Debbie Brill is the marine mammal subcommittee coordinator for the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (RWSC), which works to coordinate and direct efficient research efforts to support environmentally friendly offshore wind energy development in the U.S. Atlantic. She is a relatively new recruit to MGEL, starting work with the lab in 2021. As …
Data, the word, is plural. Everyday English slips into treating the word as a singular, data is, but data are. Understanding the biodiversity of the ocean requires data that are very very plural, the effort of thousands of scientists observing thousands of species. OBIS-SEAMAP plays an important role in centralizing the data we have for …
The Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab at Duke University and the University of Exeter, UK are undertaking a collaborative project to support the process of defining marine turtle high use areas, including ways to handle the data that can contribute to answering this question. This pilot effort will focus on loggerhead marine turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Northwest …
Our new collaboration for loggerhead conservation Read More »
This project was a collaboration led by Connie Kot and Sarah DeLand (Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment), Drs. Annette Broderick, Brendan Godley, and ALan Rees (University of Exeter, Centre for Ecology and Conservation) and Dr. Matthew Godfrey (Duke University/North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission). This project was supported by the University of Exeter & …
On April 1 (no fooling!), MGEL and a consortium of over 50 partners launched the Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean (MiCO) system at a side event at a United Nations meeting in New York. The inter-governmental conference was the culmination of years of work by a preparatory committee to engage member nations in discussions for …
Informing policy decisions based on movements of highly migratory marine animals: MiCO Read More »
On April 1st, 2019 the MiCO System launches at the 2nd Intergovernmental Conference on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). Underlying the discussions and negotiations for a new international legally binding instrument are important considerations of how areas within and beyond national jurisdictions are connected, highlighted …
The Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean (MiCO) consortium is a group of over 50 organizations that seeks to fill a major knowledge gap regarding global migratory routes and connected areas for marine mammal, seabird, sea turtle and fish species. Due to their wide-ranging behaviors, migratory species experience a variety of anthropogenic pressures. Combined with conservation …
Cetaceans are protected worldwide but vulnerable to incidental harm from an expanding array of human activities at sea. Managing potential hazards to these highly-mobile populations increasingly requires a detailed understanding of their seasonal distributions and habitats. Pursuant to the urgent need for this knowledge in U.S. waters of the western North Atlantic and Gulf of …
Marine Geospatial Ecology Tools (MGET) is a free, open-source geoprocessing toolbox that can help you solve a wide variety of marine research, conservation, and spatial planning problems. MGET can perform tasks such as: Downloading and converting oceanographic data into GIS formats Identifying ecologically-relevant features in remote sensing imagery Fitting, evaluating, and mapping statistical models of …
Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Bird and Wildlife Use and Fishing Activity in Eastern Pamlico Sound and the Coastal Ocean in Northern Raleigh Bay and Eastern Onslow Bay Funded by Duke Energy In collaboration with Charles H. Peterson, Stephen R. Fegley, Harvey Seim (UNC-CH Marine Sciences), and Chris Taylor (NOAA) In June of 2009, the …