Please see question 13 in the attached.

COS 9 - 1 - SP20 CURRENT OCEAN STUDIES 9 THREATS TO LIFE IN THE OCEAN sh is ar stu ed d vi y re aC s o ou urc rs e eH w er as o. co m Once considered an inexhaustible resource, our ocean has been exploited to the extent many marine species are in jeopardy. Marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, manatees, otters, and polar bears, are losing their numbers and many face extinction. Additionally, coral reefs support more species per unit area than any other marine environment, including about 4,000 species of fish and hundreds of other species. With a changing climate and warming ocean temperatures, even these prestigious marine environments are being threatened. The following study demonstrates some of the challenges of protecting the marine environment while addressing conflicting societal needs and priorities. Protecting Marine Mammals and Endangered Marine Life Seldom a week passes without an incident involving marine mammals or endangered marine life despite the ample evidence to treat marine animals humanely and prevent their extinction. The U.S. enacted the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972 and the Endangered Species Act in 1973. These laws charged NOAA to ensure the protection of marine mammals and the conservation, protection, and propagation of marine fish and wildlife presently threatened with extinction, are endangered, or are likely to become endangered. Go to the website of NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources (OPR) at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr. The OPR is responsible for protecting marine mammals and endangered marine life. Endangered marine life includes marine turtles, marine and anadromous fish (e.g., salmon), marine invertebrates (e.g., coral), and marine plants. (The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for protecting terrestrial and freshwater species.) Th 1. At the OPR website, click on \"Find a Species\" in the menu then on \"Endangered Species.\" According to the information on this page, a species is considered Endangered if it is in danger throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A species is considered ______ if it is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. a. b. c. d. extinct threatened endangered at risk One approach to protecting marine habitats, preserving biodiversity, and preventing fish populations from overexploitation is the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). MPAs are areas of the ocean, estuaries, and large lakes that restrict human activity to protect natural or cultural resources. Presently, over 5000 MPAs exist worldwide and cover 2.8% of the ocean. Marine reserves are a type of MPA where extraction and alteration of all living and https://www.coursehero.com/file/59252316/threats-to-life-in-the-oceanpdf/ COS 9 - 2 - SP20 nonliving marine resources are banned. Worldwide, more than 20 nations have designated marine reserves, but this amounts to less than one-hundredth of one percent of the ocean's total area. An example of a fully protected area is the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Go to NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program website and scroll down to the map showing the locations of National Marine Sanctuaries. The sanctuaries are identified on the map. Explore the nation's marine sanctuaries by visiting sanctuary websites either by clicking on their map locations or their names on the list. Marine Sanctuaries are located in diverse areas and some locations may surprise you. 2. All National Marine Sanctuaries are located in the ocean. sh is ar stu ed d vi y re aC s o ou urc rs e eH w er as o. co m a. True b. False 3. The National Marine Sanctuaries are divided into ______ regions. a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 4. There are currently 14 National Marine Sanctuaries with 2 proposed sites. Some National Marine Sanctuaries seek to preserve and protect resources of cultural or historical significance. There are ______ Marine National Monuments. a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation was created to assist the federally managed National Marine Sanctuary Program to protect marine habitats, preserve biodiversity, and prevent fish populations from overexploitation. For more information, click here: https://marinesanctuary.org. Th Sustainable Fisheries Net primary production is an important consideration in the sustainability of commercial fisheries because it supplies food to the base of marine food webs. Net primary production is one of the factors that influences limits on fish harvests set by fisheries managers in order to prevent overfishing and the collapse of a fishery. Overfishing can be defined as harvesting a fish species at a rate that exceeds the rate the population is replaced by reproduction. For example, several rockfish populations on the continental shelf of the U.S. West Coast have been steadily declining over the past 50 yrs due to overfishing. The well-being of some of these rockfish stocks declined to the level that, on 1 January 2003, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) closed most of the groundfish https://www.coursehero.com/file/59252316/threats-to-life-in-the-oceanpdf/ COS 9 - 3 - SP20 fisheries along the West Coast (with additional closures, some re-openings, and adjustments implemented since then). The purpose of the closures was to allow populations to recover. The PFMC manages about 119 species of salmon, groundfish, coastal pelagic species (sardines, anchovies, and mackerel), and highly migratory species (tunas, sharks, and swordfish). (For more information on PFMC, go to https://www.pcouncil.org). We can investigate the challenges of sustaining West Coast fisheries from overfishing by going to NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and its Fisheries Statistics and Economics Division, which tracks the populations of commercial fish and shellfish caught by U.S. fishers. Part of the NMFS mission is stewardship of living marine resources through science-based conservation and management, and the promotion of healthy ecosystems. sh is ar stu ed d vi y re aC s o ou urc rs e eH w er as o. co m From the NMFS website, under the box titled Commercial Landings, mouse over the upper left image and click on \"Annual Landings.\" Then, click \"Species Locator.\" This page should redirect you to a dashboard of options. For Year click on 2018 and then click the double arrow to import all years prior. For State click on California and then click on the single arrow to import the state. For Species, search Canary and then click on the single arrow to import the Rockfish Canary species. Th Submit your query and you should see a table like Figure 1. Figure 1. Example query from the NOAA NMFS commercial landings statistics site. https://www.coursehero.com/file/59252316/threats-to-life-in-the-oceanpdf/ COS 9 - 4 - SP20 5. According to the resulting table of commercial landings for canary rockfish through 2018, in terms of both weight and dollar value of landings, harvesting of the canary fishery in California peaked in ______. [Note it may help to 'sort descending' instead columns by dollar value to view the top years of harvest.] a. b. c. d. 1989 1993 1997 2007 6. Also during the peak year, the value of landings of canary (in thousands) was ______. $68 $147 $321 $552 sh is ar stu ed d vi y re aC s o ou urc rs e eH w er as o. co m a. b. c. d. 7. Since its peak in 1997 and up until about 2014, the canary harvest ______. [Note: sort years to view sequential order by left clicking on Years then sort the data ascending or descending).] a. declined b. was unchanged c. increased After 2014, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) implemented restrictions on rockfish catch in order to help restore the depleted and overfished species. Most recently, 2017 and 2018 saw recovery in rockfish numbers and California was able to lift restrictions on catch for fishers. In 2018 the CDFW increased its restriction from 1 to 2 catches per day and in 2019, from 2 to 3 catches a day. Though 2019 is not reported in the NMFS site table of statistics yet, the increase in 2017 and 2018 is reflected. Th For information on U.S. seafood fisheries and their sustainability, go to NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service's FishWatch. Below the Find a Fish heading, click on \"Show all Profiles.\" Scroll through and review all the choices of species covered. 8. Find the Canary Rockfish. According to the FishWatch site, rockfish is a ______ seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations. a. smart b. bad c. neither good nor bad https://www.coursehero.com/file/59252316/threats-to-life-in-the-oceanpdf/ COS 9 - 5 - SP20 9. Scroll down and find \"The Science,\" click on Population status. The canary rockfish is no longer considered overfished and has been successfully ______ since 2015. a. rebuilt b. depleted c. neither rebuilt or depleted Prior to the canary rockfish stock rebuilding, fishing for other species like Dover sole and black cod was limited by canary rockfish catch limits. Now that the canary rockfish stock has rebuilt, fishers can catch and land more of all these species. The Pacific Fishery Management Council will continue to watch and manage the catch of many fish and species within the Pacific waters. sh is ar stu ed d vi y re aC s o ou urc rs e eH w er as o. co m Coral Reefs and Coral Bleaching Many vertebrate animals and fish in the ocean rely on specific habitats to thrive. One such habitat is a coral reef. Coral reefs are among the most diverse marine ecosystems on Earth. While occupying less than one tenth of the world ocean surface, they provide a home for a quarter of all marine species. Coral reefs occur mainly in shallow tropical ocean waters within 30 latitude of Earth's equator, and are among the most productive of all marine habitats. Coral reefs provide many benefits to humans, including fisheries, coastal protection, tourism, and raw materials for medicines. Coral reefs are an accumulation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) deposited by living coral animals over thousands of years. Living coral consists of colonies of small polyps with zooxanthellae, a type of algae, in their tissues. The zooxanthellae's pigments give the otherwise colorless corals their strikingly colorful appearance. While corals also feed on zooplankton, they receive most of their energy and oxygen from the zooxanthellae via photosynthesis. Corals provide a protected environment for the zooxanthellae. This is a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship between the coral polyps and zooxanthellae. Th Coral reefs require intense solar radiation, relatively high levels of dissolved oxygen (5-7 mg/L), low turbidity, low nutrients, consistent temperature (18-30C), and consistent salinity (33-36 psu). Unfortunately, coral reef ecosystems are under increasingly greater stress, which can lead to coral bleaching, the whitening of coral that happens when zooxanthellae are expelled or killed. Without their zooxanthellae, the remaining calcium carbonate shell dominate the coral's appearance, making it look as though they were bleached. The loss of the food from the zooxanthellae leads to coral death unless the zooxanthellae returns. Research on coral bleaching suggests that higher sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) are a catalyst, or at least an indicator, of coral stress. Coral are also stressed by other environmental factors, including elevated nutrient levels that can cause algal growth and an increase in turbidity. In fact, in a study published in 2018, Hughes et al. examined 100 reefs globally and found that the average interval between bleaching events is now less than half what it was before. Such narrow https://www.coursehero.com/file/59252316/threats-to-life-in-the-oceanpdf/ COS 9 - 6 - SP20 recovery windows do not allow for a full recovery. The more recent warming events, such as El Nio, are warmer than in the past, dramatically changing ocean conditions. Such changes are likely to make it more and more difficult for coral reefs to recover between stressful events. For more information on coral health and NOAA's monitoring of corals worldwide, click here: https://coralreef.noaa.gov. 10. Figure 2 is an example of NOAA's Coral Reef Watch webpage from 2 March 2020. This figure shows regions of the world ocean currently experiencing high levels of heat stress that can lead to coral bleaching and mortality. Data is available for for locations in ______. the Atlantic Ocean the Indian Ocean the Pacific Ocean all three of these ocean basins sh is ar stu ed d vi y re aC s o ou urc rs e eH w er as o. co m a. b. c. d. Figure 2. NOAA Coral Bleaching Alert Areas for 2 MAR 2020. [NOAA] 11. Colors represent potential bleaching intensities correlated to the stress levels, seen in the key below the map. The dark red is located in multiple regions and, in particular, to the northeast of Australia, and the Southern Pacific. On 2 March 2020, thermal stress was experienced there at ______ level. \"Watch\" \"Warning\" \"Alert 1\" \"Alert 2\" Th a. b. c. d. The NOAA satellite-derived Degree Heating Week (DHW) is a unit of measurement designed to gauge the cumulative thermal stress that coral reefs experience over a 12-week period. One DHW is defined as 1 week of sea-surface temperature that is 1C above the expected seasonal maximum. Hence, 2 DHWs can indicate 1 week of 2C above the expected seasonal maximum or two weeks at one degree above the expected summer maximum. DHWs of 10+ are associated with severe bleaching and often coral mortality. (The DHW unit is analogous to heating and cooling degree-days used to monitor energy demand as well as space heating and cooling in the https://www.coursehero.com/file/59252316/threats-to-life-in-the-oceanpdf/ COS 9 - 7 - SP20 U.S.). To learn more about DHW go to https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/education/tutorial/crw24_dhw_product.php. sh is ar stu ed d vi y re aC s o ou urc rs e eH w er as o. co m Figure 3 displays a one-year graph of SSTs and DHWs for Nauru in Micronesia in the western tropical Pacific Ocean (0.5S, 166.5E). Figure 3. Nauru in Micronesia (0.5S, 166.5E) Bleaching Thermal Stress from 1 JAN 2018 to 30 DEC 2019. [NOAA] 12. During 2018, the Nauru station reported an Alert Level 2 thermal stress the first time in mid ______. a. August b. September c. October Th 13. During 2018, the jagged purple observed SSTs curve and the straight blue bleaching threshold line show ocean temperatures first exceeded the bleaching threshold value starting in early ______. Figure 3 also indicated DHWs at the Alert 1 and 2 Levels with the dashed red lines. The bright red color shows that Alert Level 1, requiring at least 4 DHW, had been reached. Such values indicate possible bleaching and coral mortality in Nauru. As spring transitions summer in the Southern Hemisphere, this area bears monitoring for increasing ocean heating. a. September b. October c. November https://www.coursehero.com/file/59252316/threats-to-life-in-the-oceanpdf/ COS 9 - 8 - SP20 14. During 2019 in Figure 3, the Nauru station reported an Alert Level 2 thermal stress value that appeared in mid ______. The 2019 thermal stress situation was ______ to the previous year. a. b. c. d. September ... similar September ... different October ... similar October ... different sh is ar stu ed d vi y re aC s o ou urc rs e eH w er as o. co m Figure 4 is a prior two-year graph of SSTs and DHWs for Nauru, Micronesia for 1 January 2016 to 1 January 2018. Figure 4. Nauru, Micronesia (0.5S, 166.5E) Bleaching Thermal Stress from 1 JAN 2016 to 1 JAN 2018. [NOAA] 15. During the prior two years (2016-2017) in Figure 4, the Nauru station reported ______ serious bleaching watch trends as the period of 2018-2019 seen in Figure 3. Th a. similar b. varying In particular, the main difference in Figure 3 and Figure 4 is the observed SSTs, so it can be assumed that sea-surface temperatures have an impact on coral bleaching trends. Warming may, in some cases, be associated with cyclical variations in ocean-atmosphere conditions, such as those accompanying El Nio or La Nia. Nauru is located near the mid-Pacific where anomalously warm western Pacific waters were a weak El Nino occur from about September 2018 to July 2019. When the period of high SSTs is of relatively short duration, bleaching may be temporary and coral may recover. On the other hand, warming of the ocean surface may signal a long-term change in climate so episodes of coral bleaching become more frequent and last longer. In that case, recovery is much less likely. https://www.coursehero.com/file/59252316/threats-to-life-in-the-oceanpdf/ COS 9 - 9 - SP20 To check on conditions at vulnerable coral reef sites around the globe and see a prediction of what's to come based on patterns and observations, click https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/analyses_guidance/global_coral_bleaching_201417_status.php. Want to learn about the biology of coral reefs? NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) on corals features a tutorial and a \"Roadmap to Resources\" link which directs you to specific data within NOS and NOAA. Included in the Corals Roadmap is a link to CoRIS - NOAA's Coral Reef Information System. Optional: Listen to more information on calcium carbonate at https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/calcium-carbonate/3005724.article# sh is ar stu ed d vi y re aC s o ou urc rs e eH w er as o. co m Anticipated increases in warming ocean waters will impact other ecosystems as well. Increasing temperatures in waters offshore to of Maine have jeopardized the viability of lobster fishing. Warmer water temperatures affect lobster molting and the overall number of catches, and therefore the value of harvests. Southern New England fisheries managers have even proposed closing certain regional fisheries. To learn how Maine's lobster fishing community is confronting incipient climate change, visit the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit at https://toolkit.climate.gov/case-studies/maines-lobster-fishing-community-confronts-theirchanging-climate. Summary Numerous marine species are threatened or endangered. NOAA's Office of Protected Resources works to conserve and recover populations of these species. OPR also provides information that enables the public to keep up-to-date on which species are in danger and what actions the U.S. is taking to protect them. Coral reefs comprise a highly productive marine ecosystem that can be vulnerable to coral bleaching due to thermal stress. Higher SSTs due to a changing climate heightens the potential for permanent damage to coral reefs. Th Copyright 2020, American Meteorological Society https://www.coursehero.com/file/59252316/threats-to-life-in-the-oceanpdf/ Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)