| Florida Keys BleachWatch: Community-based reporting of coral bleaching and data integration with existing NOAA remote sensing and coral bleaching early warning products |
Mote Marine Laboratory |
Erich Bartels, ebartels@mote.org, Staff Scientist, The Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration, Coral Reef Science and Monitoring Program |
$16,895 |
Funding will support Florida Keys BleachWatch, a program that trains and coordinates volunteers to regularly report coral bleaching and other environmental conditions from reef sites throughout the Florida Keys. These reports are synthesized with data from NOAA to provide scientists and resource managers a summary of “current conditions” on the reef throughout summer, when corals are likeliest to bleach. BleachWatch helps researchers develop better predictions of coral bleaching events and supports public awareness of coral bleaching, a growing problem in the Keys and worldwide. |
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| Marine Ecosystem Event Response and Assessment (MEERA): Community Based Reporting and Response to Marine Events in the Florida Keys |
Mote Marine Laboratory |
Erich Bartels, ebartels@mote.org, Staff Scientist, Tropical Research Laboratory, Coral Reef Science and Monitoring Program |
$32,477 |
Funding will support the Marine Ecosystem Event Response and Assessment Project (MEERA), which Mote administers with support from and coordination with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. MEERA invites members of the public who to report unusual events they witness in the Keys Sanctuary and surrounding areas. Begun in 1997, MEERA helps provide scientists with early notice of potential large-scale problems such as coral disease or bleaching, algal blooms or discolored water, diseased or dead animals and sick or stranded marine mammals and sea turtles. |
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| Coral connectivity between deep and shallow sites in the Upper Florida Keys: Identifying deep water refugia and assessing their importance as sources of coral replenishment following bleaching |
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science |
Andrew C. Baker, Ph.D., abaker@rsmas.miami.edu, Assistant Professor, Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149. |
$19,020 |
The grant will support continued research on whether coral larvae from deepwater reefs can help replenish nearby shallow-water reefs — areas more vulnerable to bleaching from climate change. Researchers will focus on six important species of reef-building coral in the Upper Florida Keys, comparing DNA from shallow and deep reefs to determine if deepwater larvae are carried to shallow reefs. Results could allow resource managers to better help damaged reefs bounce back. |
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| Feasibility of using probiotics to control bacterial diseases in corals |
University of Florida |
Max Teplitski, Soil and Water Science Department, maxtep@ufl.edu, 2169 McCarty Hall A, PO Box 110290, Gainesville, FL 32611-0290 |
$31,331 |
Funding will support continuing research on how beneficial bacteria might be used to fight disease-causing bacteria on corals. The researchers have already found that beneficial bacteria living in the mucous on corals’ surfaces make chemical compounds that help keep harmful bacteria from growing on corals. The helpful bacteria also make compounds that disrupt communications between harmful bacteria. Protecting against bacterial diseases is increasingly important as climate change and other environmental shifts stress corals, lowering their defenses against infection.
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| Microbiology of juvenile Porites astreoides in the Florida Keys |
Smithsonian Marine Station |
Valerie J. Paul, paul@si.edu, Head Scientist, Smithsonian Marine Station, 701 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce, FL 34949; Phone: 772-462-0982; Fax: 772-461-8154 |
$19,057 |
The grant will support research on how and why certain bacteria end up living on the surface mucus of juvenile corals. Discovering how the bacterial community develops is important for understanding coral disease, which can occur when harmful bacteria colonize corals. The researchers will study which bacteria live on young specimens of common mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides), whether those bacteria are similar to what’s found in surrounding water and whether certain algae or other substances in the water can affect which bacteria colonize the young coral. |
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| Coral Reef Classroom (Upper Keys) |
Marine Resources Development Foundation |
Jessica Pulfer, Jessica.pulfer@marinelab.org, Director, MarineLab Education Program, Marine Resources Development Foundation, 51 Shoreland Drive, Key Largo, FL 33037 |
$10,948 |
The project will continue an established, replicable, standards-based educational program that has become part of the middle and high school itinerary for hundreds of Monroe County students each year. It will advance understanding of science of the sea for teachers, students, and the local community. It will result in first-hand knowledge of the coral reef ecosystem and environmental stewardship. |
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| Developing Restoration Methods to Aid in Recovery of a Key Herbivore, Diadema antillarum, on Florida Coral Reefs |
Mote Marine Laboratory |
Kenneth Leber, Ph.D., kleber@mote.org, Center for Fisheries Enhancement, Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236
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$37,911 |
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| The Role of Bacterial-Zooxanthellae Symbiosis and Gene Transfer in Coral Reef Resilience: Year 2 Continuation |
Mote Marine Laboratory |
Kim B. Ritchie, PhD, Ritchie@mote.org, Manager, Marine Microbiology Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Center for Coral Reef Research, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236 |
$60,718 |
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| Expanded Production of Hard Corals for Field Stock Enhancement Trials Year 2 |
Mote Marine Laboratory |
Dr. Kevan L. Main, kmain@mote.org, Director, Center for Aquaculture Research and Development, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 3423 |
$21,722 |
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| Determining the Molecular Basis of Susceptibility to Disease in Floridian Corals |
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute |
Joshua Voss, Ph.D., jvoss2@hboi.fau.edu, Assistant Research Professor, Robertson Coral Reef Program, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, 5600 US 1 North Fort Pierce, FL 34946 |
$34,603 |
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| MarineLab Student Water Quality Monitoring Project |
Marine Resources Development Foundation |
Sarah Egner, sarah.egner@marinelab.org, Assistant Director, Curriculum, MarineLab/Marine Resources Development, Foundation, 51 Shoreland Drive, Key Largo, FL 33037 |
$4,948 |
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| Enhancing Survivorship of Coral Spat with ‘Friendly’ Grazers, CCA, and Kin |
National Marine Fisheries Service (Southeast Fisheries Science Center) |
Margaret Miller, Margaret.w.miller@noaa.gov, NMFS/SEFSC, 75 Virginia Beach Dr., Miami FL 33149 |
$42,856 |
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| Boating and Angling Guide to the Florida Keys Web Site |
Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute |
Chris Anderson, Project Leader, Chris.Anderson@MyFWC.com |
$9,082 |
Funding will support creation of a Web site that will serve and enhance the existing Boating and Angling Guides created for the Upper, Middle and Lower Florida Keys. The website will provide the public, educators, resource managers and others with detailed information about natural resources, boating safety, managed areas within the Keys, popular sport fish and ethical angling, along with marine facilities such as boat ramps and fishing piers. The Web site will also have detailed, downloadable maps to compliment this information. |
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