Gulf Ecosystem Initiative

Climate Change: The rate of climate change is accelerating due to human activities, which has altered the frequency and intensity of storm events, rates of sea level rise, freshwater inflows, and fish production in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists and natural resource managers currently have a limited understanding of how these climate change impacts will alter the composition and function of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. For example, as temperature and precipitation patterns change in the northern Gulf of Mexico, tropical species have begun to appear in previously sub-tropical habitats. It is unclear if tropical species will become a permanent feature of the northern Gulf and how that may impact resident species. Synthesis of temperature and salinity data, species ranges, species migration in other restricted water basins, and habitat change could provide a more complete understanding of how the recent influx of tropical species may impact previously subtropical habitats in the Gulf of Mexico.

Fisheries: Fisheries are traditionally managed independently using individual stock assessments. However, increased recognition of the interactions among species and the effects of environmental change on habitat quality is leading to a shift in fisheries management from a single species approach towards an ecosystem approach. This practice is termed ecosystem-based fisheries management. For example, increased frequency of harmful algal blooms may impact fish mortality and recruitment, but current fisheries stock assessments are not sufficiently reactive to the timing and spatial extent of algal blooms. Scientific synthesis of datasets on fish recruitment, fish mortality, fishing activity, physical ocean conditions, changes in food web structures and human activity such as shipping and energy production, may produce a more robust understanding of fisheries productivity and advance ecosystem-based fisheries management in the Gulf region.

Ecological Impact of Management Actions: Management actions, including ecosystem restoration actions, govern the way that people and the environment interact. The Gulf of Mexico and its watersheds are managed by federal, tribal, state, and local governments, non-governmental organizations, and private landowners. Although each management entity is tasked with managing specific environmental resources or spatial areas, individual management actions can have system-wide consequences due to ecosystem connectivity. For example, a significant fraction of freshwater that enters the Gulf is controlled by human-engineered systems. These systems control the timing, volume, and duration of freshwater input into the Gulf, which impacts both the ecosystem and human socioeconomic systems. Synthesis of previous water management actions and their impact on freshwater inflows may elucidate relationships between the timing and duration of freshwater inflows and the functioning of the ecosystem.