MBON Tool Suite Developed to Ocean/Animal Relationships

New tools were developed by partners of the Sanctuaries MBON team in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to investigate the relationships between the ocean environment and animal communities of the Sanctuary, and to convey this information to a variety of users. Interactive infographics provide dynamic status and trend information and data-driven storytelling for use by resource managers, educators, and public constituents of the Sanctuaries. For science teams and advisory groups that need additional detail and technical capabilities, MBON is developing curated data views and map-based data discovery tools. This suite of tools - available through the MBON Data Portal hosted by U.S. IOOS - improves access to observing data on critical parameters for understanding biodiversity in the Sanctuaries. In April 2019, U.S. IOOS, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and AOML hosted a workshop to begin development of such tools for use in the Florida Keys, and efforts are underway to expand the development and use of infographics and other tools to other Sanctuaries and the Integrated Ecosystem Assessment program. MBON leverages significant investment in ocean observing and data management and visualization to bring new tools to users that aid interpretation and understanding of data about living marine and coastal resources and support management decisions.