A5081223838- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
- Marine and fisheries research
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
- Marine Sponges and Natural Products
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Vibrio bacteria research studies
- Ichthyology and Marine Biology
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
- Echinoderm biology and ecology
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
- Coastal and Marine Management
- Education and Critical Thinking Development
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Coastal and Marine Dynamics
- Marine animal studies overview
- Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research
- Service-Learning and Community Engagement
- Water Quality Monitoring Technologies
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Plant Virus Research Studies
- Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
University of the Virgin Islands
2016-2025
United States Virgin Islands Department of Health
2010-2024
University of South Florida
2020
Ecological Society of America
2020
University of Miami
2007-2009
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...
Recent outbreaks of coral bleaching and disease have contributed to substantial declines in the abundance reef-building coral. Significant attention has been paid both phenomena order determine their effect on reef trajectories. Although each is positively correlated with high temperatures, few studies explored potential links between disease. A longitudinal study corals Florida Keys was therefore conducted during 2005 Caribbean event quantify extent incidence corals, whether they were...
Deeper coral reefs experience reduced temperatures and light are often shielded from localized anthropogenic stressors such as pollution fishing. The deep reef refugia hypothesis posits that light-dependent stony species at deeper depths buffered thermal stress will avoid bleaching-related mass mortalities caused by increasing sea surface under climate change. This has not been tested because data collection on is difficult. Here we show (mesophotic) reefs, 30-75 m depth, in the Caribbean...
Diseases of tropical reef organisms is an intensive area study, but despite significant advances in methodology and the global knowledge base, identifying proximate causes disease outbreaks remains difficult. The dynamics infectious wildlife diseases are known to be influenced by shifting interactions among host, pathogen, other members microbiome, a collective body work clearly demonstrates that this also case for main foundation species on reefs, corals. Yet, wildlife, coral stand out as...
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was initially documented in Florida 2014 and outbreaks with similar characteristics have since appeared disparate areas throughout the northern Caribbean, causing significant declines communities. SCTLD is characterized by focal or multifocal lesions of denuded skeleton caused rapid affects at least 22 reef-building species Caribbean corals. A tissue-loss consistent case definition first observed U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) January 2019 off south shore...
Abstract Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has been causing significant whole colony mortality on reefs in Florida and the Caribbean. The cause of SCTLD remains unknown, with limited concurrence SCTLD-associated bacteria among studies. We conducted a meta-analysis 16S ribosomal RNA gene datasets generated by 16 field laboratory studies to find consistent associated across zones (vulnerable, endemic, epidemic), species, compartments (mucus, tissue, skeleton), health states (apparently...
Echinoderm mass mortality events shape marine ecosystems by altering the dynamics among major benthic groups. The sea urchin Diadema antillarum, virtually extirpated in Caribbean early 1980s an unknown cause, recently experienced another beginning January 2022. We investigated cause of this event through combined molecular biological and veterinary pathologic approaches comparing grossly normal abnormal animals collected from 23 sites, representing locations that were either affected or...
Abstract Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), one of the most pervasive and virulent diseases on record, affects over 22 species reef-building is decimating reefs throughout Caribbean. To understand how different their algal symbionts (family Symbiodiniaceae) respond to this disease, we examine gene expression profiles colonies five from a SCTLD transmission experiment. The included vary in purported susceptibilities SCTLD, use inform analyses both animal Symbiodiniaceae. We identify...
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....
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first observed in the United States Virgin Islands January 2019 on a reef at Flat Cay off island of St. Thomas. A year after its emergence, had spread to several reefs around Thomas causing significant declines overall cover. Rates are an important metric study ecology, as they can inform many aspects etiology such susceptibility and resistance among species, provide critical parameters for modeling effects heterogenous communities. The present...
Disease outbreaks have caused significant declines of keystone coral species. While forecasting disease based on environmental factors has progressed, we still lack a comparative understanding susceptibility among species that would help predict impacts communities. The present study compared the phenotypic and microbial responses seven Caribbean with diverse life-history strategies after exposure to white plague disease. incidence lesion progression rates were evaluated over seven-day...
Coral communities in the Caribbean face a new and deadly threat form of highly virulent multi-host stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD). In late January 2019, with signs characteristics matching that SCTLD was found affecting reef off coast St. Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Identification its emergence USVI provided opportunity to document initial evolution spatial distribution, species susceptibility characteristics, comparative impact on cover at affected unaffected locations....
Summary Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is a devastating disease. Since 2014, it has spread along the entire Florida Reef Tract and into greater Caribbean. It was first detected in United States Virgin Islands January 2019. To more quickly identify microbial bioindicators of disease, we developed rapid pipeline for microbiome sequencing. Over span 10 days collected, processed sequenced coral near‐coral seawater microbiomes from diseased apparently healthy Colpophyllia natans ,...
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a widespread and deadly that affects nearly half of Caribbean species. To understand the microbial community response to this disease, we performed transmission experiment on US Virgin Island (USVI) corals, exposing six species with varying susceptibility SCTLD. The surface mucus layers were examined separately using small subunit ribosomal RNA gene-based sequencing approach, data analyzed identify shifts following acquisition, potential causative...
Species‐specific responses to disturbance are a central consideration for predicting the composition, dynamics, and function of future communities. These may be predictable based on species traits that can analyzed systematically understand those characteristics important in determining susceptibility potential recovery. Scleractinian coral communities Western Atlantic experiencing increased frequency severity extreme thermal disturbance, bleaching, mortality. A conceptual bleaching response...
In September of 2010, Brewer's Bay reef, located in St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands), was simultaneously affected by abnormally high temperatures and the passage a hurricane that resulted mass bleaching fragmentation its coral community. An outbreak rapid tissue loss disease among colonies associated with these two disturbances. Gross lesion signs progression rates indicated most similar to Caribbean white plague type 1. Experiments transmissible through direct contact between colonies,...
Abstract Changes in coral–sponge interactions can alter reef accretion/erosion balance and are important to predict trends on current algal‐dominated Caribbean reefs. Although sponge abundance is increasing some coral reefs, we lack information how shifts from corals bioeroding sponges occur, environmental factors such as anomalous seawater temperatures consequent bleaching mortality influence these shifts. A state transition model (Markov chain) was developed evaluate the response of...
Infectious diseases are an increasing threat to coral reefs, resulting in altered community structure and hindering the functional contributions of disease-susceptible species. We exposed seven reef-building species from Caribbean white plague disease determined processes involved (i) lesion progression, (ii) within-species gene expression plasticity, (iii) expression-level adaptation among that lead differences risk. Gene networks enriched immune genes cytoskeletal arrangement were...
ABSTRACT Mass mortality of Diadematidae urchins, caused by the Diadema antillarum scuticociliatosis Philaster clade (DScPc) , affected Caribbean in spring 2022 and subsequently spread to eastern Mediterranean, Red Sea, western Indian Ocean. A key question around (DSc), disease scuticociliate, is whether urchin microbiome varies between scuticociliatosis-affected grossly normal urchins. Tissue samples from both abnormal were collected field during initial assessment DSc causative agent an...