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GULF COAST RESEARCH LABORATORY

703 East Beach Drive | Ocean Springs, MS 39564

Phone: 228-818-8847 | Fax: w228-818-8848 | www.usm.edu/gcrl

SUBJECT:	Response	to	BOEM	Request	for	Information	on	the	Development	of	a	Long	Term	

Monitoring	Plan	for	Marine	Mammals	in	the	Gulf	of	Mexico;	MMAA	104000

FROM:	Paula	Moreno,	Gulf	Coast	Research	Laboratory,	University	of	Southern	Mississippi

DATE:	8	December	2015

Institutional	Collaboration:

We	welcome	the	request	for	information	on	MM	research	that	has	been	implemented	or	

proposed	(MMAA	104000,	paragraphs	4-5) for	the	Gulf	of	Mexico.	

There	are	a	total	of	57	marine	mammal stocks in	the	Gulf,	where	more	than	half	consist	of	

bay/sound/estuary	stocks	of	Bottlenose	dolphins.	Obtaining	multi-year	abundance	estimates —a	

fundamental	metric	to	monitor	the	effects	of	human	activities	and	the	effectiveness	of	mitigation	

measures—can	become	cost-prohibitive	for	any	single	government	agency.	In	consideration	of	

these	constraints	we	fully	support	coordination	between federal	agencies	(namely	NMFS	and	

BOEM),	as	well	as	state	agencies	and	academic	institutions located	along	the	Gulf	states,	to	take	

full	advantage	of	existing	capabilities.	Several	institutions,	including	the	Gulf	Coast	Research	

Laboratory (GCRL)	are	conveniently	located	and	equipped	(personnel,	infra-structure	and	other	

logistical	considerations)	to	conduct	systematic	surveys	and	deploy/maintain	marine	monitoring	

systems	in	a	cost-effective	manner.	In	addition,	some	institutions	are	either	conducting	or	plan	to	

conduct	systematic	surveys,	as	part	of	other	projects	(e.g.,	Gulf Restoration	efforts),	creating	a	

unique	opportunity	to	leverage	resources	common	to	monitoring	of	marine	wildlife,	particularly	

when	piggy-backing	efforts	is	feasible	and	appropriate.	GCRL	has	a	long	tradition	of	engaging	in	

inter-agency	monitoring	of	marine	resources	in	the	Gulf	(e.g.,	SEAMAP	surveys)	and	provides	the	

infrastructure	to	train	the	next	generation of	scientists in	marine	mammal	survey	techniques and	

advanced	analyses	of	marine	mammal	data.	This	can	best	be	accomplished by	engaging	graduate	

students,	interns	and	technicians—who	routinely	support	research	projects	at	GCRL. For	

example,	GCRL	offers expertise	in	photo-identification	of	marine	mammals	and	trains	interns	to	

match	dorsal	fins	of	Bottlenose	dolphins	with	the	goal	of	conducting	analysis	(population

dynamics, habitat-use	patterns,	etc.)	on	historical	data	sets that	have	not	been	fully	processed.	

Support	to	this	preliminary	effort	would	allow	sustained	participation	of	interns	and	expanding	

it	to	graduate	student	projects,	as	well	as	engaging	in	collaborations	with	other	ongoing	efforts in	

the	Gulf.

Proposed Marine	Mammal	Research	and	Monitoring:

The	Gulf	Coast	Research	Laboratory,	Department	of	Coastal	Sciences,	University	of	Southern	

Mississippi,	has	proposed	an	interdisciplinary,	comprehensive,	long-term	monitoring	program	of	

marine	mammals	for	the	Mississippi	Sound	and	adjacent	waters.	To	date,	funding	has	not been	
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forthcoming.	The	core	areas	of	the	proposed	research	and	monitoring	program	consists of	

marine	mammal	population	assessments,	including	population	dynamics,	habitat	use,	site	fidelity	

and	movement	patterns,	genetics,	microbiomics,	and	various	components	of	health	assessment	

(e.g.,	individual	stress	responses). GCRL	presently	has	faculty	and	research	staff	with	expertise in	

these	areas,	and	establishes external	collaborations	with	scientists with	skills	in	complementary	

areas,	as	needed.	In	addition,	GCRL	is	able	to	lead	the development	of marine	mammal	

simulation	models	(e.g.,	forecasts of	population	trajectories	or	of	drifting	carcasses) through	its	

strong	ties to	USM’s	Marine	Science	Department	and	the	recent	establishment	of	the	

Independent	Advisory	Team	for	Marine	Mammal Assessment funded by	the	Science	Center	for	

Marine	Fisheries. For	further	information, please	contact	Paula	Moreno	

(Paula.Moreno@usm.edu).