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Caroline Rogers, Ph.D.

Caroline Rogers is a retired Research Biologist at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center. 

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Botany, University of Florida

RESEARCH

Caroline Rogers was a Marine Ecologist with the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center based at the USGS Caribbean Field Station in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands until her retirement in 2022. Previously, she was a research biologist with the National Park Service in Virgin Islands National Park (1984 – 1993). She has over 30 years of experience in research on coral reefs and has published papers on coral diseases, the effects of sedimentation, effects of hurricanes, damage from boat anchors, long-term monitoring, reef productivity, coral recruitment, and the threatened coral species Acropora palmata. She served as the Deputy Editor for Reef Encounter, the newsletter of the International Society for Reef Studies.

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coral with stony coral tissue loss disease

Coral Bleaching and Disease: Effects on Threatened Corals and Reefs

A severe disease - tentatively named stony coral tissue loss disease - is rapidly killing corals in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Puerto Rico, and the National Park Service are working together to better under the disease and determine if the disease affecting corals in the USVI is the same one that has been killing corals in Florida since...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Coral Bleaching and Disease: Effects on Threatened Corals and Reefs

A severe disease - tentatively named stony coral tissue loss disease - is rapidly killing corals in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Puerto Rico, and the National Park Service are working together to better under the disease and determine if the disease affecting corals in the USVI is the same one that has been killing corals in Florida since...
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corals in mangroves

Life on the Edge: Can Corals in Mangroves Provide Insights into Climate Change and Recovery following Severe Hurricane Damage?

WARC is collaborating with USGS scientists from the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center and other scientists outside USGS to better understand the role of Hurricane Hole as a refuge from changing climate and ocean acidification.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Life on the Edge: Can Corals in Mangroves Provide Insights into Climate Change and Recovery following Severe Hurricane Damage?

WARC is collaborating with USGS scientists from the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center and other scientists outside USGS to better understand the role of Hurricane Hole as a refuge from changing climate and ocean acidification.
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USGS science for a changing world logo

Local-scale ecosystem resilience amid global-scale ocean change: the coral reef example

Coral reefs are massive, wave resistant structures found throughout the tropics, where they have long attracted attention for their beauty, ecological importance, and rich biological diversity. However, in recent years attention to these systems has focused on their downturn in health and the potential that they effectively could disappear within a century. Yet while many coral reefs have deterio
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John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
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Local-scale ecosystem resilience amid global-scale ocean change: the coral reef example

Coral reefs are massive, wave resistant structures found throughout the tropics, where they have long attracted attention for their beauty, ecological importance, and rich biological diversity. However, in recent years attention to these systems has focused on their downturn in health and the potential that they effectively could disappear within a century. Yet while many coral reefs have deterio
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Forest structure, regeneration, and soil data to support mangrove forest damage assessment on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, from Hurricane Irma (2018-2019)

These data support efforts to assess mangrove forest structural response to Hurricane Irma. Data were collected from within Virgin Islands National Park in St John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Datasets include measurements of forest inventory and vitality status, woody debris, regeneration assessment, and organic soil carbon.
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Time-series Coral-cover Data from Hawaii, Florida, Mo'orea, and the Virgin Islands

Coral reefs around the world have degraded over the last half-century as evidenced by loss of live coral cover. This ubiquitous observation led to the establishment of long-term, ecological monitoring programs in several regions with sizable coral-reef resources. As part of the of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis working group "Local-scale ecos
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Filter Total Items: 44
A sawksbill sea turtle swimming over elkhorn coral
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Image: Corals Growing Under Red Mangrove Prop Roots
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Image: A Bleached Coral Next to an Unbleached Coral
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Image: Red Mangrove Trees
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Image: Grunts and other fish species in mangroves
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Image: Buffalo Trunkfish (Lactophrys trigonus)
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Image: Smooth Trunkfish (Lactophrys triqueter)
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Image: Reef Urchin (Echinometra viridis)
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Image: Coral Reef at Hurricane Hole USVI
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Image: Cushion Sea Star (Oreaster reticulata)
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Image: Four Eye Butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus)
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Image: Gray Angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus)
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Image: Red Mangrove trees
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Image: Flat Tree Oyster (Isognomon alatus)
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Image: Sponges in the Hurricane Hole mangroves
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Image: Finger Coral (Porites sp), Lettuce Coral (Agaricia sp)
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Image: Giant Caribbean Anemone (Condylactis gigantea)
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Image: Rock Beauty Angelfish (Holacanthus tricolor)
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Image: Spotted Trunkfish (Lactophrys bicaudalis)
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Image: Fire Sponge (Tedania ignis)
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Image: Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)
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Filter Total Items: 62

Framework for facilitating mangrove recovery after hurricanes on Caribbean islands

Mangrove ecosystems in the Caribbean are frequently exposed to hurricanes, leading to structural and regenerative change that elicit calls for recovery action. For those mangroves unaffected by human modifications, recovery can occur naturally. Indeed, observable natural recovery after hurricanes is the genesis of the “disturbance adaptation” classification for mangroves; while structural legacies
Authors
Ken Krauss, Kevin R.T. Whelan, John Paul Kennedy, Daniel A. Friess, Caroline Rogers, Heather A. Stewart, Kristin Wilson Grimes, Camilo A. Trench, Danielle E. Ogurcak, Catherine A. Toline, Lianne C. Ball, Andrew From
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

A synthesis of coral reef research at Buck Island Reef National Monument and Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands: 1961 to 2022

This synthesis focuses on the history of research on coral reefs within two U.S. National Park Service units in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands: Buck Island Reef National Monument (from 1961 to 2022) and Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve (from 1980 to 2022). Buck Island Reef National Monument (BUIS) is off the north shore of the island of St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin
Authors
Caroline Rogers
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules

As coral reef condition and sustainability continue to decline worldwide, losses of critical habitat and their ecosystem services have generated an urgency to understand and communicate reef response to management actions, environmental contamination, and natural disasters. Increasingly, coral reef protection and restoration programs emphasize the need for robust assessment tools for protecting hi

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Deborah L. Santavy, Susan K. Jackson, Benjamin Jessup, Jeroen Gerritsen, Caroline Rogers, William S. Fisher, Ernesto Weil, Alina Szmant, David Cuevas-Miranda, Brian K. Walker, Christopher F G Jeffrey, Patricia Bradley, David Ballantine, Loretta Roberson, Hector Ruiz-Torres, Brandi Todd, Tyler B. Smith, Randy Clark, Ernesto L. Diaz, Jorge Bauzá-Ortega, Christina Horstmann, Sandy Raimondo
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Assessing effects of sediment delivery to coral reefs: A Caribbean watershed perspective

Coral reefs in the western Atlantic and Caribbean are deteriorating primarily from disease outbreaks, increasing seawater temperatures, and stress due to land-based sources of pollutants including sediments associated with land use and dredging. Sediments affect corals in numerous ways including smothering, abrasion, shading, and inhibition of coral recruitment. Sediment delivery resulting in depo
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Caroline Rogers, Carlos E. Ramos-Scharrón
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

A biological condition gradient for Caribbean coral reefs: Part II. Numeric rules using sessile benthic organisms

The Biological Condition Gradient (BCG) is a conceptual model used to describe incremental changes in biological condition along a gradient of increasing anthropogenic stress. As coral reefs collapse globally, scientists and managers are focused on how to sustain the crucial structure and functions, and the benefits that healthy coral reef ecosystems provide for many economies and societies. We de

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Deborah L Santavy, Susan K Jackson, Benjamin Jessup, Christina Horstmann, Caroline Rogers, Ernesto Weil, Alina Szmant, David Cuevas Miranda, Brian K Walker, Christopher F.G. Jeffrey, David Ballantine, William S. Fisher, Randy Clark, Hector Ruiz Torres, Brandi Todd, Sandy Raimondo
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Similarities and differences between two deadly Caribbean coral diseases: White plague and stony coral tissue loss disease

For several decades, white plagues (WPDs: WPD-I, II and III) and more recently, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) have significantly impacted Caribbean corals. These diseases are often difficult to separate in the field as they produce similar gross signs. Here we aimed to compare what we know about WPD and SCTLD in terms of: (1) pathology, (2) etiology, and (3) epizootiology. We reviewed ov
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Aldo Cróquer, Ernesto Weil, Caroline Rogers
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Structural impacts, carbon losses, and regeneration in mangrove wetlands after two hurricanes on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Hurricanes Irma and Maria ravaged the mangroves of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, in 2017. Basal area losses were large (63–100%) and storm losses of carbon associated with aboveground biomass amounted to 11.9–43.5 Mg C/ha. Carbon biomass of dead standing trees increased 8.1–18.3 Mg C/ha among sites, and carbon in coarse woody debris on the forest floor increased 1.9–18.2 Mg C/ha, with effects var
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Ken Krauss, Andrew From, Caroline Rogers, Kevin R.T. Whelan, Kristen W. Grimes, Robert C. Dobbs, Thomas Kelley
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Disturbances drive changes in coral community assemblages and coral calcification capacity

Anthropogenic environmental change has increased coral reef disturbance regimes in recent decades, altering the structure and function of many coral reefs globally. In this study, we used coral community survey data collected from 1996 to 2015 to evaluate coral calcification capacity (CCC) dynamics with respect to recorded pulse disturbances for 121 reef sites in the Main Hawaiian Islands and Mo'o
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Travis A. Courtney, Brian B. Barnes, Iliana Chollett, Robin Elahi, Kevin Gross, James R. Guest, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Elizabeth A. Lenz, Hanna R Nelson, Caroline Rogers, Lauren Toth, Andreas J Andersson
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Ecosystems Mission Area, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Immediate effects of hurricanes on a diverse coral/mangrove ecosystem in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the potential for recovery

Hurricanes Irma and Maria, two powerful storms that hit the U.S. Virgin Islands less than 2 weeks apart in September 2017, caused extensive damage to the natural resources on St. John. Damage was particularly severe in a unique mangrove/coral ecosystem in three bays within Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, a National Park Service marine protected area. Many Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mang
Authors
Caroline Rogers
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

What nutrient sources support anomalous growth and the recent sargassum mass stranding on Caribbean beaches? A review

Since 2011, tropical beaches from Africa to Brazil, Central America, and the Caribbean have been inundated by tons of sargassum seaweed from a new equatorial source of pelagic sargassum in the Atlantic. In recent years the extraordinary accumulations of sargassum make this a nuisance algal bloom for tropical coasts. In 2018 satellite data indicated floating mats of sargassum that extended througho
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Candace Oviatt, Kristin Huizenga, Caroline Rogers, Jeff Miller
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

The circumtropical swarm population of the longspined porcupinefish (Diodon holocanthus Linnaeus)

Evidence is presented that Diodon holocanthus is a circumtropical swarm (not a hybrid swarm because the individuals are not hybrids). Some individuals are so differentfrom one another in both color and morphology that they appear to be different species. Thirty undersea and aquarium photographs from different global localities are provided to demonstrate the variability. The worldwide distribution
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John E Randall, Caroline Rogers, John C Ogden
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

A framework for identifying and characterising coral reef “oases” against a backdrop of degradation

Human activities have led to widespread ecological decline; however, the severity of degradation is spatially heterogeneous due to some locations resisting, escaping, or rebounding from disturbances.We developed a framework for identifying oases within coral reef regions using long‐term monitoring data. We calculated standardised estimates of coral cover (z‐scores) to distinguish sites that deviat
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James R. Guest, Peter J. Edmunds, Ruth D. Gates, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Andreas J Andersson, Brian B. Barnes, Iliana Chollett, Travis A. Courtney, Robin Elahi, Kevin Gross, Elizabeth A. Lenz, Satoshi Mitarai, Peter J. Mumby, Hannah R. Nelson, Britt A. Parker, Hollie M. Putnam, Caroline S. Rogers, Lauren Toth
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Mangrove Secrets

The Sheltered Corals of Hurricane Hole, US Virgin Islands

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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Biologist starting over after Hurricane Irma damages home, office, research site

Coral reef expert Caroline Rogers was the only USGS employee in the Virgin Islands when the Category 5 storm hit.

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