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Project Explorer

An Ecosystem-Based Conservation Framework for Oyster Reefs

coastal management, conservation planning, oyster restoration
The project team will quantify the effects of oyster reef closures and other drivers on oyster reef functioning to help managers decide which reefs to close and when restoration is needed.

Assessing Ecosystem Modeling

data synthesis, Ecosystem models, fishery management, food webs, habitat quality
This project conducted a comprehensive review and assessment of ecosystem modeling efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.

Bahia Grande Ecosystem Recovery

commercially important species, Ecosystem models, ecosystem restoration, fishery management, habitat quality
Managers need to know if the Bahia Grande ecosystem is functioning as a nursery and/or foraging grounds for fish to make informed decisions regarding whether to open Bahia Grande to public use.

Barrier Island Seagrass Community Restoration

climate change, conservation planning, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, ecosystem restoration, long-term monitoring
This project will scope and design a plan to address the uncertainties of restoring seagrasses and associated communities along barrier islands in Louisiana, which will inform the restoration and long-term adaptive management of the Chandeleur Islands.

Bluefin Tuna Larvae

climate change, commercially important species, Ecosystem models, fishery management, food webs, larval assessment, pollution/contaminant management
This project investigated the link between nutrients, food availability, and the survival of Atlantic bluefin tuna larvae to improve stock assessments for this commercially and recreationally important species.

Building Next-Generation Fishery Forecasting Capacity

climate change, commercially important species, data synthesis, fishery management
The project team will address existing limitations and uncertainties in fisheries stock assessments by developing novel model diagnostics and interim assessment methods, which will be incorporated into active stock assessments to reduce the error, uncertainty, and throughput delays associated with overfishing limits and acceptable biological catch estimates.

Co-Production for Fishery Conservation

coastal management, conservation planning, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, population connectivity
The project team will identify challenges to sustaining sport fish nursery habitats, map out realistic management strategies, and plan research that informs management choices.

Coastal Bird Conservation

coastal management, conservation planning, Decision support tool, endangered species
This project will identify uncertainties around the effects of coastal bird stewardship and habitat management actions.

Conservation Grazing in Coastal Uplands

coastal management, conservation planning, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models
This project will develop a research plan to address conservation grazing, or the use of livestock as an alternative or complementary habitat management strategy, in coastal uplands of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Deep-Pelagic Fauna

conservation planning, data synthesis, food webs, pollution/contaminant management, population connectivity, water quality
This project identifies long-term trends in fish, shrimp, cephalopods, and other fauna in the deep-pelagic Gulf of Mexico (open ocean midwaters beyond the continental shelf, from just below the surface to just above the bottom) and provides this information to resource managers responsible for the numerous species that rely on deep-pelagic fauna as prey, including marine mammals.

Deepwater Corals

climate change, conservation planning, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, larval assessment, physical oceanography, pollution/contaminant management, population connectivity
This project determined where the corals in different mesophotic and deepwater populations in the Gulf of Mexico originated from, which is critical information for conserving and restoring these important habitats that were damaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Dolphin Multiple Stressor Assessments

pollution/contaminant management
The project team seeks to develop statistical models, analyses, and conceptual models based on laboratory and survey data to help managers conduct more targeted and specific risk assessments of Houston-area bottlenose dolphins potentially injured by releases of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins.

Dolphin Tags

conservation planning, endangered species, long-term monitoring, population connectivity
This project is developing a new and innovative approach for attaching satellite-linked tags to small cetaceans without having to capture them.

Drone Surveys and Oil Spill Response

pollution/contaminant management
The project team will use drone observations and NOAA forecasts to develop technology that seeks to improve manager response decisions to future oil spills in Galveston Bay and surrounding Texas coasts.

Ecosystem Indicators Inventory

data synthesis, Ecosystem models, habitat quality, socioeconomic analysis
This project created a comprehensive guide for management using indicators of five common coastal habitats: salt marsh, mangrove, seagrass, oyster beds/reefs, and coral reefs.

Fisheries Ecosystem Models

Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, fishery management, food webs, pollution/contaminant management
This project integrated information on ecosystem stressors and predator-prey interactions into the fisheries assessment and management process in the Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasting of Riverine Inflows

Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, pollution/contaminant management
This project will result in a management and forecast system that allows resource managers to explore tradeoffs from restoration strategies as well as examine and optimize various riverine inflows.

Freshwater Inflow Decision Tool

Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, socioeconomic analysis, water quality
This project will explore the feasibility of a freshwater inflow decision tool that will provide managers with a better understanding of the impact of allowing water to flow to the coast, and how to maximize environmental, social, and economic benefits while adapting to changing conditions over time.

Gulf Islands Case Study

coastal management, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, ecosystem restoration, endangered species, natural disasters
The objective of the proposed project is to provide a transparent decision support framework to make optimal recommendations for listed species while also considering landowner objectives using a case study at the Gulf Islands National Seashore complex.

Gulf of Mexico Island and Beach Restoration

coastal management, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, ecosystem restoration, pollution/contaminant management
Stakeholder engagement will inform the development of a conceptual model to help environmental managers forecast how Gulf of Mexico habitats and wildlife may respond to various island and beach restoration management actions.

Identifying Ecological Hotspots

data synthesis, Decision support tool, long-term monitoring, natural disasters, water quality
The project characterized the temporal and spatial variability of physical and biochemical oceanographic parameters in the Gulf of Mexico.

Impact of Mississippi River

climate change, data synthesis, long-term monitoring, water quality
This project explored how changes in the flow of the Mississippi River impact natural resources and their use in the Gulf of Mexico.

Indicators for Ecosystem Health and Services

conservation planning, Decision support tool, natural disasters
This project identified, developed, and evaluated ecological health and ecosystem services indicators and an associated assessment and decision framework.

Living Shoreline Tool

coastal management, conservation planning, data synthesis, Decision support tool, habitat quality
This project adapted an existing computer model for assessing the suitability of a site for construction of a living shoreline, applied the model to Perdido Bay/Wolf Bay/Ono Island complex in coastal Alabama; Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana; and Galveston Bay, Texas, and developed an interactive decision support tool that allows for a rapid assessment of a site.

Local Coastal Tool

climate change, coastal management, Decision support tool, ecosystem restoration, natural disasters, socioeconomic analysis
This project developed a decision-support tool to aid resource managers, municipalities, and a county with decisions related to the preservation and restoration of mangrove, marsh, and beach habitats; water management; and coastal planning, zoning, and land acquisition.
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