Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) casts were conducted during project cruises on July 20 - August 8, 2017 and September 17-22, 2018. Casts were conducted using remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) -mounted CTD instruments at project sampling sites located in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) at depths between 50-2200m, from De Soto Canyon to the Flower Garden Banks, and further south to Keathley Canyon. Each cast contains water downcast and upcast column profile data (conductivity, temperature, and pressure) corresponding to the descent and ascent of the ROV in each dive.

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 design, test, and put into use a decision support tool to assist resource managers and oyster farmers in optimizing oyster resources in the State of Mississippi.

This dataset includes population demographic data associated with bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus) that were collected from coral reef habitats at Pulley Ridge in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Florida Keys. The information includes individual fish data: lengths, weights, estimated fecundity, measurements of oocyte area, indices of spawning, otolith-derived ages, maturity, and fish densities derived from visual transects.

This project investigated the influence of the Mississippi River and its delta on the oceanography, ecology, and economy of the Gulf of Mexico; identified gaps in data collection, model availability and model integration that would allow managers to better sustainably manage and monitor the Gulf´s natural resources; evaluated the role of extreme events and potential climate change impacts on the oceanography, ecology and economy of the Gulf of Mexico; and disseminated the results of this work. The investigators also compiled historical outputs from physical oceanographic models to provide an overview of the Gulf of Mexico and the role of riverine and deltaic forcings. The environmental drivers that the investigators examined include variability in magnitude of Mississippi River discharge, changes in the direction of river plume, variability in coastal currents, extreme weather events (cold fronts and hurricanes), and nutrient and carbon loadings.

Deep-sea corals, also known as cold water corals, create complex communities that provide habitat for a variety of invertebrate and fish species, such as grouper, snapper, and sea bass. The map depicts the relative likelihood of finding suitable habitat for stony corals at a given location and is a prediction based on a statistical model relating several environmental characteristics to the presence of stony corals using observations of stony corals. Stony coral are the primary reef-building corals and produce hard skeletons made of aragonite, a crystal form of calcium carbonate. Please also reference the "Deep-Sea Soft Coral Habitat Suitability" layer. Predictions from these habitat suitability models can be used to support conservation and management of deep-sea corals and to assist with targeting areas for mapping and exploration.

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 project explores how oyster, blue crab, and spotted seatrout populations respond to human and environmental changes with the goal of improving the management of these economically and culturally important species.