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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
A Tale Of Germs, Storms, And Bombs: Geomorphology And Coral Assemblage Structure At Vieques (Puerto Rico) Compared To St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands), Bernhard Riegl, Ryan P. Moyer, Brian K. Walker, Kevin E. Kohler, David S. Gilliam, Richard E. Dodge
A Tale Of Germs, Storms, And Bombs: Geomorphology And Coral Assemblage Structure At Vieques (Puerto Rico) Compared To St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands), Bernhard Riegl, Ryan P. Moyer, Brian K. Walker, Kevin E. Kohler, David S. Gilliam, Richard E. Dodge
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
The former U.S. Navy range at Vieques Island (Puerto Rico, United States) is now the largest national wildlife refuge in the Caribbean. We investigated the geomorphology and benthic assemblage structure to understand the status of the coral reefs. Coral assemblages were quantified at 24 sites at Vieques and at 6 sites at St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. These sites were chosen to represent the major zones of reef geomorphology. Sites consisted of two or three 21-m-long photo-quadrate belt transects. The results revealed surprisingly little differentiation in the coral assemblages within and between reefs of comparable geomorphological and oceanographic setting at …
Population Status Of Acropora Corals In The Florida Keys, Steven Miller, Mark Chiappone, Leanne M. Rutten, Dione W. Swanson
Population Status Of Acropora Corals In The Florida Keys, Steven Miller, Mark Chiappone, Leanne M. Rutten, Dione W. Swanson
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures
Population declines of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) and elkhorn coral (A. palmata) are often-cited examples of Caribbean reef change since the 1970s, due, in part, to disease and localized effects from storms and predation. Both corals were listed as threatened on the U.S. Endangered Species List based upon range-wide decline and poor recovery. A spatially intensive survey undertaken in the Florida Keys of Acropora corals quantified habitat distribution, colony abundance, size, and condition at 235 sites spanning over 200 km in 2007. A two-stage stratified sampling design using belt transects incorporated cross-shelf habitats and no-fishing management …