A5015464074- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Marine and fisheries research
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
- Coastal and Marine Management
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Ichthyology and Marine Biology
- Marine animal studies overview
- Coastal and Marine Dynamics
- Marine Sponges and Natural Products
- Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Fish biology, ecology, and behavior
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Cephalopods and Marine Biology
- Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
- Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research
- Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies
- Crustacean biology and ecology
- Reproductive tract infections research
- Pediatric health and respiratory diseases
- Marine and Offshore Engineering Studies
- Animal and Plant Science Education
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
University of Miami
2016-2025
California State University, Long Beach
1994
Background The rising temperature of the world's oceans has become a major threat to coral reefs globally as severity and frequency mass bleaching mortality events increase. In 2005, high ocean temperatures in tropical Atlantic Caribbean resulted most severe event ever recorded basin. Methodology/Principal Findings Satellite-based tools provided warnings for reef managers scientists, guiding both timing location researchers' field observations anomalously warm conditions developed spread...
Background Coral reefs are facing increasing pressure from natural and anthropogenic stressors that have already caused significant worldwide declines. In January 2010, coral of Florida, United States, were impacted by an extreme cold-water anomaly exposed corals to temperatures well below their reported thresholds (16°C), causing rapid mortality unprecedented in spatial extent severity. Methodology/Principal Findings Reef surveys conducted Martin County the Lower Florida Keys within weeks...
Reef restoration activities have proliferated in response to the need mitigate coral declines and recover lost reef structure, function, ecosystem services. Here, we describe recent shift from costly complex engineering solutions degraded structure more economical efficient ecological approaches that focus on recovering living components of communities. We review adoption expansion gardening framework Caribbean Western Atlantic where practitioners now grow outplant 10,000's corals onto reefs...
Acropora palmata, a branching coral abundant on shallow reef environments throughout the Caribbean, is susceptible to physical disturbance caused by storms. Accordingly, survivorship and propagation of this species are tied its capability recover after fragmentation. Fragments A. palmata comprised 40% ramets within populations that had experienced recent While fragments was not directly related size fragments, removal from areas where they settled influenced size. Survivorship also affected...
Background The drastic decline in the abundance of Caribbean acroporid corals (Acropora cervicornis, A. palmata) has prompted listing this genus as threatened well development a regional propagation and restoration program. Using situ underwater nurseries, we documented influence coral genotype symbiont identity, colony size, method on growth branching patterns staghorn Florida Dominican Republic. Methodology/Principal Findings Individual tracking of> 1700 nursery-grown fragments colonies...
The relationship between the coral genotype and environment is an important area of research in degraded reef ecosystems. We used a reciprocal outplanting experiment with 930 corals representing ten genotypes on each eight reefs to investigate influence growth survivorship threatened Caribbean staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis. Coral site were strong drivers individual exhibited flexible, non-conserved reaction norms, complemented by ten-fold differences specific G-E combinations. Growth...
The rapid loss of reef-building corals owing to ocean warming is driving the development interventions such as coral propagation and restoration, selective breeding assisted gene flow. Many these target naturally heat-tolerant individuals boost climate resilience, but challenges quickly reliably quantifying heat tolerance identifying thermotolerant have hampered implementation. Here, we used bleaching automated stress systems perform rapid, standardized assays on 229 colonies Acropora...
Recent, global mass-mortalities of reef corals due to record warm sea temperatures have led researchers consider warming as one the most significant threats persistence coral ecosystems. The passage a hurricane can alleviate thermal stress on reefs, highlighting potential for hurricane-associated cooling mitigate climate change impacts. We provide evidence that hurricane-induced was responsible documented differences in extent and recovery time bleaching between Florida Reef Tract U.S....
We determined the source of fatty acids in scleractinian corals by separately measuring and comparing δ 13 C values zooxanthellae coral hosts from two species ( Montastraea faveolata Porites astreoides ) reefs Florida Reef Tract. Using an isotopic mass balance approach, we show that are dominant many colonies heterotrophic feeding can be important significant essential ω 3 for corals. There is considerable variability behavior within species, between single reef sites. In individual...
Acropora cervicornis, a threatened, keystone reef-building coral has undergone severe declines (>90 %) throughout the Caribbean. These could reduce genetic variation and thus hamper species' ability to adapt. Active restoration strategies are common conservation approach mitigate require data on surviving populations efficiently respond while maintaining diversity needed adapt changing conditions. To evaluate active for staghorn coral, of A. cervicornis within among was assessed in 77...
Climate-driven reef decline has prompted the development of next-generation coral conservation strategies, many which hinge on movement adaptive variation across genetic and environmental gradients. This process is limited by our understanding how genotypic drivers bleaching will manifest in different conditions. We reciprocally transplanted 10 genotypes Acropora cervicornis eight sites along a 60 km span Florida Reef Tract documented significant genotype × environment interactions response...
Coral communities worldwide are undergoing intense degradation in response to natural and human disturbances, many reef systems have already experienced significant declines live coral cover associated with an increase macroalgal abundance. Here, we document the seasonal dynamics of Northern Florida Reef Tract, providing a baseline for long-term studies coral-algal competition area.
During an unusual cold‐water event in January 2010, reefs along the Florida Reef Tract suffered extensive coral mortality, especially shallow reef habitats close proximity to shore and with connections coastal bays. The threatened staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis , is focus of propagation restoration activities one species that exhibited high susceptibility low temperatures. Complete mortality wild colonies was documented at 42.9% donor sites surveyed after cold event. Remarkably, 72.7%...
Large-scale coral reef restoration is needed to help recover structure and function of degraded ecosystems mitigate continued declines. In situ propagation efforts have scaled up significantly in past decades, particularly for the threatened Caribbean staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, but little known about role that native competitors predators, such as farming damselfishes, on success restoration. Steep declines A. cervicornis abundance may concentrated negative impacts damselfish...