Assisted sexual coral recruits show high thermal tolerance to the 2023 Caribbean mass bleaching event.

Assisted sexual coral propagation, resulting in greater genet diversity via genetic recombination, has been hypothesized to lead to more adaptable and, hence, resilient restored populations compared to more common clonal techniques. Coral restoration efforts have resulted in substantial populations of 'Assisted sexual Recruits' (i.e.

Sediment source and dose influence the larval performance of the threatened coral Orbicella faveolata.

The effects of turbidity and sedimentation stress on early life stages of corals are poorly understood, particularly in Atlantic species. Dredging operations, beach nourishment, and other coastal construction activities can increase sedimentation and turbidity in nearby coral reef habitats and have the potential to negatively affect coral larval development and metamorphosis, reducing sexual reproduction success. In this study, we investigated the performance of larvae of the threatened Caribbean coral species Orbicella faveolata exposed to suspended sediments collected from a reef site in southeast Florida recently impacted by dredging (Port of Miami), and compared it to the performance of larvae exposed to sediments collected from the offshore, natal reef of the parent colonies.

Coral affected by stony coral tissue loss disease can produce viable offspring.

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has caused high mortality of at least 25 coral species across the Caribbean, with being the second most affected species in the Mexican Caribbean. The resulting decreased abundance and colony density reduces the fertilization potential of SCTLD-susceptible species. Therefore, larval-based restoration could be of great benefit, though precautionary concerns about disease transmission may foster reluctance to implement this approach with SCTLD-susceptible species.

Genetic structure of dinoflagellate symbionts in coral recruits differs from that of parental or local adults.

The symbiotic relationship between dinoflagellate algae in the family Symbiodiniaceae and scleractinian corals forms the base of the tropical reef ecosystem. In scleractinian corals, recruits acquire symbionts either "vertically" from the maternal colony or initially lack symbionts and acquire them "horizontally" from the environment. Regardless of the mode of acquisition, coral species and individual colonies harbor only a subset of the highly diverse complex of species/taxa within the Symbiodiniaceae.

Caribbean reefs of the Anthropocene: Variance in ecosystem metrics indicates bright spots on coral depauperate reefs.

Dramatic coral loss has significantly altered many Caribbean reefs, with potentially important consequences for the ecological functions and ecosystem services provided by reef systems. Many studies examine coral loss and its causes-and often presume a universal decline of ecosystem services with coral loss-rather than evaluating the range of possible outcomes for a diversity of ecosystem functions and services at reefs varying in coral cover. We evaluate 10 key ecosystem metrics, relating to a variety of different reef ecosystem functions and services, on 328 Caribbean reefs varying in coral cover.

Considerations for maximizing the adaptive potential of restored coral populations in the western Atlantic.

Active coral restoration typically involves two interventions: crossing gametes to facilitate sexual larval propagation; and fragmenting, growing, and outplanting adult colonies to enhance asexual propagation. From an evolutionary perspective, the goal of these efforts is to establish self-sustaining, sexually reproducing coral populations that have sufficient genetic and phenotypic variation to adapt to changing environments. Here, we provide concrete guidelines to help restoration practitioners meet this goal for most Caribbean species of interest.

Sediment associated with algal turfs inhibits the settlement of two endangered coral species.

Populations of Acropora palmata and Orbicella faveolata, two important reef-building corals, have declined precipitously across the Caribbean region since at least the 1970s. Recruitment failure may be limiting population recovery, possibly due to lack of suitable settlement habitat. Here, we examine the effects of algal turfs and algal turfs + sediment, two widely abundant substrate types across the Florida Keys, on the settlement of these two ecologically-important species.

Genotypic variation in disease susceptibility among cultured stocks of elkhorn and staghorn corals.

Disease mortality has been a primary driver of population declines and the threatened status of the foundational Caribbean corals, and . There remain few tools to effectively manage coral disease. Substantial investment is flowing into culture and population enhancement efforts, while disease takes a variable but sometimes high toll in restored populations.

Facilitation in Caribbean coral reefs: high densities of staghorn coral foster greater coral condition and reef fish composition.

Recovery of the threatened staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) is posited to play a key role in Caribbean reef resilience. At four Caribbean locations (including one restored and three extant populations), we quantified characteristics of contemporary staghorn coral across increasing conspecific densities, and investigated a hypothesis of facilitation between staghorn coral and reef fishes. High staghorn densities in the Dry Tortugas exhibited significantly less partial mortality, higher branch growth, and supported greater fish abundances compared to lower densities within the same population.

Detecting sedimentation impacts to coral reefs resulting from dredging the Port of Miami, Florida USA.

The federal channel at Port of Miami, Florida, USA, was dredged between late 2013 and early 2015 to widen and deepen the channel. Due to the limited spatial extent of impact-assessment monitoring associated with the project, the extent of the dredging impacts on surrounding coral reefs has not been well quantified. Previously published remote sensing analyses, as well as agency and anecdotal reports suggest the most severe and largest area of sedimentation occurred on a coral reef feature referred to as the Inner Reef, particularly in the sector north of the channel.

Reef-scale trends in Florida spp. abundance and the effects of population enhancement.

Since the listing of and under the US Endangered Species Act in 2006, increasing investments have been made in propagation of listed corals (primarily , to a much lesser extent) in offshore coral nurseries and outplanting cultured fragments to reef habitats. This investment is superimposed over a spatiotemporal patchwork of ongoing disturbances (especially storms, thermal bleaching, and disease) as well as the potential for natural population recovery. In 2014 and 2015, we repeated broad scale (>50 ha), low precision spp.

Enhanced susceptibility to predation in corals of compromised condition.

The marine gastropod, Coralliophila abbreviata, is an obligate corallivore that causes substantial mortality in Caribbean Acropora spp. Considering the imperiled status of Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata, a better understanding of ecological interactions resulting in tissue loss may enable more effective conservation strategies.

Removal of corallivorous snails as a proactive tool for the conservation of acroporid corals.

Corallivorous snail feeding is a common source of tissue loss for the threatened coral, Acropora palmata, accounting for roughly one-quarter of tissue loss in monitored study plots over seven years. In contrast with larger threats such as bleaching, disease, or storms, corallivory by Coralliophila abbreviata is one of the few direct sources of partial mortality that may be locally managed. We conducted a field experiment to explore the effectiveness and feasibility of snail removal.

Disease dynamics and potential mitigation among restored and wild staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis.

The threatened status (both ecologically and legally) of Caribbean staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, has prompted rapidly expanding efforts in culture and restocking, although tissue loss diseases continue to affect populations. In this study, disease surveillance and histopathological characterization were used to compare disease dynamics and conditions in both restored and extant wild populations. Disease had devastating effects on both wild and restored populations, but dynamics were highly variable and appeared to be site-specific with no significant differences in disease prevalence between wild versus restored sites.

Incorporating climate and ocean change into extinction risk assessments for 82 coral species.

Many marine invertebrate species facing potential extinction have uncertain taxonomies and poorly known demographic and ecological traits. Uncertainties are compounded when potential extinction drivers are climate and ocean changes whose effects on even widespread and abundant species are only partially understood. The U.

Tracking transmission of apicomplexan symbionts in diverse Caribbean corals.

Symbionts in each generation are transmitted to new host individuals either vertically (parent to offspring), horizontally (from exogenous sources), or a combination of both. Scleractinian corals make an excellent study system for understanding patterns of symbiont transmission since they harbor diverse symbionts and possess distinct reproductive modes of either internal brooding or external broadcast spawning that generally correlate with vertical or horizontal transmission, respectively. Here, we focused on the under-recognized, but apparently widespread, coral-associated apicomplexans (Protista: Alveolata) to determine if symbiont transmission depends on host reproductive mode.

Assessment of host-associated genetic differentiation among phenotypically divergent populations of a coral-eating gastropod across the Caribbean.

Host-associated adaptation is emerging as a potential driver of population differentiation and speciation for marine organisms with major implications for ecosystem structure and function. Coralliophila abbreviata are corallivorous gastropods that live and feed on most of the reef-building corals in the tropical western Atlantic and Caribbean. Populations of C.

Molassamide, a depsipeptide serine protease inhibitor from the marine cyanobacterium Dichothrix utahensis.

A new dolastatin 13 analogue, molassamide (1), was isolated from cyanobacterial assemblages of Dichothrix utahensis collected from the Molasses Reef, Key Largo, Florida, and from Brewer's Bay, St. Thomas, U.S.

Recent region-wide declines in Caribbean reef fish abundance.

Profound ecological changes are occurring on coral reefs throughout the tropics, with marked coral cover losses and concomitant algal increases, particularly in the Caribbean region. Historical declines in the abundance of large Caribbean reef fishes likely reflect centuries of overexploitation. However, effects of drastic recent degradation of reef habitats on reef fish assemblages have yet to be established.

Regionally isolated populations of an imperiled Caribbean coral, Acropora palmata.

The movements of larvae between marine populations are difficult to follow directly and have been the subject of much controversy, especially in the Caribbean. The debate centres on the degree to which populations are demographically open, such that depleted populations can be replenished by recruitment from distant healthy populations, or demographically closed and thus in need of local management. Given the depressed state of many tropical reef populations, the understanding of these movements now bears critically on the number, placement, and size of marine reserves.

Effects of fish predation and seaweed competition on the survival and growth of corals.

On Caribbean coral reefs, high rates of grazing by herbivorous fishes are thought to benefit corals because fishes consume competing seaweeds. We conducted field experiments in the Florida Keys, USA, to examine the effects of grazing fishes on coral/seaweed competition. Initially, fragments of Porites divaracata from an inshore habitat were transplanted into full-cage, half-cage, and no-cage treatments on a fore-reef.