Jill Bourque is a Research Ecologist at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
As a member of the Benthic Ecology Group at the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in Gainesville, Florida, Jill Bourque is involved in taxonomic identification and community analysis of marine macrofauna residing near deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. Her research interests include the community ecology and ecosystem function of biogenic reefs in coastal and deep-sea habitats with a focus on how these habitats contribute to local and regional biodiversity.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., University of Delaware, 2009
M.S., University of Delaware, 2005
B.S., Rider University
Science and Products
Sediment grain size, geochemistry, and polychaete functional traits of Norfolk Canyon (western Atlantic) axis, hard substrate, and adjacent slope habitats, 2012-2013
Dataset of sediment geochemistry, water column parameters, and macrofaunal functional traits associated with sediment communities collected in Norfolk Canyon axis, hard substrates, and adjacent slope habitats in 2012 and 2013.
Sediment macrofaunal composition and sediment geochemistry of deep-sea coral habitats after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, 2010-2016
Deep-sea corals create complex habitats that support distinct sediment communities. Several deep-sea coral habitats were impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, and recovery of associated sediment communities may take several years. While spill-associated organic enrichment may lead to increased abundances of tolerant taxa, toxic effects of the spill may lead to declines in sensitive groups.
Benthic infaunal communities of Baltimore and Norfolk canyons
Submarine canyons are morphologically complex systems, acting as major conduits of organic matter along continental shelves, promoting gradients in food resources, habitat heterogeneity, and areas of sediment resuspension and deposition. Often environmental conditions within canyons can be highly distinct, particularly in different parts of the canyon and in contrast to adjacent slopes. Here we ex
Stable isotopic insights into Bathymodiolus childressi at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin, data release
Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant mussel Bathymod
Sediment macrofaunal composition, sediment grain size, and taxa functional traits of multiple deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico, 2009-2014
Deep-sea corals can create a highly complex, three-dimensional structure that facilitates sediment accumulation and influences adjacent sediment environments through altered hydrodynamic regimes. Infaunal communities adjacent to different coral types, including reef-building scleractinian corals and individual colonies of octocorals, are known to differ from background non-coral soft-sediment comm
Filter Total Items: 16
A characterization of the deep-sea coral and sponge community along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts using a remotely operated vehicle on the EXPRESS 2019 expedition
NOAA’s Deep-Sea Coral Research Technology Program (DSCRTP) began a 4-year funding initiative for the U.S. West Coast in 2018. The goals of the West Coast Deep-Sea Coral Initiative were to: 1) gather baseline information on DSCS in areas subject to fishing regulation changes prior to the implementation of Amendment 28; 2) improve our understanding of known DSCS bycatch “hot spots”; and 3) explore a
Workshops report for mesophotic and deep benthic community fish, mobile invertebrates, sessile invertebrates and infauna
Two workshops with subject matter experts in the appropriate fields, were held in November and December 2021 to elicit guidance and feedback from the broader mesophotic and deep benthic scientific community. These workshops focused on best practices/approaches and identifying data gaps relative to habitat assessment and evaluation goals of the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Community (MDBC) restorati
Impacts of sediment removal from and placement in coastal barrier island systems
Executive SummaryOn June 24, 2019, Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to the directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to request their assistance in answering questions regarding coastal sediment resource management within the Coastal Barrier Resources System as defined by the Coastal Barrier
The role of habitat heterogeneity and canyon processes in structuring sediment macrofaunal communities associated with hard substrate habitats in Norfolk Canyon, USA
Topographic and hydrodynamic complexity in submarine canyons promotes steep gradients in food availability and geophysical parameters which affect ecological assemblages and beta diversity. While habitat heterogeneity in submarine canyons is known to support diverse and abundant megafaunal communities, due to difficulty in sampling little is known about infaunal communities adjacent to hard substr
Submarine canyons influence macrofaunal diversity and density patterns in the deep-sea benthos
Submarine canyons are often morphologically complex features in the deep sea contributing to habitat heterogeneity. In addition, they act as major conduits of organic matter from the shallow productive shelf to the food deprived deep-sea, promoting gradients in food resources and areas of sediment resuspension and deposition. This study focuses on the Baltimore and Norfolk canyons, in the western
Benthic infaunal communities of Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons
The imperative for finding, cataloging, and understanding continental margin diversity derives
from the many key functions, goods and services provided by margin ecosystems and by an
increasingly deleterious human footprint on our continental slopes (Levin and Dayton 2009). Progress in seafloor mapping technology and direct observation has revealed unexpected heterogeneity, with a mosaic of habita
Quantifying changes to infaunal communities associated with several deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico and their potential recovery from the DWH oil spill
Extensive information is available about infaunal soft-sediment communities in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) (Pequegnat et al. 1990, Rowe and Kennicutt II 2009, Wei et al. 2010), particularly from the large-scale sampling effort of the Deep Gulf of Mexico Benthos (DGOMB) project in the early 2000s (Rowe and Kennicutt II 2009). Infaunal soft-sediment communities in the northern Gulf differ by geographi
Examination of Bathymodiolus childressi nutritional sources, isotopic niches, and food-web linkages at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin using stable isotope analysis and mixing models
Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant mussel, Bathymo
The influence of seep habitats on sediment macrofaunal biodiversity and functional traits
Chemosynthetic ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) support dense communities of seep megafaunal invertebrates that rely on endosymbiotic bacteria for nutrition. Distinct infaunal communities are associated with the biogenic habitats created by seep biota, where habitat heterogeneity and sediment geochemistry influence local macrofaunal community structure. Here we examine the community structur
The influence of different deep-sea coral habitats on sediment macrofaunal community structure and function
Deep-sea corals can create a highly complex, three-dimensional structure that facilitates sediment accumulation and influences adjacent sediment environments through altered hydrodynamic regimes. Infaunal communities adjacent to different coral types, including reef-building scleractinian corals and individual colonies of octocorals, are known to exhibit higher macrofaunal densities and distinct c
Deepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico
The deep sea is a rich environment composed of diverse habitat types. While deep-sea coral habitats have been discovered within each ocean basin, knowledge about the ecology of these habitats and associated inhabitants continues to grow. This report presents information and results from the Lophelia II project that examined deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. The Lophelia II project foc
Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on deep-sea coral-associated sediment communities
Cold-water corals support distinct populations of infauna within surrounding sediments that provide vital ecosystem functions and services in the deep sea. Yet due to their sedentary existence, infauna are vulnerable to perturbation and contaminant exposure because they are unable to escape disturbance events. While multiple deep-sea coral habitats were injured by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH)
Science and Products
- Data
Sediment grain size, geochemistry, and polychaete functional traits of Norfolk Canyon (western Atlantic) axis, hard substrate, and adjacent slope habitats, 2012-2013
Dataset of sediment geochemistry, water column parameters, and macrofaunal functional traits associated with sediment communities collected in Norfolk Canyon axis, hard substrates, and adjacent slope habitats in 2012 and 2013.Sediment macrofaunal composition and sediment geochemistry of deep-sea coral habitats after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, 2010-2016
Deep-sea corals create complex habitats that support distinct sediment communities. Several deep-sea coral habitats were impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, and recovery of associated sediment communities may take several years. While spill-associated organic enrichment may lead to increased abundances of tolerant taxa, toxic effects of the spill may lead to declines in sensitive groups.Benthic infaunal communities of Baltimore and Norfolk canyons
Submarine canyons are morphologically complex systems, acting as major conduits of organic matter along continental shelves, promoting gradients in food resources, habitat heterogeneity, and areas of sediment resuspension and deposition. Often environmental conditions within canyons can be highly distinct, particularly in different parts of the canyon and in contrast to adjacent slopes. Here we exStable isotopic insights into Bathymodiolus childressi at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin, data release
Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant mussel BathymodSediment macrofaunal composition, sediment grain size, and taxa functional traits of multiple deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico, 2009-2014
Deep-sea corals can create a highly complex, three-dimensional structure that facilitates sediment accumulation and influences adjacent sediment environments through altered hydrodynamic regimes. Infaunal communities adjacent to different coral types, including reef-building scleractinian corals and individual colonies of octocorals, are known to differ from background non-coral soft-sediment comm - Publications
Filter Total Items: 16
A characterization of the deep-sea coral and sponge community along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts using a remotely operated vehicle on the EXPRESS 2019 expedition
NOAA’s Deep-Sea Coral Research Technology Program (DSCRTP) began a 4-year funding initiative for the U.S. West Coast in 2018. The goals of the West Coast Deep-Sea Coral Initiative were to: 1) gather baseline information on DSCS in areas subject to fishing regulation changes prior to the implementation of Amendment 28; 2) improve our understanding of known DSCS bycatch “hot spots”; and 3) explore aWorkshops report for mesophotic and deep benthic community fish, mobile invertebrates, sessile invertebrates and infauna
Two workshops with subject matter experts in the appropriate fields, were held in November and December 2021 to elicit guidance and feedback from the broader mesophotic and deep benthic scientific community. These workshops focused on best practices/approaches and identifying data gaps relative to habitat assessment and evaluation goals of the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Community (MDBC) restoratiImpacts of sediment removal from and placement in coastal barrier island systems
Executive SummaryOn June 24, 2019, Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to the directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to request their assistance in answering questions regarding coastal sediment resource management within the Coastal Barrier Resources System as defined by the Coastal Barrier
The role of habitat heterogeneity and canyon processes in structuring sediment macrofaunal communities associated with hard substrate habitats in Norfolk Canyon, USA
Topographic and hydrodynamic complexity in submarine canyons promotes steep gradients in food availability and geophysical parameters which affect ecological assemblages and beta diversity. While habitat heterogeneity in submarine canyons is known to support diverse and abundant megafaunal communities, due to difficulty in sampling little is known about infaunal communities adjacent to hard substrSubmarine canyons influence macrofaunal diversity and density patterns in the deep-sea benthos
Submarine canyons are often morphologically complex features in the deep sea contributing to habitat heterogeneity. In addition, they act as major conduits of organic matter from the shallow productive shelf to the food deprived deep-sea, promoting gradients in food resources and areas of sediment resuspension and deposition. This study focuses on the Baltimore and Norfolk canyons, in the westernBenthic infaunal communities of Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons
The imperative for finding, cataloging, and understanding continental margin diversity derives from the many key functions, goods and services provided by margin ecosystems and by an increasingly deleterious human footprint on our continental slopes (Levin and Dayton 2009). Progress in seafloor mapping technology and direct observation has revealed unexpected heterogeneity, with a mosaic of habitaQuantifying changes to infaunal communities associated with several deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico and their potential recovery from the DWH oil spill
Extensive information is available about infaunal soft-sediment communities in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) (Pequegnat et al. 1990, Rowe and Kennicutt II 2009, Wei et al. 2010), particularly from the large-scale sampling effort of the Deep Gulf of Mexico Benthos (DGOMB) project in the early 2000s (Rowe and Kennicutt II 2009). Infaunal soft-sediment communities in the northern Gulf differ by geographiExamination of Bathymodiolus childressi nutritional sources, isotopic niches, and food-web linkages at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin using stable isotope analysis and mixing models
Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant mussel, BathymoThe influence of seep habitats on sediment macrofaunal biodiversity and functional traits
Chemosynthetic ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) support dense communities of seep megafaunal invertebrates that rely on endosymbiotic bacteria for nutrition. Distinct infaunal communities are associated with the biogenic habitats created by seep biota, where habitat heterogeneity and sediment geochemistry influence local macrofaunal community structure. Here we examine the community structurThe influence of different deep-sea coral habitats on sediment macrofaunal community structure and function
Deep-sea corals can create a highly complex, three-dimensional structure that facilitates sediment accumulation and influences adjacent sediment environments through altered hydrodynamic regimes. Infaunal communities adjacent to different coral types, including reef-building scleractinian corals and individual colonies of octocorals, are known to exhibit higher macrofaunal densities and distinct cDeepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico
The deep sea is a rich environment composed of diverse habitat types. While deep-sea coral habitats have been discovered within each ocean basin, knowledge about the ecology of these habitats and associated inhabitants continues to grow. This report presents information and results from the Lophelia II project that examined deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. The Lophelia II project focImpacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on deep-sea coral-associated sediment communities
Cold-water corals support distinct populations of infauna within surrounding sediments that provide vital ecosystem functions and services in the deep sea. Yet due to their sedentary existence, infauna are vulnerable to perturbation and contaminant exposure because they are unable to escape disturbance events. While multiple deep-sea coral habitats were injured by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH)