The Southeast US Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (SE US MBON) effort is structured to assess ecosystem integrity, advance protection of marine resources, and promote conservation. Specifically, we focus on the integration of ground and satellite observations related to biodiversity to inform ecosystem-based management in and around the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). This includes supporting the regional NOAA Integrated Ecosystem Assessment, the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center, the FKNMS, the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the State of Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) as specific end users of the SE US MBON. The project is led by the College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, in close partnership with NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab, the FKNMS, the US Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS; specifically GCOOS and SECOORA), the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, the University of Miami, and the Oregon State University. The project has carried out oceanographic surveys of the Florida Keys since 2014 every two months, circumnavigating the FKNMS and south Florida. The project has also contributed to the development of the satellite-derived seascapes served through NOAA CoastWatch, data formatting standards with the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), and the biology and ecosystems Essential Ocean Variables (EOV/GOOS) and Essential Climate Variables (ECV/GCOS). https://marinebon.github.io/pages/sfmbon/

• In-situ sampling coastal
• biodiversity
• ecosystem integrity
• marine resources
• ocean observations
• satellite observations
• GOOS Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs)
  • Fish abundance and distribution
  • Hard coral cover and composition
  • Invertebrate abundance and distribution
  • Phytoplankton biomass and diversity
  • Zooplankton biomass and diversity
• GOOS Readiness - Data management and information products
  • Level 7 - Fitness for purpose
• GOOS Readiness - Coordination of observations elements
  • Level 7 - Fitness for purpose
• GOOS Readiness - Requirement processes
  • Level 7 - Fitness for purpose
• Essential Ocean subvariables (EOV subvariables) & Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs)
  • Phytoplankton biomass
  • Phytoplankton genetic composition
  • Phytoplankton in vitro/in vivo pigment fluorescence
  • Phytoplankton pigment concentration by spectrophotometry
  • Zooplankton abundance
  • Zooplankton biomass
  • Zooplankton community composition - community abundance
• GOOS Physics, Biogeochemistry, and Cross-disciplinary EOVs
  • Dissolved organic carbon
  • Nutrients
  • Oxygen
  • Subsurface salinity
  • Subsurface temperature