The Coastal Ecology program at
CCEHBR provides expertise in marine ecology, including multiple research
thrust areas, to support nationwide efforts aimed at assessing and predicting changes
in the quality of coastal ecosystems in relation to both human and natural influences.
The program seeks to identify and find solutions to environmental problems associated
with a variety of stressors that undermine the health and survival of valuable living
coastal resources.
This capability is intended to complement related coastal monitoring
and forecasting activities within
CCEHBR and other parts of
NCCOS and to help provide
NOAA with a sound scientific basis to achieve important national
strategic goals such as sustaining healthy coastal ecosystems, building sustainable
fisheries, and recovering protected species.
Goals
- Develop indicators and other diagnostic tools for assessing and predicting biological
responses to natural and human-induced stressors in coastal ecosystems.
- Conduct research to help evaluate and protect the health of managed habitats and
species.
- Conduct comprehensive coastal ecosystem assess¬ments, using multiple indicators,
to assess the status of ecological condition and stressor impacts on local to national
scales and to provide baselines for determining how conditions may be changing with
time in response to various drivers and pressures
- Provide scientifically sound information to support coastal management priorities
such as ecosystem approaches to management (EAM), integrated ecosystem assessments
(IEAs), marine spatial planning (MSP), and assessing and forecasting the impacts
of key human and natural stressors including chemical and microbial pollutants,
land and resource use conflicts, invasive species, extreme natural events, and climate
change.
- Promote the use of related products from these efforts in coastal management deci¬sion
making, scientific research, educa¬tion, and public outreach through presen¬tation
of results in reports, publications, symposia, public meetings, Internet-based web
sites, and other effective forums.
- Assist NOAA in demonstrating the benefits of performing science through partnerships
and fulfilling its goal of creating a stronger regional focus for science, products,
and services.
Capabilities
- Marine benthic ecology (including field sampling and sample processing).
- Multi-parameter based ecological assessments to support NOAA and other national
coastal management priorities (e.g., EAM, IEAs, MSP, various place-based and stressor-based
research needs).
- Ecological statistical analysis.
- GIS-based data analysis and products.
- Development of multi-metric benthic indices of biotic integrity and related ecological
indicators for assessing and predicting impacts of natural and human stressors in
coastal ecosystems.
- Field sampling support for coastal monitoring and assessment studies.
- Acoustical studies of marine mammal and fish populations.
- Deep-sea coral ecology and stressor impacts.
Staff
To view a list of the staff in this program, visit the staff listing.
Projects
- Development of environmental indicators for assessing and mitigating risks of stressor
impacts in coastal ecosystems. [NCCOS National Project Database #02E00037 ].
- NOAA National Benthic Inventory. [NCCOS National Project Database #02E00041].
- Status and trends in benthic communities and habitat quality at Gray’s Reef National
Marine Sanctuary and nearby shelf waters. [NCCOS National Project Database #02E00042].
- Regional assessments of ecosystem condition and stressor impacts in U.S. coastal
ocean waters (inclusive of National Marine Sanctuaries). [NCCOS National Project
Database #07E00082].
- Evaluation of critical offshore habitats and their susceptibility to fishing/harvest
Impacts at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. [NCCOS National Project
Database #04E00056].
- Evaluation of effects of bottom trawling on benthic habitats in National Marine
Sanctuaries along the central California coast. [NCCOS National Project Database
#06E00078].
- Assessments of ecosystem condition and stressor impacts at National Estuarine Research
Reserve System (NERRS) sites. [NCCOS National Project Database #06E00079].
- Application of underwater acoustics and GIS to estimate fish abundance, spawning
activity, and marine mammal activity within protected and sensitive coastal areas.
[NCCOS National Project Database #04E00065].