There are 28 National Estuary Programs (NEPs) in the U.S.that implement habitat protection and restoration projects with their partners. This work takes place within their study area boundaries. NEPmap contains that data from 2009 to the present.

This metadata is a brief overview of the National Environmental Research Program Tropical Ecosystems (NERP TE) Hub and a metadata parent record for all datasets and projects developed as part of this research program. The National Environmental Research Program (NERP) ran from July 2011 through to Dec 2014 and provided around $20 million each year for environmental research to improve our capacity to understand, manage and conserve Australia's unique biodiversity and ecosystems through the generation of world-class research, and its delivery to Australian environmental decision-makers and other stakeholders. The Tropical Ecosystems Hub was the largest of the five NERP Hubs with 240 scientists from five major research institutions undertaking 38 projects across North and Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait. Research addressed critical issues for management, conservation and sustainable use of the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef and its catchments, tropical rainforests including the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, and land and sea assets on which the resilient communities in the Torres Strait depend. The TE Hub also undertook a dedicated knowledge brokering and communication and engagement program to ensure information was delivered to the right people in the right way through research-user engagement and our suite of communication products and reporting tools. The NERP built on lessons learned from the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF) which concluded in 2010. The successor to the NERP is the National Environmental Science Program (NESP). Research products from the NERP TE Hub are available from the nerptropical.edu.au website and the eAtlas.

This metadata record provides a brief overview of the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity (MB) Hub. The record acts as an aggregation point for all NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub data collections and projects developed as part of this research program. The National Environmental Science Program (NESP) is a $142.5 million initiative of the federal government providing a long-term commitment to environment and climate research. The programme builds on its predecessors – the National Environmental Research Program (NERP) and the Australian Climate Change Science Programme (ACCSP) – to support decision-makers to understand, manage and conserve Australia’s environment by funding world-class biodiversity and climate science. The NESP funding program runs from July 2015 to June 2021 and provides funding for six research hubs. The Marine Biodiversity Hub is a collaborative partnership supported by funding from the Australian Government administered by the Department of the Environment's National Environmental Research Programme. The Marine Biodiversity Hub is comprised of scientists from 10 major research institutions undertaking research of Australian oceans and marine environments, including temperate coastal water quality and marine species. The Marine Biodiversity Hub is administered by the University of Tasmania, and led by Professor Nic Bax. The 4 themes of the Marine Biodiversity Hub under the NESP program include: A. Improving the management of threatened and migratory species B. Supporting management decision making C. Understanding pressures on the marine environment D. Understanding biophysical, economic and social aspects of the marine environment Research products from the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub are available from http://nespmarine.edu.au and the Australian Ocean Data Network catalogue (http://catalogue.aodn.org.au)

The e-Atlas is a website and mapping system for presenting environmental research data in an accessible form that promotes greater use of this information. It is also a data management system for preserving and encouraging reuse of this data. The e-Atlas is the primary data and knowledge repository for 38 NERP Tropical Ecosystems Hub projects, 6 Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program projects and historically, the Marine and Tropical Science Research Facility. This project will: Document (website and metadata), capture (repository) and visualise (mapping services) research outcomes of all NERP TE Hub projects in a readily accessible manner following the NERP TE Data Management Guidelines. These products will be made available in standard services (WMS, WFS, ISO19115, etc) following the National Plan for Environment Information (NPEI). Develop visualisations for all NERP TE Hub spatial and non-spatial data and make them available in a manner suitable for fostering research collaboration and to develop key datasets for use by environmental managers and policy makers. Expand the range of reference datasets in the e-Atlas that complement available research data as well as maintain and upgrade existing content in the e-Atlas (MTSRF data). Develop a Torres Strait e-Atlas that will make available Torres Strait content from NERP TE research, TSRA data and priority historical CSIRO data. This project will also develop a baselayer for the Torres Strait community based on Landsat imagery, QLD government aerial imagery, TSRA data and the development of a reef's dataset. Develop the e-Atlas systems (mapping system, data processing tools, metadata system and website) to best meet the needs of the end users.

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) is a network of protected areas established for long-term research, education and stewardship. This partnership program between NOAA and the coastal states protects more than one million acres of estuarine land and water, which provides essential habitat for wildlife; offers educational opportunities for students, teachers and the public; and serves as living laboratories for scientists.

The rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) in 2004 increased the number and extent of ‘no-take’ areas within the Park. This project surveys pairs of reefs, one in a ‘no-take’ or green zone and the other a similar reef where fishing is allowed (blue zone), in five regions of the GBRMP. Green and blue zones will be surveyed for the abundance and size of fishery species, particularly coral trout, as well as wider effects on coral reef communities. The results of reef surveys will be used to: Track dynamics of populations of target fish species and by-catch species, such as reef sharks. Track indirect effects of protection from fishing in terms of populations of non-target fish species. Since many exploited species are carnivorous, differences in their numbers may in turn affect the abundance of their prey (and potentially cause more extensive “trophic cascades”) as well as other community components that are related to resilience such as numbers of herbivorous fishes. Track potential ecosystem effects of protection from fishing, such as increased coral recruitment and coral cover due to increased herbivorous fish numbers, and reduced incidence of coral disease (due to lower numbers of coral-feeding butterflyfishes inside no-take areas)