Memorials & Tributes
Honor a special occasion or the memory of a loved one.
Grant Summaries
Title: “Efficacy of three formulations of beneficial coral-associated bacteria for the control of coral pathogens”
Amount: $30,000
Organization: University of Florida
Contact: Max Teplitski, Assistant Professor, Department of Soil and Water Science, Genetics Institute, University of Florida - IFAS, Gainesville, Fla.; maxtep@ufl.edu
Summary: This project will investigate how beneficial bacteria may be used to control coral diseases — knowledge that could eventually lead to better management and conservation of coral reefs. Corals around the world are threatened by diseases caused by harmful bacteria, which often invade when corals’ natural defenses are weakened by environmental stress. Previous research has shown that corals naturally recruit infection-fighting bacteria. This project will build upon those findings by investigating how beneficial bacteria fight infection and by testing strains of beneficial bacteria against specific diseases.
Title: “Marine Ecosystem Event Response and Assessment (MEERA)”
Amount: $14,781
Organization: Mote Marine Laboratory
Contact: Cory Walter, Staff Biologist, Center for Coral Reef Research, The Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration, Summerland Key, Fla.;cwalter@mote.org.
Summary: The ongoing MEERA project provides early detection and assessment of biological events occurring in the Florida Keys and surrounding waters. MEERA, which began in 1997, asks members of the public to report any unusual marine events, including coral bleaching, algal blooms and invasive species. This system provides online reports of environmental change to inform marine scientists, resource managers and the public.
Learn more at www.mote.org/meera.
Title: “The Role of Bacterial-Zooxanthellae Symbiosis and Gene Transfer in Coral Reef Resilience: Year 3 Continuation”
Amount: $56,680
Organization: Mote Marine Laboratory
Contact: Dr. Kim Ritchie, Manager, Marine Microbiology Program in the Center for Coral Reef Research, Mote Marine Laboratory — Sarasota, Fla. / Summerland Key; Ritchie@mote.org
Summary: This project is designed to shed new light on the relationship between corals and two beneficial microbes: the symbiotic algae living in their tissues and the beneficial bacteria that support reef health. Project scientists will study how the algae and bacteria interact and how their relationship helps reefs. One key focus is how marine bacteria swap genetic material, possibly sharing traits that benefit corals. The current project will investigate how this genetic exchange might help coral larvae settle — an important process for reef-building. A key question is whether bacteria pass on helpful genetic traits to the algae that live within corals.
Title: “Advancing Culture Methods to Aid in Recovery of a Key Herbivore, Diadema antillarum, on Florida Coral Reefs”
Amount: $29,316
Organization: Mote Marine Laboratory
Contact: Dr. Ken Leber, Director, Center for Fisheries Enhancement, Mote Marine Laboratory — Sarasota, Fla.; Kleber@mote.org
Summary: This ongoing project is dedicated to restoring the sea urchin species Diadema antillarum to reefs in the Florida Keys, where its numbers have been depleted since a die-off throughout the Caribbean in 1983. This species is important because it grazes on algae, preventing overgrowth that can threaten coral reefs. Project scientists are currently raising D. antillarum larvae in aquaculture. They plan to further develop and refine their techniques to raise large numbers of larvae into juvenile urchins, screen them for signs of health, acclimate them for release into the sea and develop strategies for restoring them to reefs.
Title: “Spatial variability in coral-algal symbiosis within polyps and colonies: Developing methods to investigate symbiont acquisition and expulsion and assess the management potential of inoculating corals with resilient algae”
Amount: $20,419
Organization: University of Miami
Contact: Dr. Andrew C. Baker, Associate Professor, Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Fla.; abaker@rsmas.miami.edu
Summary: This study will investigate why some corals recover from damage better than others and how much this resilience depends on the species of algae they carry within. Research has shown that corals and their symbiotic algae have a win-win relationship that allows both to thrive. If corals are stressed, they may lose their algae, becoming bleached, and die. This project will investigate whether some algae species are likelier to stay, helping corals better recover from stress. The researchers will study algae in the genus Symbiodinium and design protocols for telling different species apart in nature. Then they will examine how the different algae species are distributed among reef-building corals. A key question is whether resilient algae from one coral could be transferred to others.
Title: “Continued Production of Hard Corals for Coral Reef Restoration and Field Stock Enhancement Trials Year 3”
Amount: $20,000
Organization: Mote Marine Laboratory
Contact: Dr. David E. Vaughan, Director, Center for Fisheries Enhancement, Mote Marine Laboratory — Sarasota, Fla.;dvaughan@mote.org
Summary: This project, entering its third year, is developing cutting-edge techniques to raise corals in aquaculture and restore them to depleted reefs in the Florida Keys. Corals are declining around the world because of climate change, ocean acidification, water pollution and other environmental threats. Scientists in the current study have developed techniques to grow several coral species in aquaculture, and in 2010 they released corals of four species into two sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Now, project goals include monitoring and expanding these field efforts, expanding production of corals on land and maintaining a growing “seed bank” of coral fragments from several species.
Title: “Development of Ocean Acidification Flow-Thru Experimental Raceway Units (OAFTERU): Simulating the Future Reefs in the Keys Today”
Amount: $32,405
Organization: Mote Marine Laboratory
Contact: Dr. Emily Hall, Staff Scientist, Chemical Ecology Program, Mote Marine Laboratory — Sarasota/Summerland Key, Fla.;emily8@mote.org
Summary: Researchers plan to show how a unique water system at Mote Marine Laboratory’s Florida Keys facility can be used to study ocean acidification and its effect on corals. Ocean acidification caused by carbon dioxide from manmade sources is a major concern for corals and other species whose hard skeletons could be damaged by acidic water. Project scientists hope to study this process using a special deep well system to supply water with a controlled range of acidity. This system could provide a unique and permanent site for studying how acidification affects corals.
Title: “The influence of marine microbes on coral recruitment in the Florida Keys”
Amount: $32,984
Organization: Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce
Contact: Dr. Valerie Paul, Head Scientist, Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Fla.; paul@si.edu
Summary: This study is designed to show how “biofilms” — thin layers of bacteria on reef surfaces — might help coral larvae settle and grow. New reefs cannot grow unless drifting larvae can settle and begin the next stage in their life cycle. Project scientists will investigate whether corals in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary — and potentially other regions in the Caribbean — settle and metamorphose in response to specific strains of bacteria living in the biofilm.
Title: “Upper Keys Coral Reef Classroom”
Amount: $8,006
Organization: Marine Resources Development Foundation
Contact: Jessica Pulfer, Director, MarineLab Education Program, Marine Resources Development Foundation – Key Largo, Fla.;Jessica.pulfer@marinelab.org
Summary: The Coral Reef Classroom, piloted in 1991 by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, will continue as an integral part of the curriculum for Monroe County students. Program leaders hope to bring coral reefs to life for about 220 students and teachers through a class and field program focused on coral reefs in the Keys and the importance of water-quality monitoring. The 2011 program will be offered to five schools in the Upper Keys.
Title: “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”
Amount: $19,409
Organization: University of Miami
Contact: Dr. Andrew C. Baker, Associate Professor, Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Fla.; abaker@rsmas.miami.edu
Summary: This project, in its third year, is designed to reveal whether corals in deepwater sites can help those in nearby shallow sites recover from disturbances such as bleaching. Shallow-water corals are more susceptible to problems like warming sea surface temperatures, which can cause corals to bleach and die. The current project is investigating whether more sheltered deepwater reefs supply larvae to shallower sites in the Upper Florida Keys. Project scientists will use genetic techniques to study dispersal by five coral species. Understanding the relationship between shallow and deep coral populations could lead to more effective management and conservation of reefs.
Title: “The Sanctuary Reef Traveling Exhibit: Teaching School and Public Audiences to Protect Our Reefs”
Amount: $10,000
Organization: Mote Marine Laboratory
Contact: Elizabeth Metz-Kirk, Director, Center for Digital Learning, Mote Marine Laboratory — Sarasota, Fla; emetz@mote.org
Summary: Sanctuary Reef, a unique traveling exhibit designed by Mote Marine Laboratory, will educate students about coral reefs by visiting sites such as schools, public libraries and museums. The exhibit gives students a shrimp’s-eye view of coral reefs by allowing them to explore a large-scale model of a reef. Students can learn about reefs of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the value of coral reefs, human impacts on reefs, research and conservation efforts. Sanctuary Reef includes a videoconference screen that connects students with Mote’s science educators in real time. This grant provides for repairs and upgrades and will support the costs to move the exhibit to new sites.
