PROJECTS

Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)

Status

No topics.

Ocean

Region

Introduction & Objectives

The Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) is a comprehensive multi-agency research program in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean, from Maine to the Florida Keys. Its aims are to assess the abundance, distribution, ecology, and behavior of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds throughout the U.S. Atlantic and to place them in an ecosystem context. This information can then provide spatially explicit information in a format that can be used when making marine resource management decisions and will provide enhanced data to managers and other users by addressing data gaps that are needed to support conservation initiatives mandated under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Technical Approach

This program is a collaboration with NOAA Fisheries, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service focused on developing models and tools to provide seasonal abundance estimates that incorporate environmental habitat characteristics for marine mammals, turtles, and seabirds in the western North Atlantic Ocean. These models rely on seasonal distribution and abundance data collected over multiple years using aerial and shipboard surveys. They also include dive pattern information from individually-tagged turtles and detections from passive acoustic recording devices.

Progress & Results

Although the program formally concluded in 2024 (final AMAPPS III reporting in 2025), the U.S. Navy continued to partner with NOAA to co-fund a broad scale aerial and vessel visual survey of the mid-Atlantic during winter of 2025. Future investments will be considered on a case-by-case basis to help address identified data gaps and support U.S. Navy monitoring and compliance needs.

2023 Annual Report of a Comprehensive Assessment of Marine Mammal, Marine Turtle, and Seabird Abundance and Spatial Distribution in U.S. Waters of the Western North Atlantic Ocean

2022 Annual Report of a Comprehensive Assessment of Marine Mammal, Marine Turtle, and Seabird Abundance and Spatial Distribution in U.S. Waters of the Western North Atlantic Ocean

2021 Annual Report of a Comprehensive Assessment of Marine Mammal, Marine Turtle, and Seabird Abundance and Spatial Distribution in U.S. Waters of the Western North Atlantic Ocean

2020 Annual Report of a Comprehensive Assessment of Marine Mammal, Marine Turtle, and Seabird Abundance and Spatial Distribution in U.S. Waters of the Western North Atlantic Ocean

Final Report - Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species 2015–2019

  • Appendix I (Modelled spatiotemporal density distribution maps of cetaceans)
  • Appendix II (Distribution plots of other species not modeled in Appendix I)
  • Appendix III (Distribution and Abundance Patterns by Wind Energy Areas)

Final Report - Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species 2010–2014

Project Information

Timeline

2010-2024

Location

Northwest Atlantic (Maine to Florida)

Species

    Methods

    Visual surveys, passive acoustic monitoring, tagging

    Conceptual Framework

    Performing Organizations

    Sponsor(s) & Funding

      2010-2023 - $250K annually. FY24-25 - $575K

      Data, Reports, & Publications

      Data

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      Technical Reports

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      Publications

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      Models Incorporating Non-Stationarity Improve Detection of Climate-Driven Range Shifts in Odontocetes. Hirtle, Nathan, Jason J. Roberts, Jessica V. Redfern, Elliott L. Hazen, Debra Palka, William McLellan, Lance Garrison, Susan Barco, Orfhlaith O'Brien, Ester Quintana-Rizzo, Kate Lomac-MacNair, Meghan Rickard, Ann M. Zoidis, Mark Cotter, Amy D. Whitt, Oliver Boisseau, Patrick Halpin, Lesley Thorne. 2026. Diversity and Distributions
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      Type: Ocean: Region: Species: Methods:

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      Associated Projects & Blog Posts

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