The role of predation on survivorship of coral recruits

Mike Evans, Masters candidate at SUNY Buffalo with Dr. Howard Lasker, has been at KML since early May. He is studying the role of predation on coral recruit survivorship of the gorgonian coral, Briarium asbestinum, and the scleractinian coral, Porites asteroides.

While grazing rarely results in mortality of adult coral, predation on single polyp recruits would presumably kill those individuals, with the potential to impact the abundance of adult colonies.

To assess the effect of predation on recruit survivorship, newly-settled polyps of each species were placed at East Turtle Shoals in one of 5 treatments that excluded different combinations of known coral predators.Hardware cloth cages which totally or partially enclosed settled recruits

Exposed polyps settled on branches (B. asbestinum) or plexi-plates (P. asteroides), floating above or attached directly to cinderblocks

Recruits were counted 3 times per week over a four week period to determine differences in survivorship between treatments and to assess the roles of various predators on coral recruit mortality.

In search of secondary metabolites with pharmaceutical value

A team of University of Florida researchers from the College of Pharmacy, led by Dr. Hendrik Luesch, assistant professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, recently stayed at KML. Using the Lab as their base of operations, the team collected cyanobacteria and algae from reefs in the Middle Keys, with the assistance of KML staff.

Once back at UF, the team will test the collected samples for production of secondary metabolites with pharmaceutical value.

Tortugas Trip

KML's newest vessel the R/V Diodon (aka "Blowfish") recently returned from a 10 day research trip with Marathon's FWRI Finfish group to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO).

The group conducted sampling related to the project "Efficacy of a newly-established Research Natural Area (RNA) ... within the DRTO", by retrieving, downloading, and replacing acoustic receivers (Vemco VR2) at various locations throughout the park that are tracking the movements of tagged fish.


In all they visited over 50 sites and conducted over 60 dives, which included swapping out receiver stands at several locations. Below you can see a couple of the old stands and the group loading a new "Big Bertha" stand onto the Diodon before leaving the dock one morning.



In addition to the trip's main objective, the group also successfully collected, tagged and released a few Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) near Fort Jefferson to track their movements as well.

The team had a very successful time and looks forward to analyzing all of the data they collected.

KML's staff was glad to be a part of the trip and looks forward to future outings with the FWRI staff. Below Captain Andrew Crowder begins the Diodon's voyage back to KML from Fort Jefferson (over 120 nautical miles).

Lionfish Hunters

Indo-Pacific Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) on the Adolphus Busch wreck (85' depth) east of American Shoals

It's been a cold, blustery winter here in the Keys but April has finally brought more favorable conditions to be out on the water. KML staff scientist, Cindy Lewis, captured a 4.5" Lionfish while diving the wreck of the Adolphus Busch last weekend. Meanwhile, students from the Marine Invertebrate Zoology class from University of West Florida, staying at KML over the weekend, also captured a small Lionfish while snorkeling near-shore between Missouri and Ohio Keys (mm 39). Additional reports of 4 Lionfish spotted in the wheelhouse of the USS Vandenburg and 3 more sightings on the Cayman Salvage Master over the weekend off Key West are indeed sobering.

Diver carefully holding the bagged Lionfish, mindful of the venomous spines poking through the mesh bag

First spotted in the waters of the Florida Keys in January 2009, the invasive exotic Lionfish has no natural predators in the Atlantic and Caribbean Oceans, allowing this voracious predator to rapidly reproduce unchecked. Their dorsal, anal, and pectoral fins hide needle-sharp spines, capable of penetrating leather gloves, that deliver a dose of a powerful neuro-toxin, producing an extremely painful sting, often accompanied by swelling, numbness, and partial-paralysis. Every effort is being made to capture these fish and remove them from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Sightings and captures are being reported to Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF).

Seasonal dynamics of Symbiodinium spp. in Porites divaricata

Porites divaricata (Thin Finger Coral) colonies after the January 2010 cold-water bleaching event

'Ann' Hui Lui, Master's candidate at SUNY at Buffalo, NY, recently returned to KML to collect samples for her 'Seasonal Dynamics of Symbiodinium spp. in Porites divaricata' project.
Symbiodinium spp., commonly referred to as 'zoozanthellae', are single-celled dinoflagellate algae which form an obligate symbiotic relationship with schleractinian corals in oligotrophic environments. These symbionts are diverse both genetically and in their physiologies. The symbiont type can vary both with specific coral host species, as well as with different environmental conditions..

P. divaricata samples in a seawater table before processing

Variation in symbiont communities within P. divaricata colonies at Craig Key (Middle Florida Keys) was investigated with colonies sampled seasonally since 2003 (with the exception of 2008) and found to typically have both Clade A and Clade B symbionts. Genetic analysis of the symbiont assemblages suggests that a major shuffling of the symbiont communities within the P. divaricata population at Craig Key occurred after the 2005 bleaching event, resulting in a loss of Clade A symbionts and a shift to primarily Clade B symbionts.

Ann working on samples in Lab II at KML

Ann returned to Buffalo after her 2 weeks at KML, where she will analyze her most recent samples to see how the January 2010 Keys cold-spell affected her P. divaricata colonies at Craig Key.

Ann snorkeling at her study site at Craig Key