Marine Bird Populations and the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS)
The objective of the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS) project was to document the occurrence and diversity of bird species in nearshore and open sea environments of the Gulf of America for the purposes of better informing regulatory and other decisions that influence the conservation of migratory birds.
What is the issue?
The Gulf of America region is critically important in affording foraging, resting, breeding, transit, and wintering habitats for North America’s migratory birds. Limited information was available to characterize species composition, distribution, and abundance of birds – particularly seabirds – using nearshore and offshore waters of the northern Gulf of America. Yet, such information is essential in guiding management decisions related to non-listed and listed migratory bird populations.
What is at stake?
The number of oil platforms and cumulative level of oil and gas activity in the northern Gulf of America exceeds all other Bureau of Ocean Energy Management regions combined. More recently, offshore wind energy development, offshore liquid natural gas (LNG) facilities, and offshore aquaculture have all been proposed. Information on bird populations is important for assisting decision-making about offshore resource extraction and efforts to mitigate potential negative effects to birds within this region.
What is our approach?
The GoMMAPPS Seabird Project was a collaborative effort between USGS, USFWS, Michigan State University, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, NOAA, South Carolina USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Clemson University, and Terra Mar Applied Sciences LLC. The overarching goal of GOMMAPPS was to collect broad-scale information on the distribution and abundance of seabirds in the Gulf of America to inform seasonally- and spatially-explicit density estimates for priority species.
There were two main components of the GoMMAPPS Seabird Project:
- Design and implementation of aerial and vessel-based surveys to collect information characterizing the distribution, abundance, and diversity of birds in the northern Gulf of America during 2017-2023.
- Model-based analyses of these data and other empirical data to interpret the influences of natural and human-associated variables on avian populations.
A key component of this project included identifying and determining how natural and human-associated variables, such as the presence of oil platforms and fishing vessels, influence birds in nearshore and open sea environments. The project evaluated hypotheses about the presence and status of offshore oil and gas platforms; fisheries activities; micro-habitat or forage indicators; oceanographic features; and broad-scale weather patterns.
What are the benefits?
The GoMMAPPS Seabird Project was the most spatially and temporally extensive avian research effort in the northern Gulf of America to date. Understanding cumulative impacts on protected wildlife species in the Gulf of America from both natural and human-associated factors is required to inform National Environmental Policy Act documents and consultations and rulemaking related to the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The results of this study will provide important information about the distribution, abundance, and diversity of birds, to aid the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s regulatory needs as well as the other agencies and interested parties involved in effective management and conservation of protected wildlife species in the Gulf of America
Click through the slideshow for illustrations and photographs from the GoMMAPPS project, including fieldwork photos from 2018.
Raw Data: Aerial Survey
Wilson RR, Gleason JS, Lyons JE, Silverman ED, Sussman AL, Zipkin EF, Davis KL. 2022. Seabird visual surveys using line-transect methods collected from USFWS aircraft in the Gulf of Mexico for the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS) project from 2018-01-31 to 2020-02-12 (NCEI Accession 0247205).
Raw Data: Vessel Survey
Gleason JS, Wilson RR, Jodice PGR, Satgé YG, Michael PE, Hixson KM, Sussman AL, Haney JC. 2022. Seabird visual surveys using line-transect methods collected from NOAA vessels in the northern Gulf of Mexico for the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS) project from 2017-07-21 to 2019-09-25 (NCEI Accession 0247206).
The objective of the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS) project was to document the occurrence and diversity of bird species in nearshore and open sea environments of the Gulf of America for the purposes of better informing regulatory and other decisions that influence the conservation of migratory birds.
What is the issue?
The Gulf of America region is critically important in affording foraging, resting, breeding, transit, and wintering habitats for North America’s migratory birds. Limited information was available to characterize species composition, distribution, and abundance of birds – particularly seabirds – using nearshore and offshore waters of the northern Gulf of America. Yet, such information is essential in guiding management decisions related to non-listed and listed migratory bird populations.
What is at stake?
The number of oil platforms and cumulative level of oil and gas activity in the northern Gulf of America exceeds all other Bureau of Ocean Energy Management regions combined. More recently, offshore wind energy development, offshore liquid natural gas (LNG) facilities, and offshore aquaculture have all been proposed. Information on bird populations is important for assisting decision-making about offshore resource extraction and efforts to mitigate potential negative effects to birds within this region.
What is our approach?
The GoMMAPPS Seabird Project was a collaborative effort between USGS, USFWS, Michigan State University, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, NOAA, South Carolina USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Clemson University, and Terra Mar Applied Sciences LLC. The overarching goal of GOMMAPPS was to collect broad-scale information on the distribution and abundance of seabirds in the Gulf of America to inform seasonally- and spatially-explicit density estimates for priority species.
There were two main components of the GoMMAPPS Seabird Project:
- Design and implementation of aerial and vessel-based surveys to collect information characterizing the distribution, abundance, and diversity of birds in the northern Gulf of America during 2017-2023.
- Model-based analyses of these data and other empirical data to interpret the influences of natural and human-associated variables on avian populations.
A key component of this project included identifying and determining how natural and human-associated variables, such as the presence of oil platforms and fishing vessels, influence birds in nearshore and open sea environments. The project evaluated hypotheses about the presence and status of offshore oil and gas platforms; fisheries activities; micro-habitat or forage indicators; oceanographic features; and broad-scale weather patterns.
What are the benefits?
The GoMMAPPS Seabird Project was the most spatially and temporally extensive avian research effort in the northern Gulf of America to date. Understanding cumulative impacts on protected wildlife species in the Gulf of America from both natural and human-associated factors is required to inform National Environmental Policy Act documents and consultations and rulemaking related to the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The results of this study will provide important information about the distribution, abundance, and diversity of birds, to aid the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s regulatory needs as well as the other agencies and interested parties involved in effective management and conservation of protected wildlife species in the Gulf of America
Click through the slideshow for illustrations and photographs from the GoMMAPPS project, including fieldwork photos from 2018.
Raw Data: Aerial Survey
Wilson RR, Gleason JS, Lyons JE, Silverman ED, Sussman AL, Zipkin EF, Davis KL. 2022. Seabird visual surveys using line-transect methods collected from USFWS aircraft in the Gulf of Mexico for the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS) project from 2018-01-31 to 2020-02-12 (NCEI Accession 0247205).
Raw Data: Vessel Survey
Gleason JS, Wilson RR, Jodice PGR, Satgé YG, Michael PE, Hixson KM, Sussman AL, Haney JC. 2022. Seabird visual surveys using line-transect methods collected from NOAA vessels in the northern Gulf of Mexico for the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS) project from 2017-07-21 to 2019-09-25 (NCEI Accession 0247206).