National Ocean Service

About: National Ocean Service is a government organization based out in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Algal bloom & Population. The organization has 500 authors who have published 643 publications receiving 46096 citations.

Evaluating the Effects of a Deep-Water Marine Protected Area a Decade After Closure: A Multifaceted Approach Reveals Equivocal Benefits to Reef Fish Populations

Abstract: Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly used to rebuild fish populations. In 2009, eight MPAs were designated off the southeast United States with the goal of rebuilding populations of long-lived deep-water reef fishes. We tested whether reef fish within the largest of these MPAs, the Snowy Wreck Marine Protected Area (SWMPA), have increased in size and abundance relative to a nearby control area and compared to pre-closure. Hurdle models fitted through Bayesian inference on echosounder data collected in 2007-2009 and 2018-2020 yielded no evidence of an MPA effect. Comparisons of catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of all reef fishes yielded similar null results. However, CPUE of reef species with formal stock assessments increased 47% in the SWMPA and decreased 50% in the control area. We found significant increases in mean length of red porgy (Pagrus pagrus) inside the SWMPA but not in the control area. We also found community composition changes, including shifts away from groupers (Serranidae; Epinephelinae) and towards snappers (Lutjanidae) and tilefish (Malacanthidae) in both areas, though we did not detect an MPA effect with this analysis. Our equivocal results indicate that more time and stricter enforcement may be necessary before more biological effects of the SWMPA can be detected.

Introduction to the NOAA Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Program: Advancing Ecosystem Based Management

Abstract: In the marine science community of practice, the concept of ecosystem-based management (EBM) is a management strategy that incorporates the entire ecosystem, including humans, into resource managem

Toward a nowcast/forecast system for water levels in the Chesapeake Bay

Abstract: The Model for Estuarine and Coastal Circulation Assessment (MECCA) is currently being used in an experimental nowcast/forecast scheme aimed at enhancing National Ocean Service predictions of water level within the Chesapeake Bay. Winds and water levels observed at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBDT) are used in combination with winds observed at Thomas Point Light to produce a twice daily nowcast of the water level within the bay. These nowcasts provide initial conditions for forecast runs as well as providing water level information throughout the bay rather than lust at tide gauge locations. Tests of predictive capabilities have included driving MECCA with forecasts of subtidal water level at the open boundary and forecast wind fields that will be available operationally. The quality of the water level forecast is highly dependent upon the accuracy of both the open boundary condition and windfield forcing conditions.