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Marine protected areas (MPAs) can help ensure long‐term conservation of natural resources and protect biodiversity, ecosystem services, and cultural values in the face of anthropogenic change. However, determining MPA effectiveness is often challenging due to the lack of comprehensive baseline data and/or biases associated with biodiversity survey methods. Environmental DNA (eDNA) represents a promising tool to overcome these challenges. Here, we used a suite of three metabarcoding targets—prokaryote‐specific 16S, eukaryote‐specific 18S, and vertebrate‐specific 12S—to generate baseline data of all organisms, from bacteria to whales, within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS). Surface water, bottom water, and sediment from 40 sites revealed three archaeal, 46 bacterial, 22 protistan, and 17 metazoan phyla. eDNA offers insight into the spatial resolution of biodiversity within SBNMS, potentially providing a new tool which could inform management practices to protect biodiversity. For vertebrate eDNA monitoring, most species were observed in bottom water, suggesting that less extensive sampling could be sufficient if targeting overall vertebrate richness. However, the inclusion of other sample types revealed patterns in relative sequence abundance that may be indicative of habitat use, particularly for Northern sand lance, a key forage fish. Microbial, phytoplankton, and zooplankton community composition differed dramatically between sample types, requiring all three to adequately capture species richness, providing data for potential indicator species such as those that cause harmful algal blooms. While future evaluations of cost, sampling scope, frequency, and how to incorporate data into management practices are needed, this study offers important baseline information for new hypotheses testing. Three marker genes targeting prokaryotic, eukaryotic, and vertebrate diversity were used to assess biodiversity within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. High levels of biodiversity were seen across the sampled area, with distinct communities across surface water, bottom water, and sediment. When compared to traditional visual data, eDNA provided higher resolution habitat use data for the Northern sand lance.

Vessel strike and entanglement in fishing gear are global threats to large whales. United States management actions to reduce human-induced serious injury and mortality to large whales have been inadequate, partially due to static, spatial protection schemes that fail to adjust to distribution shifts of highly mobile animals. Whale conservation would benefit from dynamic ocean management, but few tools exist to inform dynamic approaches. Seabirds are often found in association with whales and can be tagged at lower cost and in higher numbers than whales. We explored the use of satellite-tagged seabirds (great shearwaters) as dynamic ocean management tools for near real-time identification of habitats where humpback and North Atlantic right whales aggregate, potentially increasing anthropogenic risk. We identified shearwater habitat use areas in the Gulf of Maine with 50% kernel density utilization distributions at yearly, monthly, and weekly scales using satellite-telemetry data from 2013-2018. We quantified overlap using whale sightings and whale satellite telemetry data at two spatial scales: Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the Gulf of Maine. Within the sanctuary, shearwaters overlapped with >50% of humpback sightings in 4 of 6 (67%) years, 15 of 23 (65%) months, and 50 of 89 (56%) of weeks. At the Gulf of Maine scale, shearwater use areas overlapped >50% of humpback sightings in 5 of 6 years (83%) and 16 of 22 (73%) months, and encompassed humpback 50% utilization distributions (based on satellite telemetry) in 2 of 3 (66%) years and 7/12 (58%) months analyzed. Overlap between shearwaters and right whales was much lower, with >50% overlap in only 1 of 6 (17%) years and 3 of 23 (13%) months. These initial results demonstrate that satellite-tagged shearwaters can be indicators of humpback whale habitat use in both space and time. With further study, tagged shearwaters may provide near-real time information necessary to operationalize dynamic management to mitigate human impacts on humpback whales.

[...] Joanne could tell us the names of the whales we saw and even their relationships to the other whales.

Congress bestowed sanctuary status on Stellwagen Bank in 1992. What followed was an almost decade-long torpor marked by lackluster management, poorly attended planning sessions, and half-hearted efforts to promote public stewardship. Other than banning sand and gravel mining within the 638-square-nautical-mile area, the sanctuary has been a bust. Now the political climate is changing. Recent public meetings in nine ports throughout New England reveal a deeper commitment to protecting the area from overuse by humans. A final management plan for Stellwagen Bank is not expected until the summer of 2004. But a 15-member sanctuary advisory council is focused on ecosystem safeguards, marine mammal protection, water quality, public awareness, and enforcement issues.

Centuries of exploitation in marine areas have negatively impacted the biomass, diversity, and function of marine habitats and life on a global scale. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly relied upon as a conservation strategy to address the degradation of marine resources in the U.S., but research on the social context that shapes protection of these marine spaces remains sparse. This study explores protection through the evolution of the people and groups who use the marine resources within MPAs and those who manage MPAs over time. Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) is used as a case study to understand how roles and relationships among these may or may not influence MPA management decisions and policy. Data was collected through thirteen semi-structured interviews conducted in the summer and fall of 2019 with individuals who have historic and/or current ties to the use and management of SBNMS, participant observation as a SBNMS intern during the summer of 2019, and document analysis of the management plan and relevant legislation. Finding indicate that SBNMS is faced with multiple challenges related to the federal legislation that governs sanctuaries, dominant regional histories of resource use, and intra-institutional communication in its efforts to enact long-term protection for Stellwagen Bank. Additionally, this site provides valuable insights into how people involved with management at Stellwagen perceive protection of marine space and offers opportunities to reconceptualize protection as a multi-faceted endeavor that includes non-ecological elements such as education and outreach. Results from this research have tangible applications for SBNMS but may also serve as a starting point to evaluate protection definitions and priorities for other regional MPA institutions.