Through a 2020 catalyst project, the Heʻeia and Kachemak Bay Reserves worked to advance the equitable representation of cultural ecosystem services in estuary stewardship by providing practical information and opportunities for facilitated exchange.

Cultural ecosystem services (CES), one of four main categories of ecosystem services, are often described as the non-material benefits that humans receive from their interactions with the environment.

Seventeen projects involving 27 reserves across the nation and totaling more than $2 million have been recommended for support by NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative.

This presentation was developed for a public lecture series sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute and the Mission-Aransas NERR a part of the 2020 catalyst project to integrate acoustic monitoring into multiple reserve programs in the southeast region.This presentation describes the acoustic monitoring framework with applications to research, stewardship, and education, co-produced with the North Inlet-Winyah Bay, Rookery Bay, and Mission-Aransas NERRs, along with other regional management users.

Project Lead Chris Biggs gives a 5-minute introduction to "Listen In: Acoustic Monitoring of Estuarine Communities Facing Ecosystem Change," a catalyst project funded in 2020 by the NERRS Science Collaborative.

This table summarizes the key findings related to the fish capture, transport and husbandry practices tested in the 2020 catalyst project led by the Kachemak Bay Reserve to catalyze future research on the mechanisms of paralytic shellfish toxin transfer from forage fish to upper trophic populations.

These data encompass the nearshore fish surveys conducted by the Kachemak Bay Reserve as part of a 2020 catalyst project that expanded research collaborations and completed proof of concept activities to catalyze future research on the mechanisms of paralytic shellfish toxin transfer from forage fish to upper trophic populations.