The Mangrove Coast Collaborative (MCC) project (2020 – 2024) began in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria (September 2017). Jobos Bay and Rookery Bay NERRs jointly recognized the need to understand and enhance the resilience of their mangrove ecosystems and the surrounding communities in southeastern Puerto Rico and southwest Florida, respectively. Through a multi-disciplinary approach spanning four research themes – time-series mapping, ecosystem assessment, ecosystem services modeling, and management options – the MCC investigated the loss and recovery of mangroves, the relationships between drivers of hurricane impact and recovery, the effects to ecosystem services, and the ways that managers have made information-based decisions. Using co-production methods, the project team developed and shared products at a recent regional Mangrove and Management Forum that brought together a newly coalescing community of mangrove scientists and managers in the southeastern US and Caribbean.
In this webinar, the project team will describe how the mangrove science-to-management community developed as an integral part of the MCC and will share an overview of how the ongoing results of the MCC have responded to the needs of this growing community.
Speakers:
 | Danielle Ogurcak, Florida International University Danielle is a Research Assistant Professor at FIU and Interdisciplinary Science Liaison at Rookery Bay NERR. Her research focuses on the effects of disturbance and regional water management on coastal vegetation ecology. She serves as the MCC Project Lead and Technical Lead for mangrove ecosystem assessment (Task 2). |
 | Digna Rueda-Roa, University of South Florida Digna is a biological oceanographer, with expertise in processing and producing diverse satellite ocean products. For this project, Digna generated high-resolution (2 m) maps of mangrove coverage and its changes over time. |
 | Sara Mason, Duke University, Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability Sara Mason is a Senior Policy Associate in the Ecosystem Services Program at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. Her work centers on the interdisciplinary nature of natural resource management, with projects focusing on incorporating ecosystem services into natural resource management decisions, nature-based solutions policy and finance, environmental markets, climate resilience policy, and sustainable infrastructure. She led task 3 of the MCC project, focused on assessing the possible ecosystem services impacts of changes to the mangrove ecosystems at both reserves. |
 | Brita Jessen, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey Brita has served in three positions during the course of this project! She was the Research Coordinator at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve until 2021 and the Interdisciplinary Research and Partnerships Lead at S.C. Sea Grant Consortium (2021-2024). She led task 4 of the MCC focusing on management needs and options, with an additional task of building the Collaborative’s glossary of project-specific definitions for effective communication. |
 | Marissa Figueroa, Rookery Bay NERR Marissa has been with Rookery Bay NERR since 2018, and has been the Coastal Training Program Coordinator since 2022. The Coastal Training Program serves the reserve and the community to aid in facilitation, relationship-building, and bringing science-based information, tools and training to local decision-makers. As the Co-Collaborative Lead for the Mangrove Coast Collaborative, Marissa has helped to lead the project team meetings, facilitated the interactions with Project Advisory Committees, and was instrumental in planning and facilitating the MCC Mangrove and Management Forum. |