Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary: Connectivity

Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary: Connectivity; Bibliography

Rowley, Katie

United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research,

NOAA Central Library

United States, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,

Coral Reef Conservation Program (U.S.)

United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research,

NOAA Central Library

United States, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,

Coral Reef Conservation Program (U.S.)

2020

Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS) protects 22 square miles of ocean off the coast of Sapelo Island, Georgia. The vibrant live bottom reef provides habitat for hundreds of ecologically and economically important species. Given the relatively small size of the sanctuary, its biological community is likely dependent on the site’s ecological connectivity (the exchange of organisms among populations and locations) to other locations. It is also likely that the sanctuary provides a source of organisms to other areas in the region, making it an important part of the larger ecosystem.

Given the importance of connectivity to GRNMS, the 2014 GRNMS Management Plan outlined an objective to evaluate potential areas outside GRNMS that may have connectivity with GRNMS and may benefit from increased protection. The first step in evaluating this connectivity is to review and synthesize existing knowledge related to ecological connectivity at Gray's Reef in terms of physical oceanographic processes, phyto- and zooplankton distribution, Sargassum, eggs and larvae of invertebrates and fish, reef and demersal fish species, highly migratory species (including coastal sharks, tuna, and billfish), reptiles, and marine mammals. Thus, this annotated bibliography serves as an important supplement to previous reviews on this subject and a vital contribution to the analysis of ecological connectivity at GRNMS.

Bibliography

Coral reef conservation

Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary (Ga.)

Habitat conservation

North Atlantic Ocean

Georgia

United States

OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)

NCRL (NOAA Central & Regional Libraries)

CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System)

Bibliography

NCRL subject guide ; 2020-01

Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS) protects 22 square miles of ocean off the coast of Sapelo Island, Georgia. The vibrant live bottom reef provides habitat for hundreds of ecologically and economically important species. Given the relatively small size of the sanctuary, its biological community is likely dependent on the site’s ecological connectivity (the exchange of organisms among populations and locations) to other locations. It is also likely that the sanctuary provides a source of organisms to other areas in the region, making it an important part of the larger ecosystem.

Given the importance of connectivity to GRNMS, the 2014 GRNMS Management Plan outlined an objective to evaluate potential areas outside GRNMS that may have connectivity with GRNMS and may benefit from increased protection. The first step in evaluating this connectivity is to review and synthesize existing knowledge related to ecological connectivity at Gray's Reef in terms of physical oceanographic processes, phyto- and zooplankton distribution, Sargassum, eggs and larvae of invertebrates and fish, reef and demersal fish species, highly migratory species (including coastal sharks, tuna, and billfish), reptiles, and marine mammals. Thus, this annotated bibliography serves as an important supplement to previous reviews on this subject and a vital contribution to the analysis of ecological connectivity at GRNMS.

2020

OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)

NCRL (NOAA Central & Regional Libraries)

CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System)

Submitted

https://doi.org/10.25923/de2s-qm19

Public Domain

1877

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/22757

https://doi.org/10.25923/de2s-qm19