Planning for Actionable Science in the Gulf of Mexico–Part 2 of 4 in NOAA’s RESTORE Science Program Seminar Series: Planning for Actionable Science in the Gulf of Mexico

Title: Planning for Actionable Science in the Gulf of Mexico”Part 2 of 4 in NOAA’s RESTORE Science Program Seminar Series: Planning for Actionable Science in the Gulf of Mexico

Presenter(s): Kelly Darnell, PhD, Associate Research Professor and Director, University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory; Savanna Barry, PhD, Regional Specialized Extension Agent, Florida Sea Grant and UF/IFAS ExtensionLocation: Webinar

Sponsor(s): NOAA RESTORE Science Program and NOAA’s National Ocean Service Science Seminar Series

Seminar Contact(s): Varis.Ransi@noaa.gov

Remote Access: Register at https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/darnell_barry/event/registration.htmlthis link opens in a new window You may enter the webinar via a browser or the Adobe Connect app (download herethis link opens in a new window). Test your ability to use Adobe Connect herethis link opens in a new window. After the webinar, a link to the recording will be posted online.

Abstract: In 2023, 10 projects were funded by the NOAA RESTORE Science Program’s Actionable Science competition to conduct previously planned research in the Gulf of Mexico. Though each project conducted a collaborative planning process prior to receiving this funding, that process varied greatly from team to team. This seminar series will highlight the variety of approaches to planning applied research that were taken by each team. Planning activities include holding workshops to convene interested parties, conducting preliminary research to identify research gaps, and building relationships among team members to support better communication throughout the project. Join this series to hear lessons learned from teams that have prioritized collaborative processes in their research planning.Presentation 1: Co-producing science to maximize benefits of large-scale ecosystem restoration of the Chandeleur Islands, LA through the protection and enhancement of seagrass habitat. The Chandeleur Islands are a hotspot for plant and animal diversity in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The islands support the only marine seagrass beds in Louisiana, which grow along the shallow, protected side of the islands. The Chandeleur Islands are disappearing and, without targeted restoration, are projected to transition to a shoal by 2037 primarily due to inadequate sand supply, sea level rise, and feedback processes resulting from the passage of major storms. The project team is using a co-production framework to collect spatially and temporally explicit data for seagrasses at population and landscape levels, conduct responsive sampling to determine disturbance impacts, and build on existing numerical models to better connect the physical and biological systems and assess seagrass resilience capacity. The project will provide guidance for restoration of the Chandeleur Islands and will inform a long-term monitoring and adaptive management plan. Findings and products are expected to include spatially discrete data and species distribution maps of historic, current, and potential seagrass cover under a range of conditions, as well as a list of recommended seagrass restoration success criteria.Presentation 2: Seagrass Conservation through Actionable Research: Management Areas for the Prevention of Scarring. Damage to seagrasses by propeller scarring in aquatic preserves of Florida’s Nature Coast is a growing issue that is of increasing concern to managers and stakeholders. A recent stakeholder workshop series resulted in a management plan for the newly designated Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve. Stakeholders repeatedly identified propeller scars as a priority issue by outlining at least 10actionable strategies related to propeller scarring and seagrass protection in the plan. At the same time, the for-hire fishing sector raised concerns regarding the intensification of propeller scarring within the adjacent St. Martins Marsh Aquatic Preserve. This led to a co-produced feasibility study that identified trends in fishing and boating pressure, tested processes for mapping scarring hotpots, and outlined policy options and research needs for addressing propeller scarring. These collaborative scoping efforts identified a suite of possible management actions, but managers lack the data needed to inform specifically how and where to act. The SCAR MAPS project recently funded through the RESTORE Science Program’s Actionable Science call will collect geographic, biological, logistical, and socioeconomic data to pair with stakeholder guidance through a co-production model to address data gaps and enable multiple decisions and management actions to move forward. Our team will collaborate with managers and stakeholders to produce products such as updated propeller scar maps, recommendations for economically and ecologically optimized spatial zoning, and a restoration plan for the most severely scarred seagrass flats.

Bio(s): Dr. Kelly Darnell is an Associate Research Professor at The University of Southern Mississippi and Director of USM’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, MS. She leads a research team that addresses questions related to the biology and ecology of coastal vegetated systems, in particular seagrasses. She has worked with seagrass ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico for more than 20years.Dr. Savanna Barry has served as a Regional Specialized Extension Agent with Florida Sea Grant and UF/IFAS Extension since2016. She earned her M.S. in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences through the University of Florida, splitting her time between Gainesville, FL and Little Cayman Island. After completing her MS, she moved back to Gainesville full-time to continue into a PhD program at the University of Florida, where she did her dissertation work in the beautiful seagrass meadows of the southern Nature Coast. She is stationed full-time at the Nature Coast Biological Station in Cedar Key, Florida.