National Coral Reef Institute NCRI:

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National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI)
Functions, Activities, Accomplishments
Relationships to NOAA

Dr. Richard Dodge, Exec. Dir.
Dr. Bernhard Riegl, Assoc Research Dir.
Wendy Wood, Admin. Coordinator
Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center
Hawaii CSCOR Meeting, June 23, 2009
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• Enrollment of over 26,000
• 1 in Nation for Hispanic AA postGrad
• Largest Priv.in SE US, 6th in the Nation
• 300-acre Main Campus
• 16 Academic Divisions
• Over 363,000,000 budget
• Local, National, International Programs

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NSU Oceanographic Center

• Established in 1966, Ft. Lauderdale
• Oceanographic research (Physical/Biological)
• 4 MS 1 PhD Program
• 10 acres Adj. to Port Everglades entrance
• Ready access to oceans reefs
• RESEARCH INSTITUTES GHRI NCRI

Port Everglades Intracoastal Waterway
Coast Guard
NSU Oceanographic Center
Park
US Navy
The Mission of the Oceanographic Center is to
carry out innovative, basic, and applied research
and to provide high-quality, graduate and
undergraduate education in a broad range of
marine-science.
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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

• NCRI Mission/Vision, Consistency w/ NOAA
• Organization Function
• Priorities and Accomplishments
• Active, Management Driven Research
• Assessment, Monitoring, Restoration
• Alignment towards NOAA
• Regional ecosystem approach CRCP Roadmap
• Products / Tools used by resource managers
• Predictive outcomes
• Partnerships Collaborations Local, Regional,
  National, International
• Communications

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At Oceanographic Center
1998 Background
Congressional Support for the Establishment of a
National Coral Reef Institute to Conduct Research
on Coral Reef Assessment, Mitigation, Monitoring,
and Restoration.
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is helping to meet the goals objectives of
the USCRTF. to implement the NAP, and to be
consistent with NOAA, CSCOR, CRCP
Mission

• ID Gaps Constraints in Reef Knowledge
• Hypothesis-Based Science
• Management-Driven Research
• Tools Prediction
• Process-Seeking
• Local, Regional National Reef Ecosystems
• Assess, Monitor, Restore
• Collaborations, Partners, Leveraging

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Consistency Contribution

• NOAAS VISION comprehensive understanding of
  the role of the oceansin the global ecosystem to
  make the best social and economic decisions.
• NOAAS MISSION understand and predict changes
  in the Earths environment conserve and manage
  coastal and marine resources to meet our Nations
  economic, social, and environmental needs.
• NOAA, NCCOS, CSCOR, CRCP priorities
• Processes responsible for decline in coral reef
  ecosystems Strategies to reverse degradation
  Management information tools
• CRCP Roadmap
• Climate Change, LBSP, Fisheries Impacts

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Organization

• NCRI Executive Director
• NCRI Associate Research Director
• NCRI Administrative Coordinator
• NSU Office of Grants Contracts
• Researcher Scientists
• Faculty Staff
• Graduate students
• NCRI Fellow
• Management Advisory Committee (to insure
  management relevance) NOAA, State, Local
• External Research TAC (TD,PG,MR,IM)
• Extramural Funding RFP, Peer Review, Decision
• Internal/External Consultation Review
• Consultation with NOAA Program Management/Contrac
  t Officer

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Overview of Research Activities

• Priorities and Accomplishments
• Active Management Driven Research
• Assessment, Monitoring, Restoration
• Interwoven with
• Regional ecosystem approach
• Products / Tools used by resource managers
• Predictive outcomes
• Partnerships Collaborations
• Communications

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Mapping as Management TOOLS Characterize reef
ecosystems past,present,future
Ecosystem Assessment
Accuracy 85
Regional to Global Fla to Saudi Arabia
Acropora Habitat
EXAMPLES gt
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Fly Thru of SE Florida Reefs via Laser Bathymetry
Ecosystem Assessment
Coral Reef Mapping
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Large-Scale Morphology to Small-Scale Community
Patterns Satellite, Laser, Acoustic, In situ
(Collaborative)
Ecosystem Assessment
FLORIDA
Vieques, PR
Martin Palm Beach Broward Dade Monroe St.
Johns River
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Ecosystem Assessment
Determining extent and characterizing condition
of existing reef resources
Martin Palm Bch Broward Dade Monroe

• Benthic habitat maps for southeast Florida
• SEFCRI Projects 6-10 Land-Based Sources of
  Pollution

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Ecosystem Assessment

• The Hybrid Mapping Tool
• (HMT)

Sam Purkis, Kevin Kohler, Steve Rohmann

• Marine terrestrial apps
• Significantly reduces imagery to maps
• Mimics manual digitization
• Reproducable
• Mathematical basis
• Paradigm shift in mapping

Accuracy Assessment (Keys) Riegl, Walker, Rohman
Recent NOAA Mapping News
Another Assessment Topic ?
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AssessmentNCRI GENETICS Assessment of Genetic
Connectivity in the Florida Reef Tract
Application to MPA Design
Ecosystem Assessment
Brooding/Broadcasting Cryptic Species
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TOOLs Molecular Forensics
Ecosystem Assessment
Stemming the Fin Trade with DNA Species IDs
Partnership with NOAA Enforcement
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Ecosystem Assessment
Genetic evidence Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus
narinari) NOT one species globally

• Large coral reef predator
• Worldwide distribution
• Described as ONE species
• IUCN Vulnerable due to overfishing

BUT

• ? DNA evidence shows
• multiple species complex
• even smaller populations of component species
• greater conservation concern

Richards et al. 2009. J. Heredity.
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NCRI MONITORING
Ecosystem Monitoring

• Monitoring for
• Prediction
• what good is monitoring, if it doesnt give us a
  tool to improve the situation? (BR)
• Static monitoring results (transects) into
  dynamic population models
• Static spatial information (maps) into dynamic
  community succession models

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Ecosystem Monitoring
Martin
3
5
SECREMP
Palm Beach
North Extension to Southeast Florida

• South Florida

(Collaborative with Florida DEP, FWC, FWRI, SFCRI)
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Broward
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Dade
Monroe
FKNMS Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring
Project (CREMP)
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Video Transects
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SE Florida MonitoringBeach Renourishment other
Ecosystem Monitoring

• TOOLS
• Fisheries Prediction Model based on
  historical census
• Visual Histological Indicators of Coral
  Stress Thresholds

Benthic Habitats
Fish
Acropora cervicornis
Sediments
Recent ESA Listing Spatial/Recovery Info
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Management TOOLS Coral Point Count w/Excel
(CPCe)SOFTWARE Ver.3.6-Feb-09
Monitoring

• 3000 users, 40 countries
• gt60 lit. citations
• 2 Excel sheets
• Area analysis
• Off 07 Vista compatible

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Ecosystem Monitoring
NCRI Monitoring Network
TOOLS
1) Combine Sat. In situ Monitoring Data with
CPCe tool to track stage - transitions in
monitoring sites
2) Parameterize stage- based transition model
3) Evaluate key Population parameters for
forecasting PREDICTION
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Monitoring Assessment
Ecosystem Monitoring
Calcification and Climate Change
Sclerochronology, Data Extraction Comparison
Paleo Temperature, climate, CO2
AmSam NOAA NCRI
TOOLS X-Ray Densitometry Software
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Coral Nurseries Research Restoration
(Collaborative w/Broward Co.EPD, NFWF,
OWFAcropora with TNC) In Water
Ecosystem Restoration
RESTORATION
TOOL Corals for restoration of resource injury
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Restoration
Land-Based
Reef Restoration Lab Reared Corals
Coral Aquaculture Facility Planned
Larvae collection
Lab settle
Growout
Coral STIMULATION
Transplant
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Restoration Hypothesis Design and Monitoring
(Collaborative w/many)
Ecosystem Restoration
Studies (fish, transplants, inverts,
recruitment) Florida, WB GEF RRWG Mexico Palau
TOOL Repairing Resource Injury
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500 m2
Ecosystem Restoration
TOOL VISUAL HEA SOFTWARE
1936.8
100

• Registered Users
• 44 Academic
• 49 Govt
• 60 Other

75
L
50
25
2106
2006
2206
100
Predicting Compensatory Restoration for Resource
Trustees!
75
50
G
25
2007
2032
2000
2050
2100
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Ecosystem Restoration
TOOL
Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative
(SEFCRI) Workshop Feb. 2006 Guidelines June
2007
Gouge
RESTORATION
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NCRI Partnerships Leveraging
Ecosystem Assessment, Monitoring, Restoration

• NOAA
• CSCOR CRCP CCMA
• Paleoclimate Mapping Forensics / Law
  Enforcement NMFS
• DOI
• USGS (drilling, mapping)
• NPS (mapping, monitoring, conservation planning)
• Coast Guard -Anchorage
• State of Florida
• DEP, FWC-FWRI, SFCRI LAS, St.Johns River WMD,
  Hillsboro Inlet Navigation District
• Counties
• Broward, Miami-Dade, PB, Martin, Brevard, Indian
  River. St. Lucie
• NGO WWF, PERSGA, IUCN, WBGEF
• Private Industry
• IYOR

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NCRI Publications Communications
Education, Outreach, Community Service
1999International ConferencePublished

• Publications (peer-review)
• Technical Reports
• ContributeNOAA Status US Coral Reefs
• Coral Reefs of the USA Book
• 11thICRS Proceedings

2008
275 papers 2 vols 600pp
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• IYOR KEYSTONE EVENT
• Largest Coral Reef Meeting in World
• Science,Conservation,Management OUTCOMES
• On behalf of USCRTF Thank You!
• 3,500 attended, 75 countries
• MEDIA (550 stories)
• CALL to ACTION
• www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs
• /calltoaction.html
• Proceedings Reefbase Hard

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THANK YOU!
Function, Activities Accomplishments, Relation
to NOAA, Ecosystem Approach

R Dodge, B. Riegl, W.Wood, Ken Ma
Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center
National Coral Reef Institute
Hawaii CSCOR Meeting, June 23, 2009
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Some Questions For NOAANOAAs budget?NOAAs
Cuba initiative?NIST?COE in CRES?
Hawaii CSCOR Meeting, June 23, 2009