NOAA Technical Memorandum Archives - Page 6 of 23 - NCCOS - National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

Shallow-Water Benthic Habitats of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Contact Tim.Battista@noaa.gov for digital PDF copy. The purpose of this Atlas is to provide detailed maps depicting the GIS benthic habitat data produced, and outline the benthic habitat classification scheme and protocols used to map American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Thirty-four distinct benthic habitat types (i.e., four major and … Read more

An Assessment of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Chesapeake Bay, MD and Charleston Harbor, SC

NOAA’s National Status and Trends (NS&T) Mussel Watch Program conducted regional pilot studies to assess the magnitude and distribution of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) in shellfish and sediment from different coastal zones. In 2015, oyster and surficial sediment samples from study areas in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, and Charleston Harbor, South Carolina were assessed … Read more

Monitoring Hawaii’s Marine Protected Areas: Examining Spatial and Temporal Trends Using a Seascape Approach

Hawaii’s coastal marine resources have declined dramatically over the past 100 years due to multiple anthropogenic stressors including overfishing, coastal development, pollution, overuse, invasive species and climate change. It is now becoming evident that ecosystem-based management, in the form of marine protected areas (MPAs), is necessary to conserve biodiversity, maintain viable fisheries, and deliver a … Read more

Characterization of deep coral and sponge communities in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary: Rittenburg Bank, Cochrane Bank and the Farallon Escarpment

The purpose of the surveys was to groundtruth mapping data collected in 2011, and to characterize the seafloor biota, particularly corals and sponges, in order to support Essential Fish Habitat designations under Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) and other conservation and management goals under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act ( NMSA). ROV transects of uniform speed and … Read more

Benthic Characterization of Deep-Water Habitat in the Newly Expanded Areas of Cordell Bank and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries

A large area of the seafloor off northern California lies within the US National Marine Sanctuary System, but very little of the habitat has been explored and even less is characterized using visual survey techniques, especially deep-water habitats. Benthic surveys using a Phantom HD2 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) were conducted during September 2-7, 2014 off … Read more

Coral reef ecosystems of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands: Spatial and temporal patterns in fish and benthic communities (2001-2009)

This technical memorandum contains analysis of nine years of data (2001-2009) from in situ fish belt transect and benthic habitat quadrat surveys conducted in and around the Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS) and the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICR). The purpose of this document is to: 1) Quantify spatial patterns and temporal trends … Read more

Coral reef ecosystems of Reserva Natural La Parguera (Puerto Rico): Spatial and temporal patterns in fish and benthic communities (2001-2007)

The report provides a spatial and temporal characterization of the fish and benthic communities of southwestern Puerto Rico, primarily within the La Parguera Natural Reserve. The reserve is a multiuse area that spans the continental shelf from the extensive mangrove forests fringing the shoreline to the complex shelfedge coral reefs that support a diverse and … Read more

Biogeographic characterization of fish communities and associated benthic habitats within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

This biogeographic characterization is a project formed from the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries – National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Long-term Agreement. This agreement originates from the common belief of these two programs within NOAA’s National Ocean Service that it is critical to have incorporated the best available science when making management decisions regarding … Read more

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

Report provides a spatial and temporal characterization of Buck Island Reef National Monument and the surrounding seascapes of northeastern St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. The project is a component of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program and the National Park Service.