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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Variation In Coral Recruitment And Juvenile Distribution Along The Southeast Florida Reef Tract, Leah M. Harper
Variation In Coral Recruitment And Juvenile Distribution Along The Southeast Florida Reef Tract, Leah M. Harper
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Coral recruitment in Southeast Florida is being outpaced by mortality, resulting in population declines in many species. Identifying the coral species most likely to recruit and survive on Southeast Florida reefs and evaluating spatial variation in recruitment and survivorship is crucial for managing decreasing coral populations. This study focuses on 12 sites in Broward and Miami-Dade counties that have served as long-term stations for monitoring adult coral cover and demographics. At each site, thirty-two 225cm2 grooved terracotta settlement tiles were attached to the substrate in winter of 2015 and retrieved in winter of 2016 to evaluate scleractinian and octocoral …
Population Fluctuation Of The Nodular Coral Psammocora Stellata In The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: An Indicator Of Community Resilience And Implications For Future Management, Kathryn Brown
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Corals are experiencing a worldwide decline in abundance and diversity. Reasons for this include anthropogenic impacts and associated changes to environmental conditions, including global climate change. Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels lead to a coordinated increase in sea surface temperatures and decrease in oceanic pH. Warming events associated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) amplify the impacts of steadily increasing temperatures. For example, coral communities in the Galápagos Islands experienced mortality rates of up to 95-99% during severe ENSO warming in 1982-1983. Persisting through such extreme conditions imposes additional challenges to survival in already marginal environments for coral growth and development …
Coral Genotype Influence On Growth And Stress Resistance In Acropora Cervicornis: Investigating Potential Energy Tradeoffs, Peter T. Grasso
Coral Genotype Influence On Growth And Stress Resistance In Acropora Cervicornis: Investigating Potential Energy Tradeoffs, Peter T. Grasso
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Over the last few decades coral reefs have faced unprecedented declines in health due to natural and anthropogenic sources. Until recently few studies have examined genotypic variation of growth and thermal stress resistance in Acropora cervicornis. This study aims to assess the potential for energy trade-offs between growth and thermal stress resistance by following 120 coral fragments from 12 genotypes of Acropora cervicornis over the course of 15 months to determine average growth rates for each genotype. Following the completion of the growth observation a bleaching event occurred in the lower Florida Keys providing the opportunity for examining thermal …