Ecosystem Theme Introduction and Overview

1. Ecosystem ThemeIntroduction and Overview Presented by Kent H. Hughes

2. Ecosystem: Priorities and Programs Ecosystems Themes Programs (PPBES) Ecosystem Research Coral Reef Conservation Ecosystem Observations Coastal and Marine Resources Habitat Protected Species Aquaculture Enforcement Fisheries Management • Support collaborative approaches to science and management at the regional level • Understand the impacts of climate on marine ecosystems • Enhance social and ecological resilience to hazards • Protect marine and coastal resource integrity and security • Develop more robust ecosystem modeling and integrated assessment capability to serve current and future management information needs.

3. Ecosystem Research Areasfrom 5-Year Research Plan • Advance understanding of ecosystems to improve resource management • Forecasting ecosystems events • Exploring our oceans • Develop integrated ecosystems assessments and scenarios, and build capacity to support regional management

4. Priority Research Activitiesfrom NOAA’s 5-yr Research Plan Advance understanding of ecosystems to improve resource management Increase understanding of ecosystem composition, structure, function, and variability. Conduct comprehensive process studies to understand mechanisms producing patterns and to define ranges for key physical and biological parameters within ecosystem models. Understand large scale ecosystem drivers and ecological communities, including interactions among species, the physical environment, life history, and the “assembly rules” by which ecosystems are formed Establish ecosystem indicators and ascertain what, if any, thresholds and breakpoints exist within ecosystems. Study ocean phenomena to ascertain the potential for generating coastal earthquakes, tsunamies, and greenhouse gases, and the extent to which these phenomena alter existing and create new and/or unique ecosystems Develop a suite of tools for ecosystem forecasting that improves ecosystem understanding and decision making, and reduces risks to ecosystem and human health. Study links between habitat decline and condition of habitat-dependent fisheries. Map and characterize habitats and their condition. Advance biomedical and commercial applications of marine natural products. Determine the functional role of a protected species in an ecosystem context. NOAA CoastWatch / OceanWatch Coral Reef Products to Support Management of Marine Resources Globally (Eakin) Developing a Harmful Algal Bloom Prediction System for Chesapeake Bay (Brown) 4

5. Priority Research Activitiesfrom NOAA’s 5-yr Research Plan 5 • Exploring our oceans • Map and characterize poorly known key features and habitats of economic, hazardous, scientific or cultural importance in support of integrated ecosystem assessments. • Describe poorly-known or unknown communities of organisms displaying novel relationships with their environment (e.g., vents/seep communities, as well as poorly-known or unknown physical or chemical processes with global implications (e.g., deep ocean currents, chemical or greenhouse gas sources). • Discover and describe new species and new resources, both living and non-living (e.g., energy, minerals, food, bio-products). • Design, develop and utilize new methodologies and probes, sensors and systems that will increase the pace, efficiency and scope at which living and non-living resources and processes are discovered and to rapidly improve our understanding of how oceans respond to change. • NOAA CoastWatch / OceanWatch • STAR/NCBO Collaboration on Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System • Coral Reef Products to Support Management of Marine Resources Globally (Eakin) • NOAA Contributions to the OCR-VC OceanWatch (Ramachandran, et. al.)

6. Priority Research Activitiesfrom NOAA’s 5-yr Research Plan Forecasting ecosystems events Identify key indicators of both ecosystem function and human influence, with the aid of models, that need to be measured in order to characterize an ecosystem. Define time and space scales needed to capture fundamental physical and biological drivers required for forecasts. Estimate natural scales of variability regarding physical-biological coupling, food web dynamics and ecosystem production. Understand how multiple stressors interact to affect ecosystem structure and function. Develop fully integrated, spatially explicit, coupled hydrodynamic, watershed and higher trophic level models on key scales. Evaluate accuracy of model forecasts and assess impact of management decisions on resources and habitat quality. Transition validated ecological prediction systems from research to operations. Developing a Harmful Algal Bloom Prediction System for Chesapeake Bay (Brown) Satellite Observation and Model simulation of water Turbidity in the Chesapeake Bay (Liu, et. al.) 6

7. Priority Research Activitiesfrom NOAA’s 5-yr Research Plan 7 • Develop integrated ecosystems assessments and scenarios, and build capacity to support regional management • Develop integrated ecosystem assessments. • Develop risk/value evaluations of alternative ecosystem-based management strategies using assessments and ecological forecasts. • NOAA CoastWatch / OceanWatch • Coral Reef Products to Support Management of Marine Resources Globally (Eakin) • STAR/NCBO Collaboration on Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (Stengel)

8. STAR Ecosystem Presentations5-yr Research Plan • Oral: • Ocean Color Remote Sensing for Coastal Regions (Wang) • In situ Ocean Color Measurements in Chesapeake Bay for Satellite Cal/Val and Regional • Algorithm (Ondrusek) • Coral Reef Products in Support of Worldwide Management of Marine Resources (Eakin) • The Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY) – Support for Vicarious Calibration (Wang) • Developing a Harmful Algal Bloom Prediction System for Chesapeake Bay (Brown) • Phytoplankton Phenology (Vargas) • Posters: • Satellite Observations of the Seasonal Sediment Plume in Central East China Sea (Wang/Shi) • STAR/NCBO Collaboration on Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy (Stengel) • Satellite Observation and Model Simulation of Water Turbidity in the Chesapeake Bay (Liu, et.al) • Satellite-measured Interannual Variability of the Diffuse Attenuation Coefficient in the • Chesapeake Bay (Wang/Son) • Hydrologic and Water Quality Modeling of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (Meng) • The Coral Reef Watch Program (Eakin) • Mission Support - Poster: • NOA A Contributions to the OCR-VC OceanWatch: OC Gap Mitigation (Hughes/Ramachandran)