Cruise report, coral reef ecosystem research NOAA ship Nancy Foster, NF-09-03, April 7-20, 2009

"This endeavor, titled the Coral Reef Ecosystem Research (CRER) program, is directed at answering one over-arching question: How are the unprotected VI banks, MPAs such as the Hind Bank Marine Conservation District, seasonally closed areas such as Grammanik Bank, inshore areas and adjacent islands ecologically linked via regional reef fish larval dispersal, transport, and lifehistory patterns? Data collected from this program will not only provide information on a data-poor region, but have the potential to address two specific needs identified through a comprehensive review process recently completed by SEFSC and CFMC. First, should fish stocks be delineated from individual island groups (e.g. Puerto Rico, St. Thomas/St. John, and St. Croix), from the US Caribbean, or from the broader Caribbean region? This interdisciplinary effort will provide information on the interconnectivity of fish populations and assist in this stock delineation. Secondly, indices of abundance have been identified as a critical component of the length-based assessment methods currently employed in the US Caribbean. However, regional indices are lacking, or in some cases nonexistent. CRER will serve to improve existing and generate new indices of abundance for the study area"--Cruise summary. 2009 OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) AOML (Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory) CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System) Library Public Domain 1858