WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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Welcome to Gray's Reef National Marine
Sanctuary.

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Spectacular, isn't it?

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So what's so special about this patch of water?

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Just looks like water. Pretty much like

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every other patch of water.

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Or does it?

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Join us as we journey below the surface.

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What we discover is an extraordinary oasis of life.

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We find hundreds of
species of fish,

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threatened and endangered species,

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an abundance of
sponges and corals, all drawn to this

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unique and essential hard bottom reef ecosystem.

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Protecting this important underwater community

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requires careful study.

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At Gray's Reef, researchers from many organizations

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come together to monitor the reef's health.

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A key question they're trying to answer is

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what observed changes are due to natural variations

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versus human activities?

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Aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, a team

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of 14 scientists conducts round-the-clock research

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to monitor marine life in Gray's Reef.

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This work tells the story of how healthy the sanctuary is

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and what may be changing.

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This is one of the few places in the
world where I can jump in the water and

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study the interactions of individual
animals playing out over the course of

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the day and night in their environment
and see predation in action,

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individual animals feeding on others. And
I work on higher trophic level predators.

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Today we did a diving survey for the
distribution of prey and predators and

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their behaviors along the reef,

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and recovered a time-lapse camera.

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The time-lapse camera allows us to look at the

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abundance and behavior of animals over 24 hours

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Using fisheries acoustics we are able to characterize

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the distribution of predators and prey

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over different habitats and throughout the 24 hours.

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First we pick a side to survey

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and then we go up and down

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with the ship with the echo sounder going

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and trying to characterize the area all over this side.

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We are privileged to serve as stewards of

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Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary.

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to fulfill this responsibility we need information.

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Information about the health
of the creatures and the habitats within

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this precious place.

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We do this to ensure that Gray's Reef remains a healthy

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and thriving marine community

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for us, for the ocean,

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and because it's the right thing to do.

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As we finish our dive to Gray's Reef,

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we return to the surface.

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Once again, we see only water.

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Or do we?

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Our work is important because it reveals the invisible fabric of nature.

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We're beginning to understand the interactions

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within and between species,
individual animals operating in the habitat,

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in the community here in Gray's
Reef National Marine Sanctuary.

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It's important for moving forward to involve
all the principles of ecosystem-based management,

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both for managing the
sanctuary in particular and the larger

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region as the whole.

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And it allows us to
think about what sustainability means

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for the long-term in terms of conserving
our natural heritage.

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Now what do you see?