Join us at the Gulf of Mexico Conference!

The NOAA RESTORE Science Program is excited to attend the Gulf of Mexico Conference in Baton Rouge next week. 

The Science Program will host a session on Wednesday, April 27 that highlights projects from our 2021 Planning for Actionable Science competition. This session will be a great opportunity to learn more about the successes and challenges project teams have experienced while working to plan collaborative research that informs a specific management decision in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Here is the session information:
Science, Management, Practice and Policy: NOAA RESTORE Planning & HABs
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
3:30 – 5:00 pm CT
Raising Canes River Center, Room # 8

Many project teams supported by the Science Program will be presenting at the conference. We have included a list below of some of those projects, and we encourage you to attend those presentations as you have time. 

The Science Program is also helping to organize the OneNOAA in the Gulf of Mexico exhibitor booth, and we welcome you to stop by and learn more about our program as well as other NOAA programs in the Gulf. 

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is hosting this event in partnership with the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative and Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies with support from the Science Program and other sponsors. GoMCon brings together three regional meetings traditionally hosted by these organizations into a single event and emphasizes the importance of collaboration to address regional issues.

To learn more about the plenary speakers, session themes and other conference activities, please visit the conference website. Please feel free to connect with us at noaarestorescience@noaa.gov if you are also attending and would like to set up a time to meet with our team.  

We look forward to seeing you in Baton Rouge!

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2022 Gulf of Mexico Conference
Sessions from RESTORE-Supported Projects
Session titles and lead authors included. All times in CT. 

Monday, April 25 – Pre-Conference Workshops 

• 1:30 – 5:00 pm – User-Driven NR Forecast System, Ehab Meselhe and Laura Manuel, Tulane University, Room 2
• 1:30 – 5:30 pm – Human benefits of Nature, Eric Sparks, MS-AL Sea Grant Consortium, Room 12 

Tuesday, April 26 – Breakout Sessions

• 10:45 – 11:00 am – Lessons from lanternfishes: Developing indicator metrics for deep-pelagic monitoring (DEEPEND/RESTORE), Rosanna Milligan, Nova Southeastern University, Room 3 & 4
• 11:15 – 11:30 am – Salinity changes shape the relative importance of different organic matter sources in saltmarsh food webs, Sydney Moyo, Rhodes College, and Michael Polito, Louisiana State University, Room 5 & 6
• 1:30-1:45 pm – Mapping high marsh systems across the Northern GOM, Nicolas Enwright, Res. Res. Geographer Wetland & Aquatic Research Center, USGS, Room 8
• 1:45-2:00 pm  – Informing the use of prescribed fire in an adaptive management framework for GOM high marshes using an expert-based Bayesian Network model, Michelle Stantial, Postdoctoral Res. Ecologist USGS, Eastern Ecological Sci Center, Room 8
• 2:15 – 2:30 pm – Incorporating seabird monitoring efforts into offshore wind siting and associated mitigation opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico, Jeffrey Gleason, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Room 8
• 2:30 – 2:45 pm – How can genetics be used to study Gulf of Mexico deep-sea systems and aid in management and conservation? Insights from the DEEPEND/RESTORE, Pedro Peres, Florida International University, Room 5 & 6
• 2:45 – 3:00 pm – Benthic habitat characterization on the eastern Gulf of Mexico shelf from a decade of side scan mapping and groundtruth feedback from reef fish video surveys, Sean Keenan, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Meeting Room 5 & 6
• 2:45 – 3:00 pm – Audubon Florida’s coastal bird stewardship program and its influence on management, Caroline Stahala, Audubon Florida, Room 8
• 4:00 – 4:15 pm – Improving oil spill damage assessments for marine mammals and other long-lived species, Vicki Cornish, Marine Mammal Commission, Room 8
• 4:15 – 4:30 pm – Hurricane Sally (2020) generates a coastal shift in the ocean thermal structure during rapid intensification, Brian Dzwonkowski, University of South Alabama, Room 7
• 4:30 – 4:15 pm – Effects of active stewardship on Least Tern breeding productivity in coastal Mississippi, Abby Darrah, Audubon Mississippi, Room 3 & 4

Tuesday, April 26 – Poster Session

All posters will be displayed from 5:30 – 7:30 pm 

• Operational Forecast System of the Northern Gulf of Mexico, Ehab Meselhe and Laura Manuel
• Integrating Sport Fish Nursery Habitat Into Land-Use Management, Courtney Saari
• Living shorelines: Large-scale impacts from small-scale decisions, Eric Sparks
• Developing a research framework to support assessments of cumulative effects from multiple stressors on dolphins in the Houston area under CERCLA and OPA, Ryan Takeshita
• Fine-scale saltmarsh complexity supports resident and transient nekton communities, Paola López-Duarte
• Decomposition Rates of Spartina alterniflora in Coastal Louisiana Natural and Created Brackish Marshes Influenced by a Freshwater Siphon, Aine O’Nuanain
• Created coastal marshes have equivalent diversity to natural coastal marshes: A case study from Louisiana, F.W. Keppeler
• Potential use of unmanned aerial systems and imagery analysis to classify coastal marsh vegetation and habitat, S.C., Chapman
• Elevation, inundation and salinity in Coastal Louisiana Natural and Created Brackish Marshes Influenced by a Freshwater Siphon, E.M, Swenson
• Inter- and intra-specific movement and resource use patterns across ocean-estuarine seascapes, J.A. Olin
• Can Restored Marshes Support Similar Macroinvertebrate Communities to Natural References?, Paola López-Duarte
• Perceptions, uncertainties, and applicability: incorporating genetic variation into seagrass bed restoration and management to increase resiliency, T. Erin Cox
• Restoring coastal wetlands for shorebirds: lessons learned and future research priorities, Anna Armitage and Stephen McDowell

Wednesday, April 27 – Breakout Sessions 

• • 10:30 – 10:45 am – Ontogeny and marsh restoration status influence the trophic ecology of Gulf Killifish (Fundulus grandis) in coastal Louisiana, Michael Polito, Louisiana State University, Room 5 & 6
  • 11:00 – 11:15 am – NOAA Firebird: Fire effects in Gulf of Mexico marshes on mottled ducks, black and yellow rails, Auriel Fournier, Illinois Natural History Survey, Room 5 & 6
  • 11:00 – 11:15 am – Weather is not a primary driver behind changes in prescribed fire management in coastal wetlands across the US Gulf of Mexico, Chelsea Kross, Forbes Biological Station–Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center,  Illinois Natural History Survey, Room 1 & 2
  • 11:00 – 11:15 am – Energy channel specificity and trophic complementarity in a saltmarsh meta-food web, James Junker, Michigan Technological University, Room 3 & 4
  • 11:30 – 11:45 am – Characterizing cryptic mortality in Gulf of Mexico (GoM) reef fish: evaluating the nature and extent of depredation, Marcus Drymon, Mississippi State University, Room 3 & 4
  • 1:45 – 2:00 pm – Structured-Decision Making to Co-produce an Actionable Science Plan in support of La., Ms., Ala. Coastal System Water Quality Management, George Ramseur, MS Dept of Marine Resources, and Soup Dalyander, The Water Institute of the Gulf, Room 5 & 6
  • 2:00 – 2:15 pm – Restoration, recovery, and resilience of marine living resources: The importance of context provided by long-term monitoring programs, Ted Switzer, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Meeting Room 3 & 4
  • 2:30 – 2:45 pm – Inclusive injury assessments and restoration planning in the Gulf of Mexico, Sara Mason, Duke University, Room 7
  • 3:30 – 3:45 pm – Actionable science in the Gulf of Mexico: Connecting researchers and resource managers, Hannah Brown, NOAA RESTORE Science Program, Room 8
  • 3:45 – 3:55 pm – Creating Secure Warm-Water Habitat Networks for Manatees along Florida’s Gulf Coast: Co-producing Actionable Science, Maria Merrill, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Room 8
  • 3:55 – 4:05 pm – Co-production of a water flow decision tool to support resource management, Christine Hale, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Room 8
  • 4:05 – 4:15 pm – Incorporating co-benefits and costs to coastal hazard mitigation decision-making, Rachelle Sanderson, Capital Region Planning Commission, Room 8
  • 4:15 – 4:25 pm – The importance of projection assumptions in estimating sustainable fishing quotas, Nathan Vaughan, Vaughn Analytics, Room 8
  • 4:25 – 4:35 pm – Tampa Bay restoration and Pyrodinium bahamense bloom dynamics: Filling knowledge gaps to enhance estuary recovery, Ed Sherwood, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Room 8
  • 4:35 – 4:45 pm – Informing place-based recreational fishery conservation With co-produced science, Corey Anderson, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Room 8