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PROGRESS REPORT GULF OF MAINE AREA PROGRAM CENSUS OF MARINE LIFE JUNE 2003 The work of the Gulf of Maine Census falls into 5 major categories: Extracting knowledge from existing data, with the principal product an electronic Dynamic Atlas of the Gulf of Maine; Reconstructing knowledge, providing support to HMAP within the Gulf of Maine; Gaining knowledge through new field studies, which are aimed at both exploration (biodiversity studies) and explanation (process studies); Communicating knowledge, including building the Gulf of Maine Biogeographic Information System (GMBIS) into a dynamic tool for exchanging distributed data sets, and creating a comprehensive technology web page; and Applying knowledge, including developing statistical techniques that will allow the combining of different surveys and time series to generate indices of biodiversity and metrics of community structure in the marine environment. Since January 2003, progress has been made on each front. 1. Dynamic Atlas of the Gulf of Maine A full draft of the Phase I product, a set of approximately 25 prototype maps to demonstrate the ways in which biological and physical data from different existing data sets can be combined to illustrate abundance, diversity, and distribution of organisms in the Gulf of Maine, is anticipated to be completed by the end of July. The map below is a preliminary example that illustrates large-scale interactions affecting distribution of a species. It compares the location of the Eastern Maine Coastal Current (represented by colder waters) to the density of Alexandrium cells in the same area, using data provided by David Townsend, University of Maine School of Marine Sciences, from his work in ECOHAB and Andrew Thomas, University of Maine School of Marine Sciences, Satellite Oceanography Data Laboratory. This interaction between the species and the current, in which the current does not enter Penobscot Bay, may help explain why there have been few PSP closures in Penobscot Bay versus points both east and west of the bay (see the second map, the Maine Dept. of Marine Resources closures). Lessons learned from the prototypes will be applied as we move to Phase II of the project, the combining of groundfish trawl survey and other data sets from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center to match similar data already in GMBIS from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans-Canada. Contracts are underway to obtain the data sets from NEFSC for incorporation into GMBIS. A Preliminary Example of Prototype Biophysical Maps Do Not Cite; Awaiting Comments Eastern Maine Coastal Current compared to the density of Alexandrium cells in the same area . PSP Closures Along the Maine Coast, Maine DMR, 1/93-8/01 Maps compiled and designed by The Island Institute and Northern Geomantics. A grant proposal to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is pending to assist with the development of the electronic Dynamic Atlas. 2. HMAP in the Gulf of Maine The Gulf of Maine Census has entered into an agreement with the University of New Hampshire HMAP center for analysis of approximately half of the 468 fishermen’s log books for Frenchman’s Bay available from the Civil War era. The analysis will contribute to providing a mid-19th century baseline for the cod population prior to mechanized fishing and scientific stock assessment and to an understanding of the geographic distribution of cod during that period. 3. New Field Studies New field studies ultimately will comprise the largest effort of the Gulf of Maine Census. To direct this effort, the program has organized a Scientific Steering Committee and identified Scientific Advisors. Four working groups, each chaired by a member of the Scientific Steering Committee, have been formed: Benthos and Demersal Nekton (Peter Auster, Univ. of Connecticut, chair); Large Predators (Scott Kraus, New England Aquarium, chair); Plankton and Pelagic Nekton (Jeffrey Runge, Univ. of New Hampshire, chair); and Microbial and Plant Communities (Mike Sieracki, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, chair). A fifth working group on Intertidal and Shallow Subtidal Communities is being formed. The working groups have begun to meet. Their tasks are to: a) b) c) d) Describe the known distribution and biodiversity of the group(s) within the program area. Describe the important ecological roles and estimate the major biogeochemical impacts on the system (e.g., biomass, production, trophic transfer, bottom up/top down influences on community structure). Describe the major causes of change in a and b. (a) Describe the extent to which a-c cannot be answered; (b) prioritize the seriousness of these deficiencies with respect to understanding and conserving regional biodiversity and enabling ecosystem-based management, and (c) recommend appropriate research. The Gulf of Maine Census’s secretariat has advised on and supported several applications for funding of field study proposals already identified as priorities. a) In the winter 2002-2003 request for proposals from NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration, 5 teams of investigators submitted letters of interest, 3 were invited to submit full proposals, and we understand that 2 have received or are negotiating some level of funding. The 2 successful projects both are in the New England Seamount chain: the second year of a joint deepwater systematics and marine mammal survey in the vicinity of Bear Seamount, and a study of four of the seamounts to determine endemicity of biodiversity and an assessment of the mechanisms that have produced the observed biodiversity. The three unsuccessful proposals dealt with protistan diversity in the Gulf of Maine, the development of optimal survey methods to synoptically count large vertebrates, squid, euphausiids and mesozooplankton and other oceanographic properties (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll)in the Gulf of Maine, and the use of high spatial resolution sensing products to classify intertidal benthic habitats. All remain high priorities for the Census. b) The Chief Scientist continues to work with the PIs of the large vertebrates project for possible submission to the National Science Foundation. c) The program is supporting an analysis of inexpensive image products derived from a commercially available 4-meter resolution sensor (Ikonos) to determine whether it can substitute for much more expensive multispectral aircraft sensors, such as the Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI), to produce classifications in intertidal and coastal zones of benthic sediment and vegetation types. If Ikonos can be shown to produce comparable images, it will greatly facilitate the work to classify intertidal and near shore benthic habitats and, we hope, lead to the funding needed for this effort. The Gulf of Maine program’s secretariat is trying to build relationships with sources of funding for competitive new field studies that support the goals of the Census of Marine Life. We have personally visited the program directors of key federal funding agencies; have cooperated with the national secretariat in drafting federal legislation recognizing the Census of Marine Life and authorizing funding of it; and have worked to develop local sources of funding that might serve as match for federal funds. For example, in cooperation with the local fishing industry, the Gulf of Maine Aquarium, and the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System, we persuaded the Maine Legislature and Maine Department of Environmental Protection to increase research dollars potentially available through the Maine Oil Spill Cleanup Fund to a quarter million dollars annually. The national recognition of Census of Marine Life as a cogent program that is incorporated into the funding philosophies and priorities of federal science and oceans agencies is the most important challenge for our pilot program. Without this recognition, it will be very difficult to open doors to the competitive funding needed by scientists in the region to carry out the field studies of the Census. 4. Building GMBIS into a Dynamic Tool for Data Exchange As an outgrowth of our agreement with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center to import data from several of its data bases into GMBIS, in March 2003 we hosted a strategy meeting among representatives of NEFSC, DFO Canada, GoMOOS, Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Program, Maine Dept. of Marine Resources, the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Coastal Observation and Analysis, the USGS, and the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment. The purpose was to determine how to meld several ongoing efforts into a single system of dynamic data exchange—and thereby advance an ocean observing system in the Gulf of Maine that truly integrates physical, biological, and geological data from multiple sources. This capability is central to the vision of GMBIS. The challenges to achieving it are in part technical and in part institutional, and agreement was reached to tackle both aspects. On the technical side, the Gulf of Maine Census is contributing to an international partnership led by GoMOOS to build an aggregation server capable of dynamic, ongoing, international, OGC-compliant exchange of geospatial habitat data (in common GIS data formats) relating to fisheries management. An initial proposal has been submitted to the Federal Geographic Data Committee (U.S.) and GeoConnections (Canada) to establish and provide access to “framework” geographic data relating to the seafloor in the Gulf of Maine. On the institutional side, the Gulf of Maine Census is helping to draft a memorandum of understanding by which the cooperating parties will agree to share data on a dynamic basis. 5. Statistical Indices The Gulf of Maine Census’s chief scientist is teaming with a UNH PI in a proposal to the Maine Sea Grant Program to develop statistically rigorous methods to integrate excisting invertebrate and fish survey data from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s trawl data base for the Gulf of Maine into meaningful indices of biodiversity. Maine Sea Grant invited a full proposal, which has been submitted. Development of appropriate statistical methods is the first step in being able to convert surveys undertaken over varying temporal and spatial scales into a unified view of biodiversity as an indicator of the status of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem.