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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Empirically Derived Thermal Thresholds Of Four Coral Species Along The Red Sea Using A Portable And Standardized Experimental Approach, Nicolas R. Evensen, Christian R. Voolstra, Maoz Fine, Gabriela Perna, Carol Buitrago-López, Anny Cárdenas, Guilhem Banc-Prandi, Katherine Rowe, Daniel J. Barshis Mar 2022

Empirically Derived Thermal Thresholds Of Four Coral Species Along The Red Sea Using A Portable And Standardized Experimental Approach, Nicolas R. Evensen, Christian R. Voolstra, Maoz Fine, Gabriela Perna, Carol Buitrago-López, Anny Cárdenas, Guilhem Banc-Prandi, Katherine Rowe, Daniel J. Barshis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Global warming is causing an unprecedented loss of species and habitats worldwide. This is particularly apparent for tropical coral reefs, with an increasing number of reefs experiencing mass bleaching and mortality on an annual basis. As such, there is a growing need for a standardized experimental approach to rapidly assess the thermal limits of corals and predict the survival of coral species across reefs and regions. Using a portable experimental system, the Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS), we conducted standardized 18 h acute thermal stress assays to quantitively determine the upper thermal limits of four coral species across the …


A Trait‐Based Framework For Assessing The Vulnerability Of Marine Species To Human Impacts, Nathalie Butt, Benjamin S. Halpern, Casey S. O'Hara, A. Louise Allcock, Beth Polidoro, Samantha Sherman, Maria Byrne, Charles Birkeland, Ross G. Dwyer, Melanie Frazier, Bradley K. Woodworth, Claudia P. Arango, Michael J. Kingsford, Vinay Udyawer, Pat Hutchings, Elliot Scanes, Emily Jane Mcclaren, Sara M. Maxwell, Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, Emma Dugan, Blake Alexander Simmons, Amelia S. Wenger, Christi Linardich, Carissa J. Klein Jan 2022

A Trait‐Based Framework For Assessing The Vulnerability Of Marine Species To Human Impacts, Nathalie Butt, Benjamin S. Halpern, Casey S. O'Hara, A. Louise Allcock, Beth Polidoro, Samantha Sherman, Maria Byrne, Charles Birkeland, Ross G. Dwyer, Melanie Frazier, Bradley K. Woodworth, Claudia P. Arango, Michael J. Kingsford, Vinay Udyawer, Pat Hutchings, Elliot Scanes, Emily Jane Mcclaren, Sara M. Maxwell, Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, Emma Dugan, Blake Alexander Simmons, Amelia S. Wenger, Christi Linardich, Carissa J. Klein

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine species and ecosystems are widely affected by anthropogenic stressors, ranging from pollution and fishing to climate change. Comprehensive assessments of how species and ecosystems are impacted by anthropogenic stressors are critical for guiding conservation and management investments. Previous global risk or vulnerability assessments have focused on marine habitats, or on limited taxa or specific regions. However, information about the susceptibility of marine species across a range of taxa to different stressors everywhere is required to predict how marine biodiversity will respond to human pressures. We present a novel framework that uses life-history traits to assess species’ vulnerability to a …


Assessment Of Temperature Optimum Signatures Of Corals At Both Latitudinal Extremes Of The Red Sea, Guilhem Banc-Prandi, Nicolas R. Evensen, Daniel J. Barshis, Gabriela Perna, Youssouf Moussa Omar, Maoz Fine Jan 2022

Assessment Of Temperature Optimum Signatures Of Corals At Both Latitudinal Extremes Of The Red Sea, Guilhem Banc-Prandi, Nicolas R. Evensen, Daniel J. Barshis, Gabriela Perna, Youssouf Moussa Omar, Maoz Fine

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Rising ocean temperatures are pushing reef-building corals beyond their temperature optima (Topt), resulting in reduced physiological performances and increased risk of bleaching. Identifying refugia with thermally resistant corals and understanding their thermal adaptation strategy is therefore urgent to guide conservation actions. The Gulf of Aqaba (GoA, northern Red Sea) is considered a climate refuge, hosting corals that may originate from populations selected for thermal resistance in the warmer waters of the Gulf of Tadjoura (GoT, entrance to the Red Sea and 2000 km south of the GoA). To better understand the thermal adaptation strategy of GoA corals, …


All-Inclusive Coral Reef Restoration: How The Tourism Sector Can Boost Restoration Efforts In The Caribbean, Macarena Blanco-Pimentel, Nicolas R. Evensen, Camilo Cortés-Useche, Johanna Calle-Triviño, Daniel J. Barshis, Victor Galván, Erika Harms, Megan K. Morikawa Jan 2022

All-Inclusive Coral Reef Restoration: How The Tourism Sector Can Boost Restoration Efforts In The Caribbean, Macarena Blanco-Pimentel, Nicolas R. Evensen, Camilo Cortés-Useche, Johanna Calle-Triviño, Daniel J. Barshis, Victor Galván, Erika Harms, Megan K. Morikawa

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Following a strong decline in the health of Caribbean coral reefs in the 1970s, disease outbreaks, overfishing, and warming events have continued to push these reefs towards a point of no return. As such, researchers and stakeholders have turned their attention to restoration practices to overcome coral recovery bottlenecks on Caribbean reefs. However, successful restoration faces many challenges, including economical and logistical feasibility, long-term stability, and biological and ecological factors yet to fully understand. The tourism sector has the potential to enhance and scale restoration efforts in the Caribbean, beyond simple financial contributions. Its strengths include long-term presence in several …


Unified Methods In Collecting, Preserving, And Archiving Coral Bleaching And Restoration Specimens To Increase Sample Utility And Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Rebecca Vega Thurber, Emily R. Schmeltzer, Andréa G. Grottoli, Robert Van Woesik, Robert J. Toonen, Mark Warner, Kerri L. Dobson, Rowan H. Mclachlan, Katie Barott, Daniel J. Barshis, Justin Baumann, Leila Chapron, David J. Combosch, Adrienne M.S. Correa, Thomas M. Decarlo, Mary Hagedorn, Laetitia Hédouin, Kenneth Hoadley, Thomas Felis, Christine Ferrier-Pagès, Carly Kenkel, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Jennifer Matthews, Mónica Medina, Christopher Meyer, Corinna Oster, James Price, Hollie M. Putnam, Yvonne Sawall Jan 2022

Unified Methods In Collecting, Preserving, And Archiving Coral Bleaching And Restoration Specimens To Increase Sample Utility And Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Rebecca Vega Thurber, Emily R. Schmeltzer, Andréa G. Grottoli, Robert Van Woesik, Robert J. Toonen, Mark Warner, Kerri L. Dobson, Rowan H. Mclachlan, Katie Barott, Daniel J. Barshis, Justin Baumann, Leila Chapron, David J. Combosch, Adrienne M.S. Correa, Thomas M. Decarlo, Mary Hagedorn, Laetitia Hédouin, Kenneth Hoadley, Thomas Felis, Christine Ferrier-Pagès, Carly Kenkel, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Jennifer Matthews, Mónica Medina, Christopher Meyer, Corinna Oster, James Price, Hollie M. Putnam, Yvonne Sawall

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Coral reefs are declining worldwide primarily because of bleaching and subsequent mortality resulting from thermal stress. Currently, extensive efforts to engage in more holistic research and restoration endeavors have considerably expanded the techniques applied to examine coral samples. Despite such advances, coral bleaching and restoration studies are often conducted within a specific disciplinary focus, where specimens are collected, preserved, and archived in ways that are not always conducive to further downstream analyses by specialists in other disciplines. This approach may prevent the full utilization of unexpended specimens, leading to siloed research, duplicative efforts, unnecessary loss of additional corals to research …


Geomorphic Gradients In Shallow Seagrass Carbon Stocks, Jahson Berhane Alemu, Siti Maryam Yaakub, Erik S. Yando, Rachel Yu San Lau, Cheng Chang Lim, Jun Yu Puah, Daniel A. Friess Jan 2022

Geomorphic Gradients In Shallow Seagrass Carbon Stocks, Jahson Berhane Alemu, Siti Maryam Yaakub, Erik S. Yando, Rachel Yu San Lau, Cheng Chang Lim, Jun Yu Puah, Daniel A. Friess

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Seagrass meadows are important sinks of organic carbon (Corg), in particular the near-surface Corg pool (≤ 15 cm) compared to deeper sediments. Near-surface carbon is highly susceptible to disturbance and loss to the atmosphere, however, inadequate accounting for variability in this pool of carbon limits their uptake into carbon accounting frameworks. We therefore investigated the spatial variability in seagrass near-surface Corg and biomass Corg across different geomorphic (estuary, lagoonal and reef-associated) and community typologies (pioneer and persistent). Near-surface Corg stock in vegetated areas (25.78 Mg Corg ha−1 ± 26.64) was twice that …