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Ocean Ecosystems

Information about ocean ecosystem science at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.

Filter Total Items: 16
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Integrating Science and Management to Assist with the Response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

A USGS multi-disciplinary team will use laboratory and modeling approaches to investigate the cause of stony coral tissue loss disease.
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USGS Role in DEEP SEARCH: Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral, Canyon, and Cold-seep Habitats

USGS scientists are collaborating with multiple agencies to provide the esssential foundation for understanding these deep-sea environments.
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Microbial Processes on Reefs

The microbial community on coral reefs is generally underappreciated given the ubiquity, abundance, complexity, and formative role these prokaryotes serve in the metabolic and chemical processes on reefs. We use microbiological and metagenomic techniques to decipher the roles the microbial community are playing in processes such as coral disease, submarine groundwater discharge, calcification, and...
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Microbial Processes on Reefs

The microbial community on coral reefs is generally underappreciated given the ubiquity, abundance, complexity, and formative role these prokaryotes serve in the metabolic and chemical processes on reefs. We use microbiological and metagenomic techniques to decipher the roles the microbial community are playing in processes such as coral disease, submarine groundwater discharge, calcification, and...
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Coral Microbial Ecology

The coral microbial ecology group has an active research program identifying and characterizing the microbial associates of both tropical and cold-water (deep-sea) corals and their surrounding habitat. Current projects focus on coral disease dynamics, bacterial diversity, and using metagenomics to elucidate the functional roles of coral microbes.
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Coral Microbial Ecology

The coral microbial ecology group has an active research program identifying and characterizing the microbial associates of both tropical and cold-water (deep-sea) corals and their surrounding habitat. Current projects focus on coral disease dynamics, bacterial diversity, and using metagenomics to elucidate the functional roles of coral microbes.
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DISCOVRE - Diversity, Systematics and Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems Project

This project uses amplicon sequencing, and functional microarrays to examine the microbiomes of several deep-sea coral species, with priority given to species that are also of interest to the population genetics group: Desmophyllum dianthus, Lophelia pertusa, Enallopsammia sp., and Acanthogorgia sp. The project also uses metagenomics to survey benthic habitats including coral mounds, cold seeps...
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DISCOVRE - Diversity, Systematics and Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems Project

This project uses amplicon sequencing, and functional microarrays to examine the microbiomes of several deep-sea coral species, with priority given to species that are also of interest to the population genetics group: Desmophyllum dianthus, Lophelia pertusa, Enallopsammia sp., and Acanthogorgia sp. The project also uses metagenomics to survey benthic habitats including coral mounds, cold seeps...
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Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST)

The specific objectives of this project are to identify and describe the processes that are important in determining rates of coral-reef construction. How quickly the skeletons of calcifying organisms accumulate to form massive barrier-reef structure is determined by processes of both construction (how fast organisms grow and reproduce) and destruction (how fast reefs break down by mechanical...
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Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST)

The specific objectives of this project are to identify and describe the processes that are important in determining rates of coral-reef construction. How quickly the skeletons of calcifying organisms accumulate to form massive barrier-reef structure is determined by processes of both construction (how fast organisms grow and reproduce) and destruction (how fast reefs break down by mechanical...
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Black-band disease in the Florida Keys

Photos of corals affected by black-band disease in the Florida Keys.
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Black-band disease in the Florida Keys

Photos of corals affected by black-band disease in the Florida Keys.
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Modeling Seafloor Structural Complexity

This effort focused on understanding the patterns and scalability of roughness and topographic complexity of marine habitats, such as coral reefs.
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Modeling Seafloor Structural Complexity

This effort focused on understanding the patterns and scalability of roughness and topographic complexity of marine habitats, such as coral reefs.
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Along-Track Reef Imaging System (ATRIS)

ATRIS is a benthic-survey tool that simultaneously acquires geo-located, color, digital images with corresponding water depths.
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Along-Track Reef Imaging System (ATRIS)

ATRIS is a benthic-survey tool that simultaneously acquires geo-located, color, digital images with corresponding water depths.
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Advanced Remote Sensing Methods for Coastal Science and Management

This project focused on developing algorithms for quantifying benthic habitat complexity from images, modeling the structural complexity of the seafloor, and using fluorescence signatures to classify coral reef habitats.
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Advanced Remote Sensing Methods for Coastal Science and Management

This project focused on developing algorithms for quantifying benthic habitat complexity from images, modeling the structural complexity of the seafloor, and using fluorescence signatures to classify coral reef habitats.
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Coral Reef Seafloor Erosion and Coastal Hazards

Synchronized field work focused on geochemistry, geology, and metabolic processes overlaid on a habitat map of an entire reef to produce a synoptic overview of reef processes that contribute to carbonate precipitation and dissolution.
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Coral Reef Seafloor Erosion and Coastal Hazards

Synchronized field work focused on geochemistry, geology, and metabolic processes overlaid on a habitat map of an entire reef to produce a synoptic overview of reef processes that contribute to carbonate precipitation and dissolution.
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Measuring Coral Growth to Help Restore Reefs

It is critical to start measuring calcification rates in a systematic way now, particularly at subtropical latitudes where conditions fluctuate seasonally, so that we can understand how dynamic ocean conditions affect calcifying organisms today and predict possible changes in the future. We established a calcification monitoring network in the Florida Keys and have been measuring calcification...
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Measuring Coral Growth to Help Restore Reefs

It is critical to start measuring calcification rates in a systematic way now, particularly at subtropical latitudes where conditions fluctuate seasonally, so that we can understand how dynamic ocean conditions affect calcifying organisms today and predict possible changes in the future. We established a calcification monitoring network in the Florida Keys and have been measuring calcification...
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