This project will integrate information on ecosystem stressors and predator-prey interactions into the fisheries assessment and management process in the Gulf of Mexico.

This project will investigate the link between nutrients, food availability, and the survival of Atlantic bluefin tuna larvae which can be used to improve stock assessments for this commercially and recreationally important species.

This project compiled and evaluated existing information on fish spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Mexico as the basis to design a cooperative, Gulf-wide conservation and monitoring program focused on fish spawning aggregations. The investigators compiled existing biological and fisheries information for Gulf of Mexico species known or likely to form spawning aggregations and identified existing datasets and monitoring programs in the Gulf of Mexico that could inform regional monitoring of spawning aggregations.

This USGS Data Release represents geospatial and tabular data for the Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment Project. The data release was produced in compliance with the new 'open data' requirements as way to make the scientific products associated with USGS research efforts and publications available to the public. The dataset consists of 2 separate items: 1. Vulnerability assessment data for habitat and species based on expert opinion (Tabular datasets) 2. Vulnerability assessment values for species across subregions in study area (Vector GIS dataset)

This USGS Data Release represents geospatial and tabular data for the Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment Project. The data release was produced in compliance with the new 'open data' requirements as way to make the scientific products associated with USGS research efforts and publications available to the public. The dataset consists of 2 separate items: 1. Vulnerability assessment data for habitat and species based on expert opinion (Tabular datasets) 2. Vulnerability assessment values for species across subregions in study area (Vector GIS dataset)

This dataset is based on archives from the University of Miami’s high-resolution (1/50 degrees, 1.8km) configuration of the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM-HYCOM 1/50) for the year of 2015. The GoM-HYCOM 1/50 used realistic river forcing parameterization with daily river discharge obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Atmospheric forcing was from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) at 0.125-degree spatial resolution and it is nested within a Global HYCOM. The model assimilated satellite observations of sea surface temperature and sea surface height and in situ observations of temperature and salinity. The GOM-HYCOM 1/50 gives details on the fronts and filaments associated with the Mississippi River plume dynamics, as well as GoM mesoscale processes. The dataset includes the surface model fields of temperature, salinity, currents and sea surface height from the GoM-HYCOM 1/50 at 12Z along with two experimental simulations designed to study the effect of river front; Reference, noMR (without Mississippi River), and noMR_noPcip (without Mississippi River and precipitation).

To build communication, coordination, and information sharing among scientists and restoration practitioners, this project established a coastwide network from Baja California to British Columbia, the Native Olympia Oyster Collaborative. The project team synthesized past restoration projects, developed an experimental design for future research, and created educational and outreach materials that convey the importance of native oyster restoration on the Pacific coast. These efforts engaged communities in Olympia oyster restoration, provided tools to enhance future restoration outcomes, and strengthened connections among researchers and practitioners to support ongoing collaboration. This catalyst project was funded by NOAA through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative to advance collaborative science. It did not produce any new data.

This dataset is a collection of files containing the necessary inputs to, and relevant outputs from, the U.S. Gulf-wide ecosystem model, developed using the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) modeling software package. The spatial extent of the model is 25°-30.5° N and -81° to -97.3° W and hindcast simulations were run in Ecosim from 1980 (the Ecopath snapshot year) to 2016 at a monthly timestep. Input parameters for Ecopath include biomass, consumption, mortality, diet, landings, and discards for 78 functional groups included in the model. Each input or output parameter type is included as its own csv file with informative names.

The Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment (GCVA) used an expert opinion approach to qualitatively assess the vulnerability of four ecosystems: mangrove, oyster reef, tidal emergent marsh, and barrier islands, and a suite of wildlife species that depend on them. More than 50 individuals participated in the completion of the GCVA, facilitated via Ecosystem and Species Expert Teams. The GCVA made use of the Standardized Index of Vulnerability and Value Assessment (SIVVA) (Reece and Noss 2014) to provide an objective framework for evaluating vulnerability by guiding assessors through a series of questions related to the changes an ecosystem or species might experience due to climate change and other threats. Assessors used their best professional judgment, available empirical data, and numerical model outputs to complete the assessments for certain species and ecosystems. The SIVVA tool enabled the Assessment Team to then assess both the relative vulnerability of those ecosystems and species and identify the factors that most influence their vulnerability. This dataset shows the vulnerability scores of each GCVA subregion for each habitat and their associated species as well as the average vulnerability across each habitat and their associated species.