CEDAR KEYS AUDUBON INVITES THE PUBLIC TO
“GOMMAPPS: ESTABLISHING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GULF OF MEXICO TO NORTH AMERICAN SEABIRDS”
December 27, 2019
It has been described as “the most extensive survey of Gulf marine birds ever”. GoMMAPPS, a 4-year federal research project, is nearing completion and Dr. Jeffery Gleason will be sharing some of its findings and photos on Monday, January 27, 2020, 5 pm at the Cedar Key Library upstairs.
Dr. Gleason is the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Gulf of Mexico Migratory Bird Coordinator within the Gulf Restoration Office and Migratory Bird Program. As such, he has responsibility for conservation and management of migratory bird resources in the Gulf; assists with design, review, and oversight of bird-related restoration projects, as well as the day-to-day management of the GoMMAPPS seabird project. He has also participated as a seabird observer on several legs of the survey.
Launched in 2017, GoMMAPPs is intended to update information on marine and avian life in the Gulf of Mexico. Funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management with $7.5 million, the project proposed to assess “living marine resources (seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles) including population, habitat use and behavior” in the Gulf. It is a collaboration of multiple federal agencies including BOEM, NOAA, USFWS, and USGS.
The GoMMAPPS survey has covered the near-shore to fifty miles out into the Gulf of Mexico from Brownsville, Texas to Key West, Florida, including the waters off Cedar Key. Using ships, planes and satellites, it has been tracking everything from tiny zooplankton to sperm whales. Survey teams counted numbers of individual species, assessed habitat, and even took genetic samples.
The seabird field work of GoMMAPPS used 15 NOAA vessels, collecting over 200 hours of observational data. Observers were able to identify at least 36 bird species and made new findings about bird behavior and distribution around the Gulf.
Information gleaned from this study will be used to “help mitigate and monitor” natural and man-made influences on Gulf marine life. It will also take into account the effects of offshore energy development.
If you have ever wondered what life exists beyond the barrier islands of Cedar Key, out in the vastness of the Gulf of Mexico, this presentation could offer answers - especially about seabirds.
Check out the GoMMAPPS site at www.boem.gov/GOMMAPPS/ for more on this project.
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