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Peer Review Plans |
Title and Description:
2006 Observations of Deep Coral and Sponge Assemblages in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Washington
From May 23 to June 4, 2006, NOAA scientists led a research cruise using the ROPOS Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to conduct a series of dives at targeted sites in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) with the goal of documenting deep coral and sponge communities. Dive sites were selected from areas for which OCNMS had side scan sonar data indicating hard bottom. The team completed 11 dives in sanctuary waters ranging from six to 52 hours in length, at depths ranging from 100 to 650 meters, completing transect surveys at 15 study locations and observations at an additional five locations. The survey locations included sites both inside and outside the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Conservation Area established by the Pacific Fishery Management Council that went into effect on June 12, 2006. The Conservation Area in OCNMS covers 159.4 square nautical miles, or about 15 percent of the sanctuary, closing the area to bottom trawling. Several species of live corals and sponges were documented both inside and outside the Conservation Area, including numerous gorgonians and the stony corals Lophelia pertusa and Desmophyllum dianthus, as well as small patches of the reef building sponge Farrea occa. The team also documented Lophelia and Desmophyllum coral rubble, dead gorgonians, lost fishing gear, and human-caused debris, raising concerns about coral health and protection.
ID: 77 Info. Type: ISI
Estimated Dissemination Date: 05/15/2007
Contact Person: Elizabeth Davenport NOAA Locator
Date First Posted in Peer Review Agenda: 05/14/2007
Estimated Peer Review Start Date: 05/4/2007
Review type: individual letters
Expected number of peer reviewers: 3 or fewer
Peer reviewers will be selected by: the agency
Will the public, including scientific or professional societies, be asked to nominate potential peer reviewers? no
Will there be opportunities for the public to comment on the work product to be peer reviewed? no
How? NA
When? NA
Will the agency provide significant and relevant public comments to the peer reviewers before they conduct their review? no
Primary disciplines or expertise needed in the review:
Specialists in deep habitats along the northwest coast of the United States
Comments on Peer Review:
Charge statement to the peer reviewers: ID77_OCNMS_DeepCoral_Charge_Stmt.doc
Peer review report: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/condition/pdfs/ocnms_review.pdf.
Information product "2006 Observations of Deep Coral and Sponge Assemblages in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Washington": http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/conservation/bowlby.html.