[Coral-List] Reminder: Caribbean MPA Managers' Meeting: August 7-11, 2006

[Jim Hendee]

This is just a reminder of the message, below.  Please register online
if you are interested in attending, preferably before May 1st.

Thank you!

    Cheers,
    Jim

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greetings!

This message is an invitation to Caribbean MPA managers to meet with selected
data suppliers and information systems engineers to help design a next
generation Web-based tool to aid in management and research, based on the
integration of near real-time and other data. The meeting will be held at La
Parguera, Puerto Rico, August 7-11, 2006, at the Parador Villa Parguera near
Phosphorescent Bay.

NOAA has committed to integrating ocean data from a variety of sources under a
project called the Integrated Ocean Observing System.  NOAA's Coral Reef
Conservation Program has also committed to integrating coral data from a variety
of sources for the benefit of coral reef researchers and Marine Protected Area
(MPA) managers, especially under the aegis of the Coral Reef Ecosystem
Integrated Observing System program.  NOAA Research and the Atlantic
Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) are participating in this
venture by providing Web-based software to integrate various near real-time data
sources, and by providing an inference engine (artificial intelligence tool) to
provide ecosystem forecasts for MPA decision support under a program called the
Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON).


~~ What We Hope To Accomplish ~~

We hope to eventually be able to provide decision support for selected questions
an MPA manager might have, such as:

     * Is increased weekend user activity negatively affecting water
       quality (turbidity, chlorophyll, nitrogen, wind/waves, for example)?
     * Can I detect a pollution event?
     * If there is an oil spill, can it be detected automatically and
       what direction will it travel?
     * When will selected fish/corals spawn (and where will they go)?
     * When will selected fish/invertebrates migrate?
     * Can I detect large ship intrusion into my MPA in time to stop a
       disaster on the reefs?
     * Can I detect large rainfall events, and how will these affect
       local run-off into my MPA?
     * How can I detect large-scale change in my reef systems?
     * When are conditions conducive to coral disease and/or bleaching?
     * When are conditions conducive to increased algal growth?
     * Can I detect significant harmful algal blooms in time to prevent
       fishing contaminated species?
     * Can I detect unauthorized access into my MPA?
     * How can I broadcast underwater live events (such as coral spawning
       or bleaching) and other outreach events to the public?
     * How can I see trends in environmental parameters through time, and
       can I receive notice when things change?

After the meeting, a document will be prepared which summarizes the Caribbean
MPA Managers' requirements for data and research support, as well as questions
such as these. This document will be used to guide the ICON team and colleagues
in developing the software, but also in providing guidance to other software
developers and researchers of all relevant disciplines.


~~ Attendance and Support ~~

Through NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program, and the Caribbean Coral Reef
Institute, funds are being provided to support rooms for about 20 managers or
their designates; however, there will be room for about 80 additional attendees
in the conference hall. All attendees must provide their own air fare.

The priority on selecting attendees will be for managers from as many
representative Caribbean MPAs as possible; however, a few special guests who are
data suppliers will also be in attendance. The selection of attendees will be
made by the Program Managers and will be based mainly on location and who first
registered; however, you will have a chance to apply for attendance based on
special considerations.

A Web Page describing more about the project, as well as details and the form
for registering can be found at:

	 http://www.coral.noaa.gov/mpa/retreat/

All 20 officially invited attendees will be asked to give a 20 minute
presentation describing their coral reef MPA, but concentrating especially on
what their data, research and socioeconomic needs are. It doesn't matter if
particular data streams are currently available or not: part of the purpose of
the meeting is to determine which research data sources need to be gained for
effective management. In turn, the ICON team will meet with the invitees as
necessary for follow-up on how we can help.

The period for selection of the representative attendees will closed May 1,
2006. An announcement will be made shortly thereafter as to the supported and
non-supported attendees. Non-supported attendees may continue to apply so long
as the 100 slots are not filled.


~~ The New La Parguera Marine Reserve ICON/CREWS Station ~~

The La Parguera Marine Reserve is the site of the latest CREWS station, which is
a data supplier to the ICON program. The University of Puerto Rico's Department
of Marine Science at the Magueyes Island Marine Laboratory, and the Caribbean
Coral Reef Institute (CCRI), are collaborating with AOML to maintain and operate
this station.  We anticipate being able to provide some support for attendees to
visit the station and the laboratory. Here are some links for more information:

     * http://www.coral.noaa.gov/crw/crw_data_lppr1_Web_12.html (CREWS
       Data Report)
     * http://lppr1-log.blogspot.com/ (temporary station maintenance page)
     * http://www.coral.noaa.gov/noaa/icon/crews-install.pdf (CREWS
       station installation description)
     * http://cima.uprm.edu/magueyes.html (Magueyes Island Marine Laboratory)
     *
http://www.cop.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreefs/current/ccri-factsheet-cr.html
       (Caribbean Coral Reef Institute)

Thank you for your attention and support!

Sincerely yours,
  The Program Managers
  Jim Hendee, NOAA/AOML
  Richard Appledoorn, UPRM/CCRI
  Brian Keller, FKNMS