The South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative’s

Third Thursday Web Forum

7.16.2015

“Mapping the Ocean: The Value of Marine Assessments in Conserving

Important Resources”

Third Thursday Web Forum Agenda

• Introductions

• Monthly Topic

• Questions & Discussion of Monthly Topic

• Updates

• Questions & Discussion of South Atlantic LCC

• Close

“Mapping the Ocean: The Value of Marine Assessments in Conserving

Important Resources”

Today’s presenter: Mary Conley, The Nature Conservancy

South Atlantic LCC Staff Introductions: Rua Mordecai, Science Coordinator

Amy Keister, GIS Coordinator Janet Cakir, Socioeconomic Coordinator/NPS Liaison

Brad Pickens, Research Associate Louise Vaughn, Blueprint User Support

Hilary Morris, Blueprint User Support & Communications Christy Ihlo, Research Associate

Mapping the Ocean: The Value of Marine Assessments in

Conserving Important Resources

SALCC WEB FORUM

JULY 16, 2015

• Marine Assessment Overview

• Data and Analysis

Coastal Ecosystems

Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles

Seafloor Habitats

• Introduction to Conservation Portfolio

Analysis – Offshore

• Assessment products and distribution

• Discussion

Presentation Outline

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Economic, Ecologic and Social Drivers

The Future of the South Atlantic

Seascape…

Sarah Adams, Graphic Designer

South Atlantic Bight Marine Assessment

Opportunity to update existing information with new data and improved

analysis that is easily digestible and can be used to inform marine

conservation work.

Provide a backbone for the Conservancy’s marine strategies:

o Oyster and Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration

o Disaster Risk and Resilience

o Multi-objective Ocean Planning

o Sustainable Fisheries

W H Y ? ? ?

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Three Primary Resource Areas:

COASTAL, MIGRATORY, SEAFLOOR

Some facts…

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- Hundreds of data sets were

evaluated and reviewed throughout

the assessment

- Over forty technical experts from

across the region participated as

members of the SABMA technical

teams.

- Data and tem members came from

academia, federal, state, and local

agencies, and regional organizations.

- In part, support with $300,000 in

federal grants

Governors’ South Atlantic Alliance (GSAA)

South Atlantic Landscape Conservation

Cooperative (SALCC)

COASTAL SYSTEMS

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Coastal Technical Team

Cynthia Bohn, USFWS

Jessica Boynton, SC DHEC-OCRM

Joy Brown, TNC

Mary Conley, TNC

Anne Deaton, NC DENR-DMF

Sonny Emmert, GA DNR-CRD

Patrick Geer, GA DNR- CRD

Laura Geselbracht, TNC

Kathy Goodin, NatureServe

Eric Krueger, TNC

Christi Lambert, TNC

Kathleen O’Keife, FL FWC

Arlene P. Olivero, TNC

Robert Newton, TNC

Brad Pickens, SALCC, NC State

Christine Pickens, TNC

Denise Sanger, SC DNR-MRRI

Anna Toline, National Park Service

Maria Whitehead, TNC

Amber Whittle, FL FWC

Pace Wilber, NOAA-NMFS

Targeted Habitats and Species

• Intertidal Wetlands

• Seagrass

• Shellfish (oyster reefs)

• Diadromous Fish

• Shorebirds (limited)

Condition

• Secured Lands

• Agricultural Lands

• Developed Lands

• Impervious Surface Area

• Hardened Shoreline

C O A S T A L A T T R I B U T E S

39 Coastal Shoreline Units

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South Atlantic Bight Marine Assessment

C O A S T A L

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Developing

portfolio

Updating

base data

Tidal Wetland Classes:

•Salt marsh

•Tidal freshwater marsh

•Tidal Forest

•Tidal Flats

•Estuarine Beach

•Ocean Beach

Tidal Wetlands

Lagoonal Estuary

Pamlico Sound, NC

Found only in North Carolina &

Florida….

North Carolina: transition from

northern eelgrass beds to

southern shoalgrass dominated

systems

Florida: dominated by subtropical

species such as turtle grass.

Greater diversity with 8 species

Base Data: State specific

Seagrass

Oyster Reefs

T H E F I R S T T I M E P U L L E D T O G E T H E R R E G I O N A L L Y

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Oysters form reefs to depths of 10 m and

in intertidal areas.

State–specific data sources with

significant gaps in Georgia and Florida

Provide unique connections

between marine, estuarine, and

riverine habitats:

Six Species were evaluated

Base Data: Presence/Absence

data by river segment from the

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission

Diadromous Fish

Characterizing CSUs

Compare coastal habitat and species

data across CSUs – by subregion

and type – to identify those with high

values.

Add in connections with other

species that utilize coastal habitats

(manatees, loggerheads, estuary-

dependent fish)

Incorporate data on condition –

watershed, hardened shorelines, sea

level rise vulnerability

C O N S E R V A T I O N P O R T F O L I O

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MIGRATORY SPECIES:

Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles

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Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Technical Team

Melissa Clark, TNC, Eastern Division

Mary Conley, TNC, South Carolina Chapter

Mark Dodd, Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Clay George, Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Laura Geselbracht, TNC, Florida Chapter

Jennifer Greene, TNC, North America Region

Robert Newton, TNC, Southeast Region

Mark Swingle, Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Species and Groups

Baleen Whales

Fin, Humpback , North Atlantic right whale

Toothed Whales

Atlantic spotted dolphin

Beaked whales

Bottlenose dolphin

Oceanic (Stenella) dolphins

Common dolphin

Pilot whales

Risso’s dolphin

Sperm Whale

Sirenians

Florida manatee

Turtles

Loggerhead, Green, Hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, Leatherback

Data Sources and Survey Methods

SOURCES

• US Navy for in water survey data (marine mammals and sea turtles)

• State Wildlife and Natural Resource Agencies and USFWS for sea turtle

nesting and manatee data

• North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium and FWC for Right Whale information

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Survey Effort

U.S. Navy data - Effort by Season

Green = high

Brown = low

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Bottlenose Dolphin Example

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Evaluated seasonally

Green = highest values

Brown = lowest values

Gray = surveyed, no sightings

Sea Turtles

North Atlantic Right Whale

• Data provided by North Atlantic

Right Whale consortium (1991-

2012)

• Surveys conducted regularly during

calving season (winter)

Green = highest SPUE

Brown = lowest SPUE

Gray = surveyed, no sightings

Manatee: Three Types of Data

Winter Synoptic

Distributional

Carcass Recovery Locations

Loggerhead Turtle Nesting

SEAFLOOR HABITATS

M A R K A N D E R S O N , K A T I E W E A V E R . A N A L I E B A R N E T T ,

M A R Y C O N L E Y . L A U R A G E S E L B R A C H T

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Bob Van Dolah SC DNR Steve Ross UNCW

Clark Alexander UGA Tina Udouj FWC

Eric Krueger TNC Todd Kellison NOAA

George Sedberry NOAA

Jay Odell TNC

Jesse Cleary DUKE

John Reed FAU

Kathy Goodin NatureServe

Leslie Sautter COFC

Marcel Reichert SC DNR

Nate Bacheler NOAA

Pat Geer GA DNR

Pat Halpin DUKE

Paul Gayes COASTAL

Roger Pugliese SAFMC

Scott Harris COFC

Shannon Whaley FWC

Science Review Committee

Attended bi-monthly discussion calls to review and revise the products. Helped obtain key datasets

Also thanks to Analie Barnett, Katie Weaver, John Prince, & Robert Newton. Who performed many of the individual analyses

Bathymetry Substrate Seabed forms

Framework Data Sets

Thanks to Katie Weaver

A robust, transparent, distributable data baseline, to serve as an information resource to marine decision makers and managers with a wide range of interests.

Bathymetry

Depth (Bathymetry)

Zone (m) 0-30 Inner shelf (99 spp.) 30-70 Mid shelf (71 spp.) 70 – 200 Shelf edge (40 spp.) 200 – 600 Charleston Bump (152) 600 – 1000 Blake Plateau (17 spp.) 1000+ Blake Spur (?) Data created from 4.7 million points obtained from NOAA/NGDC’s Coastal Relief Model. Thanks to John Prince and Katie Weaver. Zones from cluster analysis of 19,000 samples, 511 species

black sea bass

red snapper

3-eyed flounder

dragonfish Dragonfish

greeneye

19,000 samples 511 species

Bathymetry

Seabed Forms

Thanks to Melissa Clark

thread herring

Scaless dragonfish

Shelf-slope break Canyons Ridge and trough complexes Shoals and shoal fields Escarpment Coral mounds and slopes Sand ridges Flat Plateau Terraces Shallow Reefs

How good is this data? Portales Terrace 4 m multibeam DEM vs SABMA 90 M seabed form

Bathymetry

Soft Sediments

Thanks to John Prince, Katie Weaver

Grain Size (mm) Mud 0-0.06 Fine Sand 0.06 -0.25 Medium Sand 0.25- 0.5 Coarse Sand 0.5 - 2 Gravel >2 Almost 30,000 points from US SEABED and contributions from SC DNR, FWC, NC Carteret, ARMY CORPS

Bathymetry

Hardbottom

Thanks to Analie Barnett

Ridges and ledges Shelf edge slope Patchy pavements Oculina banks Shallow pavement Platform reefs Patch reefs 20,000+ points and polygons from SEAMAP, MARMAP, Coral studies, FMRI, Walker 2012, and other sources.

thread herring

Ecological Marine Units (EMUs)

Reveal the structure of the seafloor

Ecological Marine Units (Soft sediments not shown)

Depth + Seabed form + Sediment

Conserving Nature’s Stage

How do we measure the impact of a feature on marine diversity? What biota does it contain? Is this a good place for the species and communities?

Steep Scarp

Shallow Estuary

Ridge Complex

Canyon

Large Shoal

Hardbottom

Seafloor Portfolio

Portfolio of Sites

Identify areas and ecological processes of biological significance that, if conserved, will protect biological diversity of the South Atlantic

Begin to develop specific marine conservation strategies

Effective marine resource management and conservation begins with knowing the types, amounts, and spatial

distribution of resources (Walker and Gilliam 2013).

Seafloor: Site Prioritization Criteria

Hardbottom (Rocky Reef)

• with diverse fish species

• with corals and coral mounds

• large concentration areas

Coral Reefs

• Patch, Platform and Pavement reefs

• Oculina Banks

Unconsolidated substrate

• With seagrass

• With high fish diversity

Score and Lock-in Rank sites based on clear criteria then lock in the outstanding ones

Ten Minute Squares (70 – 100 square miles)

Above Average

1Sd

Below Avg. Avg. Above Ave.

2Sd

Above the mean

Hardbottom (Rocky Reef)

Natural Rock Substrates (flat pavements to rock outcrops and ledges)

provide substrate for corals, sponges, algae

offer food and shelter to huge variety of species from mollusks to sea turtles

support a more diverse and abundant demersal fish fauna than sand

Patchy Hardbottom

Coral Mound

Hardbottom (Rocky reef) Sites

Above Average for

Fish diversity (yellow-green)

Corals: coldwater corals (green), deepwater coral mounds (red)

Large concentrations: slopes (orange), flats (yellow)

Many features (blue)

Shallow Coral Reefs

Biogenic Substrates (Corals and consolidated carbonate rock)

provide substrate for corals, sponges, algae

offer food and shelter to huge variety of species

the third largest barrier reef in the world

Exemplary mapping by B. Walker and D Gillian (FWC)

Oculina Banks

Colonized Pavement

Shallow Reef Sites Oculina Banks

Pavement Reefs

Patch Reefs

Platform Reefs

Platform Reefs

Above average amounts of each types of reef

Unconsolidated Substrate

Sand, Mud, Silt, Gravel

Dominant substrate and generally less diverse than hardbottom but supports a flora and fauna adapted to loose, moving sediments.

Seagrass

Colonized Pavement

Unconsolidated Substrate

Seagrass concentrations (green)

Estuaries with high fish diversity (brown)

Adjacent to hard bottom

Map shows all unconsolidated substrates captured by the seafloor portfolio

Seafloor Portfolio

Generalized Legend

Hardbottom concentrations with high fish diversity –Yellow

Hardbottom slopes - orange

Coldwater Coral/hardbottom – light red

Coral mounds – dark red

Shallow Coral reefs – dark blue

Seagrass – Green

Nearshore fish diversity – brown

TMS tend to inflate the actual area

Seafloor Portfolio

TMS tend to inflate the actual area

Nearshore margin Hardbottom region on shelf Shelf-slope break Coral mound region Coral reef region

Nearshore margin

Hardbottom regions

Shelf-slope break

Coral Mound region

Coral Reef region

Correspondence with HAPC

Gray’s Reef

Cape Lookout Lophilia Banks

Cape Fear Lophilia Banks

Deepwater Corals – Stetson reef to Miami Terrace

Migratory Species Portfolio

Humpback whale

Right whale

Bottlenose dolphin

Migratory Species: Five Groups

Baleen Whales

Toothed Whales and Risso Dolphin

Common Dolphins

Sea Turtles

Combined

Details on the choice of target species, summaries of their life histories, explanation of our data sources, and information on the preparation of the various data sets are found in the Migratory Chapter of the final report.

Migratory Species : Sightings Data

12 Species of Whales, Dolphins and Sea Turtles

Based on 30+ years of sightings data corrected for effort (source: Navy)

Max sightings in any season

Effort

Shipboard Sighting Surveys DATA YEAR(S)

NMFS-SEFSC R/V Oregon II Cruise 92-01 (198) 1992 1992

NMFS-SEFSC R/V Relentless Cruise 98-01 (003) 1998 1998

NMFS-SEFSC R/V Oregon II Cruise 99-05 (236) 1999 1999

NMFS-SEFSC R/V Gordon Gunter Cruise GU-02-01 (021) 2002 2002

NMFS-SEFSC R/V Gordon Gunter Cruise GU-04-03 (028) 2004 2004

NMFS-SEFSC R/V Gordon Gunter Cruise GU-05-03 (062) 2005 2005

CETAP Shipboard Survey 1978-1982 1978 - 1982

Aerial Sighting Surveys

DoN-Continental Shelf and Associates, Inc. (CSA) 1996-1999

DoN SEAWOLF Mayport Shock Trial 1995, 1997

DoN Winston S. Churchill Shock Trial 1999

NMFS-SEFSC Southeast Cetacean Aerial Surveys (SECAS) 1992, 1995

New England Aquarium (NEA) (pre-Early Warning System [EWS]) 1984 - 1993

New England Aquarium (NEA) (EWS) 1993-2005

New England Aquarium (NEA) Core of Engineers (COE) 1989-1993

Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR) (EWS) 1993-2002

Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI) (EWS) 1992-2005

Associated Scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (ASWHOI) Airship (blimp) Survey 1991-1993

CETAP Aerial Survey 1978-1982

Offshore Surveys (GADNR and FMRI) 1996-2002

University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) Aerial Survey (EWS) 2001-2002

University of Rhode Island (URI) Aerial Survey 1987

Wildlife Trust (WLT) Aerial Survey (EWS) 2002-2005

Strictness of Criteria related to abundance in the Region

Skim off the very best

Omit the worst

Baleen Whales Count of observations

Number of observations:

Humpback Whale

North Atlantic Right Whale

Fin Whale

Minke Whale* (not used)

Winter

Baleen Whales Count of Observations Average or Above

Humpback Whale

North Atlantic Right Whale (incl. calving areas)

Fin Whale

Toothed Whales Count of All Observations

Sperm Whale

Pilot Whale

Risso Dolphin

Beaked Whale Group *(nu)

Kogia spp. *(not used)

Spring Summer

Toothed Whales Count of Above Average Observations

Number of observations: above the mean (>-0.5 SD)

Risso Dolphin

Sperm Whale

Pilot Whale

Dolphins: 3 Species

Common Dolphin

Bottlenose Dolphin

Stenella Dolphins

Dolphins Above Average # of Sightings (>1SD)

Common Dolphin

Bottlenose Dolphin

Stenella Dolphins

Sea Turtles Count of observations

Number of observations:

Leatherback

Hard Shelled (green, loggerhead, kemp’s ridley)

Spring & Fall

Winter

All seasons

Sea Turtles: Above Average sightings (>1 SD)

Leatherback turtle

Hardshell Turtle

• Green Sea Turtles

• Loggerhead turtle

• Kemp’s ridley

Migratory Species Portfolio

Baleen Whales: Blue

Toothed Whale: Red

Sea Turtles: Green

Dolphins: Orange

Many Groups: Black

SEASON of highest use

Baleen (W) Toothed (Sp/Su) Sea turtles (W,Sp/F) Dolphins (W/S)

Migratory Species Portfolio: HAPC

Loggerhead: Constricted Migratory Habitat

Loggerhead: Winter Critical Habitat

Right Whale Calving Ground

Loggerhead: Breeding Critical Habitat

Blue = Right Whale Green = Sea Turtles

From Jorge Brenner

Take Home Message

Mid-Atlantic key for migration of sea turtles and baleen whales, foraging of toothed whales

Shelf-slope break key for toothed whales

Inner shelf of Bight key for wintering Baleen Whales

Coral reef region key for sea turtles:

Integrated Portfolio

The Whole Picture

Not just a map: click on a cell for fish, cetaceans, sea turtles, corals, hardbottom, sediment, seabed form, depth etc. Develop conservation strategies based on the full context

Sharing the Data

The report, geodatabases, and

metadata will be made available

on the web:

www.conservationgateway.org

Providing access to partners to

share on their web portals:

- South Atlantic Fisheries

Management Council

- Governors’ South Atlantic

Alliance

- South Atlantic Landscape

Conservation Cooperative

Conservation Gateway: Story maps

Thanks to John Prince

Contact Information:

Mary Conley

mconley@tnc.org

Laura Geselbracht

lgeselbracht@tnc.org

Mark Anderson

manderson@tnc.org

Q U E S T I O N S ?

Thank You

South Atlantic LCC Updates

South Atlantic LCC Updates • Indicator revision process for this year

focused on: • Reevaluating indicators that were removed in

the last revision process due to lack of data, but now have new information available

• Improving the GIS depictions of indicators

• Potential ecosystems: • Marine • Estuarine • Freshwater aquatic • Waterscapes • Landscapes

• Sign up to participate!

• https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CLNKBDB

“Progress, challenges, and opportunities in landscape-scale decision support for freshwater

aquatic conservation”

By: Ashton Drew KDV Decision Analysis

8.20.15 @ 10am

Next South Atlantic Third Thursday Web Forum

• Join the South Atlantic LCC web community

• Connect with a staff member

• Communicate with a Steering Committee

member to get your organization involved

How to get involved in your Cooperative

www.southatlanticlcc.org

QUESTIONS? *6 to unmute