Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GOMMAPPS): Seabird Fieldwork and Data Analysis

We investigated spatial and temporal patterns of seabird abundance using two survey platforms in the northern Gulf of America (Gulf), 2017–2020. Aerial and vessel seabird surveys were conducted in coastal and continental shelf waters, and deeper waters off the continental shelf out to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), from roughly Brownsville, Texas to the Florida Keys. Forty-seven species of seabirds were identified across survey platforms, years, and seasons. Most of the seabird species observed were not considered as local to the northern Gulf. Rather, they were affiliated with breeding locations from the northern migrant-continental interior-Arctic, southern Gulf, and the Caribbean. For 24 seabird species with a sufficient number of detections, we characterized distribution within and across seasons and years. To date, data presented in this report represent the most spatially and temporally extensive seabird surveys in the northern Gulf.

USD: $2,400,000

2017-10-01 → 2024-04-01