome.’ A systems … Read more
The objective of this report is to identify and evaluate existing datasets related to the distribution of marine mammals along the Northwest coast of the United States which can support Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) by the State of Washington. In this report, we consider the degree to which existing datasets are able to represent species … Read more
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for oversight and management of the development of energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). In 2012, BOEM identified three Wind Energy Call Areas and later defined Wind Energy Areas on the OCS of North Carolina. Presently, sufficient uncertainty exists regarding cumulative impacts to ecosystem … Read more
Acropora palmata was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in May 2006 (71 FR 26852). In 2012, the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed the reclassification of A. palmata (77 FR 73219) as endangered, but determined in 2014, that they would remain listed as threatened under the ESA (79 FR 53852). This coral is … Read more
Given the dire state of many diadromous stocks and their potential as important agents in marine ecosystems, consideration should be given to the different roles stocks play and their relative importance within marine systems. In this report, diadromous stocks of North America’s Atlantic coast are reviewed with a focus on their ecological interactions in the … Read more
Over the past several decades, the input of anthropogenic litter into the marine system has been an increasing global concern, with negative ecological and environmental consequences. Plastics, abandoned fishing gear and other debris can have serious effects on marine animals, via entanglement and ingestion. Wildlife stranding and response networks have been established since the 1980s … Read more
This report describes the development and assessment of shallow-water (0<35 m) benthic habitat maps for Northeast Puerto Rico and Culebra Island. The objective of this effort, conducted by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) in partnership with the Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA), was to provide spatially-explicit information describing the benthic … Read more