Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species: 2010-2014

Personal Author: Palka DL; Chavez-Rosales S; Josephson E; Cholewiak D; Haas HL; Garrison L; Jones M; Sigourney D; Waring G; Jech M; Broughton E; Soldevilla M; Davis G; DeAngelis A; Sasso CR; Winton MV; Smolowitz RJ; Fay G; LaBrecque E; Leiness JB; Dettloff; Warden M; Murray K; Orphanides C

Publication Title: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species: 2010-2014

Subject: Marine Biodiversity
Birds; Marine Mammals; Sea Turtles
marine mammals; whales; sea turtles; survey; Atlantic

CSE Reference: Palka DL, Chavez-Rosales S, Josephson E, Cholewiak D, Haas HL, Garrison L, Jones M, Sigourney D, Waring G, Jech M, Broughton E, Soldevilla M, Davis G, DeAngelis A, Sasso CR, Winton MV, Smolowitz RJ, Fay G, LaBrecque E, Leiness JB, Dettloff, Warden M, Murray K, Orphanides C (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole, MA and Key Biscayne, FL, and US Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, MD). 2017. Atlantic marine assessment program for protected species: 2010–2014. Sterling (VA): US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 230 p. Obligation No.: M10PG00075. Report No.: OCS Study BOEM 2017-071. URL: https://espis.boem.gov/Final%20Reports/5638.pdf

Abstract: The Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) is a comprehensive multi-agency research program to assess the abundance, distribution, ecology, and behavior of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds throughout the US Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf, from Maine to the Florida Keys. Methods of research include visual sightings from shipboard and aerial surveys, acoustic detections from ship-towed and bottom-mounted passive acoustic recorders, telemetry of location from animal mounted tags, and species distribution models parameterized from habitat information. This research spans across taxonomic groups and trophic levels and provides an integrative view of protected species, placing them in an ecosystem context that can help inform marine federal protected species management decisions.