GULF OF MEXICO BIODIVERSITY VULNERABILITY TOOL

Mitigating marine biodiversity loss in coastal regions

THE ASU ADVANTAGE

Marine resources play an important role in the economies of coastal regions. Greater biodiversity contributes to a greater number of physical, biological, and non-extractive resources. The decline of marine plants and animals can lead to conflict over resources and adversely impact these regions. It is critical to understand how human activity affects marine life so that restoration and recovery initiatives can be made effectively. The Gulf of Mexico decision-support tool developed by the Decision Theater team allows stakeholders to examine specific areas within the Gulf, identify which species are in that area, and assess the risks for those species.

Core Capabilities

The Gulf of Mexico Marine Biodiversity Vulnerability tool demonstrates the species-based consequences of development and oil rig operation along the gulf coast. Decision Theater partnered with the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes in the ASU School of Sustainability to incorporate their research on species vulnerability into a visualized, usable software tool. The species vulnerability index, which powers this tool’s findings, gives a first-ever comprehensive ranking for life in the region and offers a new metric for decision makers to consider. Through geospatial informatics, stakeholders are able to fully visualize where vulnerabilities lie within the Gulf of Mexico. This enables them to better prioritize species, habitat, and ecosystem conservation and restoration when making operational planning decisions.

“Decision-makers need to make decisions within resource constraints and regions. They need to know what species are in an area and what their vulnerability is to extinction or threats. There are so many questions you can ask of this data in terms of management and decision science to help facilitate decision making.”

Dr. Beth Polidoro, Associate Director of the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes ASU School of Sustainability

How it Works

This tool maps Marine Protected Areas, existing oil rigs, and shipping lanes to demonstrate the species-based consequences of developing oil rigs along the gulf coast. A geospatial area can be selected from the map to show information for the species that live in that area, including their IUCN Red List Categories, population status, and distribution, use in trade, common threats, and conservation measures. Data filters allow stakeholders to strategize their course of action while maximizing biodiversity conservation in the selected region. The current iteration of the model serves as a prototype that allows researchers to demonstrate the value of this index to a wide audience of stakeholders in a format that allows them to interact with the data, play what if scenarios, and determine how this information could be used for their own decision-making purposes. As research in the Gulf continues, new data can be incorporated into the tool’s framework to give a more complete view of the region. Information for a larger variety of species, as well as indexes for different vulnerabilities such as petrochemical exposure or the presence of microplastics, can be integrated into the tool. The species vulnerability index and decision-support research is not constrained to the habitats within the Gulf of Mexico region. Data and index rankings for resilience are available for an extensive range of species across the world, and the Decision Theater’s software framework can be repurposed and customized for diverse audiences. Researchers, stakeholders, and policy makers in other regions, such as the Persian Gulf, can work with the Decision Theater to develop a tool tailored to their environment’s unique nuances and needs.