New Staghorn Coral Nursery at Tennessee Reef

 

  A team of FWC Restoration Ecology scientists have established a new Staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) Coral Nursery at Tennessee Reef this past May. Pictured above, Kerry measures newly-epoxied coral fragments to monitor growth in the "block nursery". KML's staff divers have assisted with the project when available.

 A portion of the coral fragments are suspended above the ocean floor on branches of PVC in the "tree nursery". Regular visits to the Nursery are necessary to check on fouling, record growth rates and make any repairs to the growing corals.

If all goes well, 400+ new corals will be out-planted from the nursery to nearby reef habitat in the Spring of 2013. FWC scientists will continue to monitor survival and growth of the new colonies in the coming years.

Dave and Jessica hanging coral fragments on the tree nursery

Over the past 2 years, the team has propagated coral clippings (fragments) from donor colonies in the Middle Keys, and carefully tended them in a Nursery south of Vaca Cut. They have transplanted nearly 800 new colonies to nearby reef habitat this spring, which they will continue to monitor in the coming year.

Kate takes time out to watch a pygmy octopus floating past on the Sargassum weed

Acroporid (staghorn and elkhorn) corals along Florida's coast and throughout the Caribbean have experienced  severe decline since the late 1970's, in part due to hurricanes, disease, over-fishing and thermal stress. These corals were listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act in 2005. The Coral Nursery project, funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is a regional effort to aid in the recovery of the populations of these threatened corals. This has been a collaborative effort with  Mote Marine Lab, The Nature Conservancy,  the Coral Restoration Foundation, and NOAA, among others.

For more information on the project contact: kerry.maxwell@myFWC.com

Welcome Brevard Community College

Environmental Club of BCC (Melbourne)

Professor Scott Herber of Brevard Community College brought the Environmental Club of BCC's Melbourne campus to KML for the school's inaugural visit. Students had an excellent opportunity to get a first hand look at the ecology of the Florida Keys coral reefs ecosystem. Students were also able to compare and contrast the mangrove systems of the Indian River Lagoon, near BCC, with those of the Florida Keys giving them a unique insight into the aquatic ecological diversity of Florida. Although not all students were initially comfortable immersing themselves in the marine environment by the end of their trip, with the help of Professor Herber and KML staff, all students took the plunge. Professor Herber plans to continue bringing groups of students from BCC to KML in the future.

FSU Class Visits KML

A reef ecology graduate class from FSU visited KML to take advantage of a beautiful week of weather here in the Florida Keys. The class was led by Markus Huettel, whose lab's work focuses on the ecology of coastal and shelf environments with emphasis on processes in the sediments and at the sediment-water interface. During their time here at KML they were able to visit a variety of sites, deploying sampling equipment, surveying reef life, and even taking advantage of KML's Living Laboratory. With the help of the KML science staff the Huettel group was able to deploy non-invasive instruments utilizing new techniques to measure vertical oxygen flux at the sea bottom. Vertical oxygen flux is vital in understanding processes such as aerobic decomposition of organic matter, animal respiration, and oxidation processes. 







FSU divers with sampling equipment

Deploying oxygen flux measuring equipment











 

Of the variety of sites that were visited during the week, Alligator Reef, a favorite of many groups, gave students the opportunity to observe a variety of marine life including the threatened Elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata.  




Acropora palmata at Alligator Reef



The Huettel Group was able to participate in KML's Living Laboratory which gives student groups a unique opportunity to participate in long term sampling project. Sites are stationed at various permanent locations near the KML facility. The program introduces students to field research in marine ecology utilizing a variety of common sampling techniques. Students are then able to input their data into the KML Living Laboratory data base to contribute to an ongoing data set and compare their findings with previous groups who have participated in the program. For more information on KML's Living Laboratory or how to request participation please visit the "Living Lab" tab on the home page of our website. 






  

FSU student swims transect line back to the boat

KML staff orients students on Living Lab

Special thanks to Markus Huettel and his team for contributing photos for this post. If you are interested in more information on the work being done by the Huettel Lab at FSU you can visit their website by clicking "here".

  

KML Open House

The Keys Marine Lab will be hosting an Open House Saturday, March 3rd, from 2:00 to 4:00. Guided tours of renovations around the Lab and saltwater tanks with live animals for viewing .

Free, and open to the public.

Uneven terrain around the Lab so sturdy footwear is strongly recommended.

A Lobster's Point of View: Life in the Florida Keys

KML will host the 3rd in a series of Science Seminars in the KML classroom at 6:30pm Tuesday February 21st. Fish & Wildlife Research Institute's marine biologist, Tom Matthews, will give a 20-30 minute talk on Florida's spiny lobsters and how they "see" their world under the waves here in the Keys. There will be opportunity to ask Tom questions following the talk. Seating is limited so call the office to reserve a spot.

Celebrating 20 years at KML

Hot off the printing presses! New KML 20th Anniversary t-shirts! Designed by KML alum, Peter Bouwma (Bouwma Communication Design), with the KML 20th Anniversary logo on the front pocket area and full-color artwork depicting marine creatures of the Keys, bayside and oceanside, on the back (can you find KML on the map?). These beautiful 100% heavy-weight (6.2 oz) cotton tees are available in sizes Small through XX-Large. Short-sleeved style available in white or ash for $15.00 (plus $1.13 tax). Long-sleeved tees available in ash only for $20.00 (plus $1.50 tax). Order yours online through the Wildlife Foundation of Florida http://www.wildlifefoundationofflorida.com/?q=catalog/1

If you are visiting KML, order your shirts through the Foundation, present your receipt, and pick up your shirt in the office. KML ball caps are also still available for $15.00, plus tax.

As always, your generous donations are used for upgrades and improvements around the Lab and are tremendously appreciated.

Welcome Trevor, new KML staff scientist

Trevor Luna joined the KML team as a Biological Scientist for FWC/FWRI in December of 2011. He graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Biology from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL before moving to Zambia, Africa to serve in the U.S. Peace Corps. There he worked with the Zambian Department of Livestock and Fisheries as an Aquaculture Extension Agent promoting rural Tilapia culture. Trevor is an avid boater, diver, fisherman and hunter. The KML team is very excited to have Trevor on board. Welcome Trevor!

Adaptation to loacal environment in corals?

Are corals genetically adapted to different habitats, or are they able to change their physiology to match novel environmental conditions? Carly Kenkel, a PhD candidate from the University of Texas at Austin hopes to answer this question for her model coral species, the Mustard Hill Coral (Porites astreoides), in the Florida Keys. She came to KML to set-up a large reciprocal transplant experiment to test for local adaptation of P. astreoides to differing thermal environments in the Keys. Because she was only able to spend 5 days here, the KML staff scientists helped with her collections and field deployment of the experiment. KML divers collected 15 P. astreoides colonies from a near-shore and off-shore site.

Healthy P. asteroides colony next to color reference card

Carly then fragmented these colonies using a tile saw, and mounted them on cement pucks with cattle tag labels to keep track of all the individuals.

Finally, Carly weighed all the fragments so that she can monitor growth during her experiment.

KML divers returned all the mounted fragments to her field sites, and she’ll be back in the spring and again in the fall to see if her predictions are correct!