MBNMS Research Program: Current Activities February 2001

Mission

Providing information for resource management in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) 

Approach

Determining information gaps, developing and participating in collaborations to study issues, and interpreting research to decision makers 

Components

• Facilitating collaboration between research groups in the MBNMS region
• Assessing "Sanctuary Health" with long-term monitoring programs
• Addressing research issues of resource management concern
• Interpreting research information for decision makers, including the public 

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Contents

• Staff
• Facilities and Equipment
• Priority Goals for the year 2001
• Ongoing Projects to Facilitate Collaboration Between Research Groups in the MBNMS Region
• Ongoing Projects to Assess "Sanctuary Health" with Monitoring Programs
• Ongoing Projects to Address Research Issues of Resource Management Concern
• Ongoing Efforts in Interpreting Information to Decision Makers

Staff

Facilities and Equipment 

• Monterey office space
• Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) office space and lab use
• Geographic Information System (GIS)
• Extensive web site and internet offerings
• NOAA Ship McArthur
• NOAA Lake Amphibian Plane
• Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Small boats

Priority goals for the year 2001 

• Begin implementing a Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN)
• Expand Beach COMBERS monitoring program to Cambria region
• Develop a demonstration GIS project in collaboration with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) to visually summarize data streams from monitoring programs
• Update the MBNMS Scientific Research Plan

Ongoing Projects to Facilitate Collaboration Between Research Groups in the MBNMS Region 

• Coordinating 8 MBNMS Research Activities Panel meetings per year
  • Meetings include a host presentation on the latest developments at their facility, presentations on current science topics, advice to MBNMS staff on research issues, networking opportunities for multi-disciplinary studies, and informational updates
• Serving on various science related committees
  • Monterey Bay Crescent Ocean Research Consortium
  • Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve Advisory Committee
  • Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve Research Sub-Committee
  • Elkhorn Slough Enhancement Program Advisory Team
  • City of Pacific Grove Pt. Pinos Research Committee
  • Central Coast Joint Data Committee
  • Big Creek Marine Ecological Reserve Research Advisory Committee
  • Southern California Rocky Shore Intertidal Monitoring Network Science Panel
  • Elkhorn Slough Sea Otter Interactions and Boating Committee
  • California Habitat Mapping Network
• Co-Facilitating the MLML Phycology/Marine Ecology group
  • Fortnightly meetings with Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and U.C. Santa Cruz graduate students to develop research projects and discuss scientific literature
• Coordinating and/or responding to events such as oil spills and harmful algal blooms
• Maintaining research related e-mail List Serves
  • MBNMS Research Activity Panel
  • MBNMS Research Interests
  • Sanctuary Currents Symposium
  • Beach COMBERS
  • California Marine Mammal Issues
  • California Marine Bird Issues
  • Central California Harmful Algal Blooms 

Ongoing Projects to Assess "Sanctuary Health" with Monitoring Programs 

• Implementing a multi-disciplinary, multi-institution ecosystem monitoring plan (SIMoN) for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
  • Project Collaborators:
    • All research institutions in the region
• Continuing an assessment of marine mammal and bird community structure in the Monterey Bay
  • Project Collaborators:
    • U.C. Santa Cruz
    • Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
    • Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
• Kelp canopy monitoring with aerial photography, and hyperspectral surveys to map and monitor kelp and other habitats
  • Project Collaborators:
    • California Department of Fish and Game
    • Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
• Monitoring pinniped populations with aerial surveys
  • Project Collaborators:
    • Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS)
    • Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
• Monitoring beachcast seabirds and marine mammals, and tar and oil deposition
  • Project Collaborators:
    • Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
    • California Department of Fish and Game
    • Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
• Assessment of long-term change on the rocky shores of Pt. Pinos
  • Project Collaborators:
    • The city of Pacific Grove
    • The Packard Foundation
    • TENERA, Inc.
• Monitoring other rocky shore long-term monitoring sites
  • Project Collaborators:
    • U.C. Santa Cruz
    • Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
• Assessment of biological and physical changes in Elkhorn Slough
  • Project Collaborators:
    • Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (ESNERR)
    • Elkhorn Slough Foundation

Ongoing Projects to Address Research Issues of Resource Management Concern 

• Seafloor mapping projects
  • Project Collaborators:
    • U.S. Geological Survey
    • California Department of Fish and Game
    • California State University Monterey Bay
• Characterizing the macroinvertebrates on the MBNMS continental shelf
  • Project Collaborators:
    • Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
    • U.S. Geological Survey
    • EPA
• Determining seabird health by comparing necropsy results from gillnet by-catch and beach cast samples
  • Project Collaborators:
    • National Marine Fisheries Service
    • California Department of Fish and Game
    • Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
• Assessing the geographic range and impacts of the introduced green crab in the west coast estuaries
  • Project Collaborators:
    • U.C. Davis
• Assessing tidal erosion and marsh loss in Elkhorn Slough
  • Project Collaborators:
    • Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (ESNERR)
    • Elkhorn Slough Foundation
• Assessing correlation of whale distribution with oceanographic conditions and seafloor topography
  • Project Collaborators:
    • U.C. Santa Cruz
    • Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
    • Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
• Modeling of the coastal upwelling ecosystem within the MBNMS with high spatial and temporal resolution to simulate the observed seasonal and interannual variations in physical oceanographic forcing and the chemical and biological consequences
  • Project Collaborators:
    • Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
    • Jet Propulsion Lab
    • U.C. Los Angeles
    • U.C. Santa Cruz
    • Navy Postgraduate School
    • HOBI Labs
    • Naval Research Laboratory Stennis Space Center
    • University of Maine
    • Duke University
• Developing best management practices to reduce the number of introduced species invasions into sanctuaries via ship ballast waters
  • Project Collaborators:
    • Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
    • Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (ESNERR)
    • Elkhorn Slough Foundation
• Characterizing geology in MBNMS related to potential impacts of laying communication cables
  • Project Collaborators:
    • Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
    • U.S. Geological Survey
• Assessing impacts from cooling water discharge offshore of Moss Landing Harbor and Elkhorn Slough from the Duke Power Plant Outfall
• Characterizing submerged cultural resources in the MBNMS
  • Project Collaborators:
    • Underwater Archaeological Consortium
• Updating the NOAA/CDFG habitat sensitivity maps to determine the distribution of Sanctuary resources (e.g. elephant seal rookery sites and population sizes of various species) and for oil spill response

Ongoing Efforts in Interpreting Information to Decision Makers 

• Working with California Department of Fish and Game and the Sanctuary Advisory Council to develop a management plan for the giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
• Providing scientific information on the geology and marine biology associated with Cal Trans road maintenance on the Big Sur coast
• Providing a demonstration GIS project in collaboration with ESRI to visually summarize data streams from monitoring programs
• Determine migration patterns of leatherback turtles originating in Monterey Bay for management information of endangered species
• Assisting in the development of the MBNMS Ecosystem Observations Annual Report
• Updating the MBNMS Site Characterization
• Maintaining current web based information on the MBNMS Research Program, including technical reports
• Participating in a Sanctuary Currents Symposium to present science to the public
• Presenting MBNMS research at regional community seminars
• Assisting with hazardous materials spill response and planning
• Supporting the MBNMS Education, Resource Protection and Program support Teams with daily information exchange.