Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA)

December 2008

Tech report: Bauer, L.J., C. Menza, K.A. Foley, and M.S. Kendall. 2008. An Ecological Characterization of the Marine Resources of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Part I: Historical Data Synthesis. Prepared by National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Biogeography Branch in cooperation with the Office of Response and Restoration. Silver Spring, MD. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 86. 121 pp. Available in PDF format at http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/vieques.html

October 2008

New GIS Tool: GIS Sampling Design Tool Improves Efficiency, Lowers Costs. Biogeography Branch scientists recently released a Geographic Information System (GIS) Sampling Design Tool for science planning that improves sampling efficiency by integrating maps at relevant spatial scales into survey designs, while balancing factors such as statistical power, precision and cost. The Tool has two main functions:1) to help select a sample from a population, and 2) to perform sample design analysis. When these functions are combined iteratively, the tool effectively and simply achieves the goal of sample surveys to obtain accurate, high precision estimates of population metrics while minimizing cost. The tool and technical manual can be downloaded from http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/sampling/welcome.html For more information, contact Charles.Menza@noaa.gov or Ken.Buja@noaa.gov

September 2008

Biogeography Branch Kicks off Benthic Habitat Mapping and Data Integration Project at St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Biogeography Branch, in partnership with the National Park Service and NOAAís Coastal Service Center, initiated a project to develop new benthic habitat map products for the waters off the island of St. John, USVI. This project has been designed to meet multiple management questions and issues, such as damage assessments and marine protected area evaluations. Plans are to complete the habitat and bathymetry map products in the spring of 2009 and couple them with ongoing biological assessments, to further understand species habitat affinities and to monitor recovery of living marine resources based on NPS management actions. For more information, contact Mark.Monaco@noaa.gov.

August 2008

Video/DVD: National Park Service and NOAA's Biogeography Branch. Buck Island Reef National Monument: Partners for Protection and Resource Management – A Collaborative Documentary between the National Park Service and NOAA. The video shows cutting-edge technologies used to map and monitor the marine environment, to evaluate the effectiveness of the marine protected area. This video won a CINE Golden Eagle Award in 2008. To download the video, visit Buck Island Documentary. To request a copy of the DVD, contact Tim.Battista@noaa.gov.

July 2008

Tech. Report: Waddell, J.E. and A.M. Clarke (eds.), 2008. The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2008. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 73. Available in PDF format from http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/stateofthereefs.

Journal Article: Kendall, M.S., and T. Miller. 2008. Influence of Benthic Features and Fishing Pressure on Size and Distribution of Three Exploited Reef Fishes from the Southeastern United States. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 137(4):1134-1146. Contact Matt.Kendall@noaa.gov for a copy of the report.

May 2008

Tech. Report: Friedlander, A.M., and J. Beets. 2008. Temporal Trends in Reef Fish Assemblages inside Virgin Islands National Park and around St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1988-2006. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 70. 60 pp.

Monitoring News: Bagged, Tagged and Returned for Research! http://savannahnow.com/node/500357 NOAA's Biogeography and Gray's Reef Sanctuary staff tagged several groupers to track their movements in Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary,off the coast of Georgia. This work will provide an improved understanding of fish movements and locations, which helps resource managers do a better job of conserving marine species, their prey and their habitat.

Journal Article: Kendall, M.S., and T. Miller. 2008. The influence of thematic and spatial resolution on maps of a coral reef ecosystem. Marine Geodesy 31(2):75-102. Contact Matt.Kendall@noaa.gov for a copy of the report.

Tech. Report: Pittman, S.J., S.D. Hile, C.F.G. Jeffrey, C. Caldow, M.S. Kendall, M.E. Monaco, and Z. Hillis-Starr. 2008. 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., Low Quality.pdf NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 71. Silver Spring, MD. 96 pp. A DVD of the report, data and images is available upon request from sarah.hile@noaa.gov.

Tech. Report: Zitello, A.G., D.R. Whitall, A. Dieppa, J.D. Christensen, M.E. Monaco and S.O. Rohmann. 2008. Characterizing Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico: A Watershed Modeling Analysis and Monitoring Plan. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 76. 81 pp.

Journal Article: Menza, C.M. Kendall and S. Hile. 2008. The deeper we go the less we know. Revista de Biologia Tropical 56(1): 11-24. Contact Charles.Menza@noaa.gov for a copy of the report.

April 2008

Tech Report. National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). 2007. A Biogeographic Assessment off North/Central California: In Support of the National Marine Sanctuaries of Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay. Phase II: Environmental Setting and Update to Birds and Mammals. Silver Spring, MD. NOAA Technical Memorandum. NOS NCCOS 40. 302 pp. Data and information on the project is located at: http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/canms_cd/welcome.html