Integrative Biodiversity Assessment of Coral-Sponge Communities of W Florida Shelf: Establishing a Baseline for a Sensitive Ecosystem
Implementing Organization
University of Florida
Overview
DWH Project Funding
$195,399
Known Leveraged Funding
$0
Funding Organization
Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI)
Funding Program
Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative GoMRI Grant Program
Details
Project Category
Science
Project Actions
Environmental Research
Targeted Resources
Human and/or Institutional Capacity
Project Description
The BP oil crisis has brought home how little we know about benthic marine communities of the West Florida shelf, and how this lack of knowledge will limit our ability to assess impacts and plan remediation. The crisis also comes at the general time when marine resource management is undergoing a broad shift in focus from focusing on exploited species, to assessing ecosystems, and a necessary scaling up in our capacity to assess, monitor, and to generally better understand marine biodiversity.
Contact
Gustav Paulay352-273-1948
paulay@ufl.edu
Project Website
Project Partners
None
Affiliated Institutions
None