scholarly journals Resilience of Florida Keys Coral Communities Following Large-Scale Disturbances

Diversity ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 628-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah L. Santavy ◽  
Erich M. Mueller ◽  
Lauri MacLaughlin ◽  
Esther C. Peters ◽  
Robert L. Quarles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Coral Communities

scholarly journals Using Scuba for In Situ Determination of Chlorophyll Distributions in Corals by Underwater Near Infrared Fluorescence Imaging

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Thomas Oh ◽  
Jittiwat Sermsripong ◽  
Barry W. Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescence Imaging ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Fluorescence Emission ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Nir Fluorescence ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Near Infrared Fluorescence Imaging

Studies reporting quantitation and imaging of chlorophyll in corals using visible fluorescent emission in the red near 680 nm can suffer from competing emission from other red-emitting pigments. Here, we report a novel method of selectively imaging chlorophyll distributions in coral in situ using only the near infrared (NIR) fluorescence emission from chlorophyll. Commercially available equipment was assembled that allowed the sequential imaging of visible, visible-fluorescent, and NIR-fluorescent pigments on the same corals. The relative distributions of chlorophyll and fluorescent proteins (GFPs) were examined in numerous corals in the Caribbean Sea, the Egyptian Red Sea, the Indonesian Dampier Strait, and the Florida Keys. Below 2 m depth, solar induced NIR chlorophyll fluorescence can be imaged in daylight without external lighting, thus, it is much easier to do than visible fluorescence imaging done at night. The distributions of chlorophyll and GFPs are unique in every species examined, and while there are some tissues where both fluorophores are co-resident, often tissues are selectively enriched in only one of these fluorescent pigments. Although laboratory studies have clearly shown that GFPs can be photo-protective, their inability to prevent large scale bleaching events in situ may be due to their limited tissue distribution.

scholarly journals Highly variable taxa-specific coral bleaching responses to thermal stresses

2020 ◽  
Vol 648 ◽  
pp. 135-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
TR McClanahan ◽  
ES Darling ◽  
JM Maina ◽  
NA Muthiga ◽  
S D’agata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Thermal Stresses ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Community Change ◽  
Coral Community ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
Historical Temperature ◽  
Management Priorities

Complex histories of chronic and acute sea surface temperature (SST) stresses are expected to trigger taxon- and location-specific responses that will ultimately lead to novel coral communities. The 2016 El Niño-Southern Oscillation provided an opportunity to examine large-scale and recent environmental histories on emerging patterns in 226 coral communities distributed across 12 countries from East Africa to Fiji. Six main coral communities were identified that largely varied across a gradient of Acropora to massive Porites dominance. Bleaching intensity was taxon-specific and was associated with complex interactions among the 20 environmental variables that we examined. Coral community structure was better aligned with the historical temperature patterns between 1985 and 2015 than the 2016 extreme temperature event. Additionally, bleaching responses observed during 2016 differed from historical reports during past warm years. Consequently, coral communities present in 2016 are likely to have been reorganized by both long-term community change and acclimation mechanisms. For example, less disturbed sites with cooler baseline temperatures, higher mean historical SST background variability, and infrequent extreme warm temperature stresses were associated with Acropora-dominated communities, while more disturbed sites with lower historical SST background variability and frequent acute warm stress were dominated by stress-resistant massive Porites corals. Overall, the combination of taxon-specific responses, community-level reorganization over time, geographic variation, and multiple environmental stressors suggest complex responses and a diversity of future coral communities that can help contextualize management priorities and activities.

scholarly journals Evaluating the small-scale epidemiology of the stony-coral -tissue-loss-disease in the middle Florida Keys

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0241871
Author(s):  
William C. Sharp ◽  
Colin P. Shea ◽  
Kerry E. Maxwell ◽  
Erinn M. Muller ◽  
John H. Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Tissue Loss ◽  
Coral Tissue ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Stony Coral ◽  
Frequency Monitoring ◽  
Coral Communities

Along the Florida reef tract, stony-coral-tissue-loss disease (SCTLD) has caused extensive mortality of more than 20 scleractinian coral species. The pathogen is unknown, but its epizoology indicates that the disease, facilitated by water currents, has progressed linearly along the tract, affecting reefs at the scale of hundreds of kilometers. To inform ongoing disease mitigation efforts, we examined the small-scale spatial and temporal epidemiology of SCTLD. We established a series of sites in the middle Florida Keys at offshore and inshore locations that had not yet shown signs of SCTLD. We then conducted high-frequency monitoring from February 2018 through September 2019 and documented the onset of SCTLD and its progression through the sites. SCTLD was first observed at one site during early February 2018 and by early March 2018 all sites showed signs of the disease. A dynamic multistate model suggested that disease transmission was independent of coral density and found little evidence of a positive association between a colony showing signs of SCTLD and the condition or distance to its neighboring colonies. The model did, however, indicate that the probability of a colony showing signs of SCTLD increased with increasing colony surface area. These results are consistent with the water-borne transmission of a pathogen that progressed rapidly through the survey area. However, by the end of our survey the progression of SCTLD had slowed, particularly at inshore sites. Many affected colonies no longer exhibited progressive tissue mortality typical of the disease, suggesting the existence of differentially resilient colonies or coral communities, meriting their use for future coral rescue and propagation and disease research. These results are useful for refining ongoing SCTLD mitigation strategies, particularly by determining when disease rates are sufficiently low for direct intervention efforts designed to arrest disease progression on individual coral colonies will be most effective.

scholarly journals Identifying mangrove-coral habitats in the Florida Keys

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9776
Author(s):  
Christina A. Kellogg ◽  
Ryan P. Moyer ◽  
Mary Jacobsen ◽  
Kimberly Yates
Keyword(s):  
Light Stress ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Porites Porites ◽  
Supportive Environment ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
Consistent Feature ◽  
Ground Truthing

Coral reefs are degrading due to many synergistic stressors. Recently there have been a number of global reports of corals occupying mangrove habitats that provide a supportive environment or refugium for corals, sheltering them by reducing stressors such as oxidative light stress and low pH. This study used satellite imagery and manual ground-truthing surveys to search for mangrove-coral habitats in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and then collected basic environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pHNBS, turbidity) at identified sites using a multi-parameter water quality sonde. Two kinds of mangrove-coral habitats were found in both the Upper and Lower Florida Keys: (1) prop-root corals, where coral colonies were growing directly on (and around) mangrove prop roots, and (2) channel corals, where coral colonies were growing in mangrove channels under the shade of the mangrove canopy, at deeper depths and not in as close proximity to the mangroves. Coral species found growing on and directly adjacent to prop roots included Porites porites (multiple morphs, including P. divaricata and P. furcata), Siderastrea radians, and Favia fragum. Channel coral habitats predominantly hosted S. radians and a few S. siderea, although single colonies of Solenastrea bournoni and Stephanocoenia intersepta were observed. Although clear, low-turbidity water was a consistent feature of these mangrove-coral habitats, the specific combination of environmental factors that determine which mangrove habitats are favorable for coral recruitment remains to be defined. Circumstantial evidence suggests additional coral communities existed on mangrove shorelines of oceanside and backcountry islands until destroyed, likely by Hurricane Irma. These mangrove-coral habitats may be climate refugia for corals and could be included in ecosystem management plans and considered for their applications in coral restoration.

scholarly journals Identifying Mangrove-Coral Habitats in the Florida Keys

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina A. Kellogg ◽  
Ryan P. Moyer ◽  
Mary Jacobsen ◽  
Kimberly K. Yates
Keyword(s):  
Coral Species ◽  
Light Stress ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Porites Porites ◽  
Supportive Environment ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
Ground Truthing

AbstractCoral reefs are degrading due to many synergistic stressors. Recently there have been a number of global reports of corals occupying mangrove habitats that provide a supportive environment or refugium for corals, sheltering them by reducing stressors such as oxidative light stress and low pH. This study used satellite imagery and manual ground-truthing surveys to search for mangrove-coral habitats in the Florida Keys and then collected basic environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pHNBS, turbidity) at identified sites using a multi-parameter water quality sonde. Two kinds of mangrove-coral habitats were found in both the Upper and Lower Florida Keys: (1) prop-root corals, where coral colonies were growing directly on (and around) mangrove prop roots, and (2) channel corals, where coral colonies were growing in mangrove channels under the shade of the mangrove canopy, at deeper depths and not in as close proximity to the mangroves. Coral species found growing on and directly adjacent to prop roots included Porites porites (multiple morphs), Siderastrea radians and Favia fragum. Channel coral habitats predominantly hosted S. radians and a few S. siderea, although single colonies of Solenastrea bournoni and Stephanocoenia intersepta were observed. Circumstantial evidence suggests additional coral communities existed on mangrove shorelines of oceanside and backcountry islands until destroyed, likely by Hurricane Irma. These mangrove-coral habitats may be climate refugia for corals and could be included in ecosystem management plans and considered for their applications in coral restoration, for example, as a source of adapted genetic resources, places to support growth and acclimation of coral outplants, or natural laboratories to test survival of different genotypes.

Canopy gaps do not help establish pioneer species in a South Florida dry forest

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua M. Diamond ◽  
Michael S. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Canopy Gaps ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Weighted Averaging ◽  
Pioneer Species ◽  
Gap Formation ◽  
Apparent Lack ◽  
Species Establishment

Abstract:Canopy gaps create a temporary spatial heterogeneity, often allowing pioneer species to establish and grow in mature forests. In this study, we asked whether the above model holds for tropical dry forests in the Florida Keys. Six hundred and forty-eight canopy gaps in an extensive Key Largo forest were identified with a LiDAR digital canopy model. The structure and composition of juvenile trees were examined in 45 selected gaps in three stands of known age, and weighted averaging calibration and regression were applied to the data to determine the successional age optimum for each tree species, and the inferred age for each gap based on its sapling composition. Less than 1% of the forest area was recorded as canopy gaps in the LiDAR model. The inferred stand ages were about 70 y greater in canopy gaps in young forest than in the surrounding, unimpacted forest. This suggested that gap formation advanced succession rather than reversing or resetting it. The apparent lack of recruitment by early-successional species may be due to the small size of canopy gaps in this forest, and the minimal contrast between gap and understorey environments; light and water conditions in the small gaps may favour late-successional rather than pioneer species. Establishment of pioneer species may not take place without intense, large-scale disturbances such as fires and hurricanes that remove the entire canopy and consume or erode soils.

Some comments about observations and image processing of comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

1999 ◽  
Vol 173 ◽  
pp. 243-248
Author(s):  
D. Kubáček ◽  
A. Galád ◽  
A. Pravda
Keyword(s):  
Image Processing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Harvard College ◽  
Oak Ridge ◽  
Large Scale Structures ◽  
Short Period Comet ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Scale Structures ◽  
Harvard College Observatory ◽  
Period Comet

AbstractUnusual short-period comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 inspired many observers to explain its unpredictable outbursts. In this paper large scale structures and features from the inner part of the coma in time periods around outbursts are studied. CCD images were taken at Whipple Observatory, Mt. Hopkins, in 1989 and at Astronomical Observatory, Modra, from 1995 to 1998. Photographic plates of the comet were taken at Harvard College Observatory, Oak Ridge, from 1974 to 1982. The latter were digitized at first to apply the same techniques of image processing for optimizing the visibility of features in the coma during outbursts. Outbursts and coma structures show various shapes.

Evolution of Large-Scale Coronal Structures

1994 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 29-33
Author(s):  
P. Ambrož
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Field Line ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Coronal Magnetic Field ◽  
Source Surface ◽  
Solar Cycles ◽  
Characteristic Relationship ◽  
The Magnetic Field ◽  
Coronal Structures

AbstractThe large-scale coronal structures observed during the sporadically visible solar eclipses were compared with the numerically extrapolated field-line structures of coronal magnetic field. A characteristic relationship between the observed structures of coronal plasma and the magnetic field line configurations was determined. The long-term evolution of large scale coronal structures inferred from photospheric magnetic observations in the course of 11- and 22-year solar cycles is described.Some known parameters, such as the source surface radius, or coronal rotation rate are discussed and actually interpreted. A relation between the large-scale photospheric magnetic field evolution and the coronal structure rearrangement is demonstrated.

Large-scale Motion of Solar Filaments

2000 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 205-208
Author(s):  
Pavel Ambrož ◽  
Alfred Schroll
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Flux ◽  
Proper Motion ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Accuracy Of Measurements ◽  
Solar Filaments ◽  
General Movement ◽  
Scale Motion ◽  
Velocity Scatter

AbstractPrecise measurements of heliographic position of solar filaments were used for determination of the proper motion of solar filaments on the time-scale of days. The filaments have a tendency to make a shaking or waving of the external structure and to make a general movement of whole filament body, coinciding with the transport of the magnetic flux in the photosphere. The velocity scatter of individual measured points is about one order higher than the accuracy of measurements.

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