IAN is committed to producing practical, user-centered communications that foster a better understanding of science and enable readers to pursue new opportunities in research, education, and environmental problem-solving. Our publications synthesize scientific findings using effective science communication techniques.

2019 Gulf of Mexico Coral Reef Preliminary Report Card (Page 1)

2019 Gulf of Mexico Coral Reef Preliminary Report Card

Nuno Simões, Jennifer Pollack, Fernando Bretos TOF, Erica K. Towle NOAA, Shay Viehman, Matthew Johnson, Joaquín Rodrigo Garza Pérez, Armando Carmona, Lorenzo Álvarez Filip, Horacio Pérez España, Cristobal Cáceres G. Cantón C, Luis Quijano, Alfonso Aguilar Perera, Melania López Castro, A.C., Eduardo Amir Cuevas, Enrique Montes Herrera, Julia Azanza Ricardo, Gustavo Arencibia, Patricia González-Díaz, Dorka Cobián Rojas, Juliett González Méndez, Andrea Rivera Sosa, Luis Alcántara Organizing team, Ulsía Urrea Mariño, Ixel Osorio, Alberto Guerra, Daniel Martínez Hernandez ·
20 March 2020

The Gulf of Mexico is one of the most diverse and productive ecosystems in the world. Its coral reefs are biological diverse habitats, of high cultural and economic significance. This report card was developed during a workshop held in Merida, Yucatan in November, 2019. It outlines potential indicators of coral reef ecosystem health, perceived conditions of the reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, and next steps for developing a quantitative assessment of Gulf of Mexico coral reef ecosystems.

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2020 Verde River Watershed Report Card (Page 1)

2020 Verde River Watershed Report Card

Andrew Elmore, Alexandra Fries, Emily Nastase, Heath Kelsey ·
18 February 2020

Watershed report cards are powerful tools to describe ecosystem status, increase public awareness, and inform and influence decision makers to improve the health of a watershed. This is the first Verde River Watershed Report Card. It is the collective effort of dozens of stakeholders throughout the Verde watershed. Indicators in the report card were selected to assess the health of three different values in the Verde watershed: Water, Habitat, and Communities.

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2018 Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card (Page 1)

2018 Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card

Emily Nastase, Annie Carew, Bill Dennison, Heath Kelsey, Katie May Laumann ·
23 September 2019

The aim of this report card is to provide a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of 2018 Coastal Bays health. Coastal Bays health is defined as the progress of four water quality indicators (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen) and two biotic indicators (seagrass, hard clams) toward scientifically derived ecological thresholds or goals.

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Texas Coast Ecosystem Health Report Card 2019 (Page 1)

Texas Coast Ecosystem Health Report Card 2019

Jamie Currie, Heath Kelsey, Emily Nastase ·
29 May 2019

IAN staff and HRI scientists collaborated in a series of workshops in 2016 and 2018 to produce the 2019 Texas Coast Ecosystem Health Report Card. This report card uses 13 biotic and 2 abiotic indicators to determine the overall condition of the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The coastline scored a B- (80%) overall, indicating moderately good ecosystem health. The report card breaks its indicators into five different categories: water quality, fisheries, birds, oysters and seagrasses.

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2018 Chesapeake Bay & Watershed Report Card (Page 1)

2018 Chesapeake Bay & Watershed Report Card

Alexandra Fries, Caroline Donovan, Dylan Taillie, Heath Kelsey, Sky Swanson, Bill Dennison ·
21 May 2019

This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of Chesapeake Bay. In 2018, the report card includes five water quality indicators and two biotic indicators. In 2018, the overall grade for Chesapeake Bay is a 46%, a C. This means the Bay is in moderate health. Despite the decrease in score from 2017, overall bay health is still significantly improving over time. Long term trends of each reporting region health and a fisheries index are also presented.

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2012-2017 Everglades Report Card (Page 1)

2012-2017 Everglades Report Card

Alexandra Fries, Emily Nastase, Bill Nuttle, Caroline Donovan, Heath Kelsey ·
23 April 2019

This is the first Everglades report card. It is a RECOVER product that provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of health of the Florida Everglades using data from May 1, 2012 – April 30, 2017. The Everglades Report Card, a complement to the 2019 System Status Report, assesses and synthesizes ecological data to evaluate overall ecosystem condition using performance-driven metrics compared against a goal or ecologically-relevant threshold.

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Tuul River Basin Report Card 2019 (Page 1)

Tuul River Basin Report Card 2019

Simon Costanzo, Dylan Taillie ·
22 March 2019

The Tuul River Basin Report Card—the first of its kind in Mongolia—assesses the basin's health through social, environmental and economic values that can be tracked over time in response to management actions and/or external pressures. The Tuul River Basin has been evaluated in this assessment as “moderate” health or ‘C’, meaning urgent management interventions are required to maintain the health of the river.

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