South Atlantic Bight Marine Assessment: Species, Habitats and Ecosystems

Abstract

The South Atlantic Bight Marine Assessment (SABMA) includes, but is not limited to, coastal wetlands, seagrass beds, oyster reefs, live hard-bottom habitats, sea turtles and marine mammals. Available data resources and other scientific information were assembled to produce regional baselines on the status of each resource. These baselines were then evaluated comprehensively to define conservation priority areas, places where individual habitats and species overlap. The SABMA conservation portfolio highlights areas where significant species, natural communities and ecological processes hold the greatest promise for conservation success.

The SABMA is envisioned as a mechanism to empower stakeholders to develop strategies for long-term sustainability of the South Atlantic Bight’s ecological services, from the fisheries that feed human populations to the reefs and barrier islands that absorb wave action and storm surges as sea level rises. Though spatial in nature, the portfolio should not be viewed as a recommendation for future “marine protected areas,” but rather as a way to understand overlapping distribution of key natural resources. The ultimate measure of its success is tangible, effective marine conservation.

The SABMA products include:

• Geodatabases of spatial information on targeted marine ecosystems, habitats and species at the South Atlantic Bight regional scale.
  • Coastal Systems (data description)
  • Seafloor Habitat (data description)
  • Migratory Species (data description)
  • Portfolio of Important Places
    • Coastal portfolio data description
    • Integrated offshore portfolio data description
    • Migratory species portfolio data description
    • Seafloor portfolio data description
• A report that brings together regional data on coastal ecosystems, seafloor habitats and select migratory species in the South Atlantic Bight region. It provides a regional baseline and discusses connections across resources through development of an integrated portfolio of important places. See below for links to access specific chapters.
  • Chapter 2: Coastal Ecosystems
  • Chapter 3: Seafloor Habitats
  • Chapter 4: Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles
  • Chapter 5: Identifying Conservation Areas (Portfolio)
• Storymaps that introduce the assessment and illustrate how it could be used to inform natural resource management decisions.
  • SABMA 101 provides an overview of the study area and the key components of the assessment
  • Putting the plan to work shows examples of how the assessment could be used to inform a range of actions from developing offshore energy to designating critical habitat.

Citation

Conley, M.F., M.G. Anderson, N. Steinberg, and A. Barnett, eds. (2017). The South Atlantic Bight Marine Assessment: Species, Habitats and Ecosystems. The Nature Conservancy, Eastern Conservation Science.