2015 NC Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
<p style='text-indent:-.25in;'><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Symbol;'><span style=''>·<span style='font:7.0pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;'>       </span></span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;'>With funding from the Coastal Recreational Fishing License Fund (CRFL) and field and<br />technical support from the NC Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) and National<br />Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), digital data of coastal<br />submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) was mapped by NCDMF for the year 2015.</span></p><p style='text-indent:-.25in;'><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Symbol;'><span style=''>·<span style='font:7.0pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;'>       </span></span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;'>This is the second mapping effort for the area south of Bogue Sound; the first<br />effort was mapped for imagery years 2006-2008, in partnership with Albemarle Pamlico<br />National Estuary Partnership and NOAA.</span></p><p style='text-indent:-.25in;'><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;'><br /></span></p><p style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:
Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol'>·<span style='font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;'>       </span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif'>Visible
SAV was mapped along the Southern coast of North Carolina. This extent encompasses
the high-salinity coastal zone of Onslow Bay that lies south of the Bogue Sound
and terminating near Mason’s Inlet. (Onslow, Pender, and New Hanover counties)</span></p><p style='text-indent:-.25in;'><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;'><br /></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal'><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif'>Imagery
Acquisition:</span></u></p><p style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:
Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol'>·<span style='font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;'>       </span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif'>Imagery
collection was contracted to NCDOT and captured on May 24, 2015. Aircraft
height was 10,000 ft for a final imagery product with a 1 ft pixel size.</span></p><p><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;
font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif'>Map Digitization:</span></u></p><p style='text-indent:-.25in;'>





</p><p style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:
Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol'>·<span style='font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;'>       </span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif'>The
imagery was loaded into ArcGIS for manual on-screen digitizing using procedures
described in Rohman and Monaco (2005). Digitizing scale was set between 1:1500
and 1:2500. Habitat boundaries were delineated around benthic habitat features
(e.g., areas with visually discernible differences in color and texture patterns).
The scanned images were occasionally manipulated in terms of brightness,
contrast and color balance to enhance interpretability of subtle features and
boundaries. The minimum mapping unit (MMU) is generally defined as the smallest
feature (e.g., an individual SAV bed) or aggregate of features (e.g., SAV
patches) that is delineated using a given source of imagery.  For this
study the MMU was approximately 0.2 ha, or in general patches that were at
least 15 m across on their longest axis.</span></p><p style='text-indent:-.25in;'><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;'><br /></span></p>
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