CCMA: Biogeography: Ecological Characterization of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

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Ecological Characterization of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Ecological Characterization of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

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Objectives

CCMA’s Biogeography Branch (BB) and Coastal Oceanographic Assessment, Status and Trends (COAST), in collaboration with the National Marine Sanctuaries Program (NMSP), conducted an ecological characterization of the marine region surrounding Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS). The work was designed to:

Support the management plan review process currently underway at the Sanctuary; and
Provide baseline data for long-term monitoring and management decision making.

Select biological and physical datasets of the region were assembled into a GIS that will be used, in part, to inform discussions relating to the management plan review process. Additional datasets were obtained, evaluated and integrated into a biogeographic analysis of the Sanctuary and surrounding environs with the goal of identifying areas of ecological importance. The characterization consists of three complementary components: a text report; a suite of quantitative spatial and statistical analyses that characterize physical, contaminant, and biological patterns within SBNMS; and an extensive geodatabase of all spatial, temporal, derived, and primary datasets used to conduct the characterization.

Project Summary

The SBNMS extends from Cape Ann to Cape Cod across the mouth of Massachusetts Bay. Its 843 square miles encompass diverse topographic features, including the submerged areas of Stellwagen Bank and Basin, Tillies Bank and Basin, and the southern portion of Jeffrey's Ledge. Due to its varied seafloor topography and high primary productivity, the area is utilized by diverse assemblages of seabirds, endangered marine mammals, invertebrates, and fish species. It is a region of cultural significance, highlighted by the recent discoveries of several historic shipwrecks. The Sanctuary was designated in 1992 in order to better protect these and other unique biological, geological, oceanographic and cultural features of the region.

The NMSP is currently undertaking the first review of the SBNMS management plan since designation in 1992. No new regulations have been added since designation, but the information base on the natural resources of the sanctuary has widened due to technological advancements and increased research activity in the region. This characterization will take advantage of new spatial data sets that have recently become available.

The report and associated datasets are the results of a series of science-based ecological studies that together offer a regional characterization of the Gulf of Maine based on the coupling of physical-chemical-biological processes. These results have demonstrated to be a valuable tool in advancing scientific knowledge and identifying gaps in the understanding of many complex processes that dictate the overall ecosystem dynamics of the Gulf of Maine.

Click image to enlarge
Fish community species richness of the Gulf of Maine (NMFS Trawl Surveys, 1970-1994)	Total-Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments, June, 2004	Sea surface current models paired with sea surface temperature (University of Massachusetts)
Image credits: Biogeography Branch