Scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), recently returned from a successful field mission to Guánica, Puerto Rico. This mission was a core component of a larger collaborative effort to restore the Guánica Bay watershed and improve the condition of the
neighboring coral reef ecosystem. The co-led CCMA/University of Puerto Rico component of this effort includes a baseline assessment of biological resources (fish, corals and seagrass), chemical contaminants, nutrients and sedimentation rates, prior to proposed watershed restoration activities.
UPR is conducting monthly surface water quality sampling for nutrients, as well as sediment trap sampling. Nutrients are being monitored monthly at 23 sites to assess the flux of nutrients from the watershed and from the wastewater treatment facility. Additional samples are being collected after extreme rainfall events. Eleven sediment traps are being used to determine sedimentation rates at fore reef sites as well as inside the Bay. CCMA has also conducted a one-time contaminant sampling mission at 33 sites in and around Guánica Bay where sediments were collected, and 16 sites where coral tissue was sampled. Samples are being analyzed for a suite of approximately 150 organic and inorganic contaminants. A stratified random approach was 
taken to determine sampling locations. Strata consisted of areas upstream and downstream, as well as inside and directly outside the Bay. This spatial stratification will be used to quantify the extent and distribution of contaminants within the Bay and the nearby coral reef ecosystems. Sampling locations for coral and sediment contaminants were further constrained by the availability of hard and soft bottom, respectively. These habitats were selected using the NOAA Benthic Habitat Map product available at: https://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/usvi_pr_mapping.html
There are two components to the NOAA-conducted biological assessment. The first is an in situ biological surveys for fish, corals and macro-invertebrates. Using ArcView GIS software, sampling sites were randomly selected within three habitat strata (hardbottom, unconsolidated sediments, mangrove) and the spatial strata described above to ensure coverage of the entire study region. At each site, information for fishes, macro‐invertebrates, and habitat were quantified following standardized protocols (see https://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/fish_protocol.html). These protocols are standardized throughout the U.S. Caribbean to enable quantification and comparison of reef fish abundance and distribution trends between locations. By relating the data collected in the field back to the habitat maps and bathymetric models, CCMA scientists will be able to model and map species level and community level information. Knowledge of the current status of fish, coral and macro‐invertebrate communities coupled with longer-term monitoring will support the evaluation of management efficacy.
The second component of the biological assessment involves a refinement of the existing NOAA benthic habitat maps for the study area. Two major improvements include a reduced minimum mapping unit from one acre to one quarter acre and increased coverage into areas formerly classified as unknown. The digital map product is being produced using a technique known as heads-up digitizing where digital satellite imagery will be visually interpreted and habitats delineated in a hierarchical classification scheme. In addition to forming the framework for subsequent biological surveys, the maps will permit a level of change detection that is a result of the restoration activities, for example, in the extent of seagrass.
This information will then be utilized to evaluate the subsequent effectiveness of restoration efforts. Complementary efforts to identify, design and implement appropriate watershed restoration activities are being led by the Center for Watershed Protection, NOAA’s Restoration Center and the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service. Funding for these projects was provided by NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program. (Contact: Laurie Bauer, Laurie.Bauer@noaa.gov or Dave Whitall, David.Whitall@noaa.gov). 