Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
Lauren Toth, Ph.D.
Lauren Toth is a Research Physical Scientist at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.
I study the impacts of natural and anthropogenic environmental change on coral-reef ecosystems. My research combines geological and modern records to quantify the complex processes and environmental controls that determine the state and function of reefs over a broad range of spatial and temporal scales. I approach each problem from an interdisciplinary perspective, bringing together knowledge and techniques from a variety of fields to develop a holistic understanding of reefs’ environmental setting and ecology. A central focus of my research is to provide new knowledge that is directly applicable to coral-reef management and restoration.
Science and Products
Anthropogenic Nutrient Loading and Coral Health at Ofu, American Samoa
Declining water quality poses a significant and persistent threat to coral reefs worldwide, contributing to their widespread degradation. Identifying the specific impacts of water quality stressors is challenging due to the complex interplay of various physical and biological factors affecting reef health. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) plays a crucial role in transporting nutrients into...
Developing a USGS Digital Coral Growth Archive using Rotating X-Ray Computerized Tomography - The ACTS Project
The Archival Computed Tomography Scanning Project (ACTS) currently develops the USGS Coral Core Archive, housed at the Pacific and St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Centers, that contains approximately 500 coral reef cores from U.S. jurisdictions worldwide. This archive, is one of the largest coral archives in the world and provides historical context for coral-reef science studies...
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...
Holocene Coral-Reef Development
With the continuing threat of climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances, the future of Florida's coral reefs is uncertain. One way to gain insights into the future trajectories of Florida's coral reefs is to investigate how they responded to environmental disturbances in the past.
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
Seafloor Erosion in the Florida Keys (AD)
Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
Seafloor Erosion in the Florida Keys
Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
Divers construct transect off of Looe Key
Two divers from the CREST research team float underwater near Looe Key, FL to survey fish, urchins, and sponges.
Two divers from the CREST research team float underwater near Looe Key, FL to survey fish, urchins, and sponges.
CREST team prepares for field work
Scientists from the CREST project plan field work from the back of a boat in the Florida Keys.
Scientists from the CREST project plan field work from the back of a boat in the Florida Keys.
Lauren Toth - Coral Restoration
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
Lauren Toth - Coral Restoration (AD)
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
Restored staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) at Looe Key reef
Restored staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) at Looe Key reef in the lower Florida Keys outplanted by Mote Marine Laboratory's coral restoration program.
Restored staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) at Looe Key reef in the lower Florida Keys outplanted by Mote Marine Laboratory's coral restoration program.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Dead elkhorn coral at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Photo shows a dead, relict reef framework built by the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Photo shows a dead, relict reef framework built by the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Taking a coral core in the Gulf of Chiriqui, Panama
Collecting a coral core in the Gulf of Chiriqui, Panama, by forcing a 20-foot aluminum tube into the reef. This core retrieved about 6,000 years of reef history.
Collecting a coral core in the Gulf of Chiriqui, Panama, by forcing a 20-foot aluminum tube into the reef. This core retrieved about 6,000 years of reef history.
Dr. Lauren Toth operates an underwater coral drill
USGS scientist Lauren Toth operates an underwater coral core drill offshore Florida.
USGS scientist Lauren Toth operates an underwater coral core drill offshore Florida.
Healthy elkhorn coral at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
A healthy thicket of elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. This species is critical for shoreline protection because it is the only species that builds reef-crest habitat in the Caribbean region.
A healthy thicket of elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. This species is critical for shoreline protection because it is the only species that builds reef-crest habitat in the Caribbean region.
Science and Products
Anthropogenic Nutrient Loading and Coral Health at Ofu, American Samoa
Declining water quality poses a significant and persistent threat to coral reefs worldwide, contributing to their widespread degradation. Identifying the specific impacts of water quality stressors is challenging due to the complex interplay of various physical and biological factors affecting reef health. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) plays a crucial role in transporting nutrients into...
Developing a USGS Digital Coral Growth Archive using Rotating X-Ray Computerized Tomography - The ACTS Project
The Archival Computed Tomography Scanning Project (ACTS) currently develops the USGS Coral Core Archive, housed at the Pacific and St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Centers, that contains approximately 500 coral reef cores from U.S. jurisdictions worldwide. This archive, is one of the largest coral archives in the world and provides historical context for coral-reef science studies...
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...
Holocene Coral-Reef Development
With the continuing threat of climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances, the future of Florida's coral reefs is uncertain. One way to gain insights into the future trajectories of Florida's coral reefs is to investigate how they responded to environmental disturbances in the past.
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
Seafloor Erosion in the Florida Keys (AD)
Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
Seafloor Erosion in the Florida Keys
Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
Divers construct transect off of Looe Key
Two divers from the CREST research team float underwater near Looe Key, FL to survey fish, urchins, and sponges.
Two divers from the CREST research team float underwater near Looe Key, FL to survey fish, urchins, and sponges.
CREST team prepares for field work
Scientists from the CREST project plan field work from the back of a boat in the Florida Keys.
Scientists from the CREST project plan field work from the back of a boat in the Florida Keys.
Lauren Toth - Coral Restoration
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
Lauren Toth - Coral Restoration (AD)
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
Restored staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) at Looe Key reef
Restored staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) at Looe Key reef in the lower Florida Keys outplanted by Mote Marine Laboratory's coral restoration program.
Restored staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) at Looe Key reef in the lower Florida Keys outplanted by Mote Marine Laboratory's coral restoration program.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Dead elkhorn coral at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Photo shows a dead, relict reef framework built by the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Photo shows a dead, relict reef framework built by the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Taking a coral core in the Gulf of Chiriqui, Panama
Collecting a coral core in the Gulf of Chiriqui, Panama, by forcing a 20-foot aluminum tube into the reef. This core retrieved about 6,000 years of reef history.
Collecting a coral core in the Gulf of Chiriqui, Panama, by forcing a 20-foot aluminum tube into the reef. This core retrieved about 6,000 years of reef history.
Dr. Lauren Toth operates an underwater coral drill
USGS scientist Lauren Toth operates an underwater coral core drill offshore Florida.
USGS scientist Lauren Toth operates an underwater coral core drill offshore Florida.
Healthy elkhorn coral at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
A healthy thicket of elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. This species is critical for shoreline protection because it is the only species that builds reef-crest habitat in the Caribbean region.
A healthy thicket of elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. This species is critical for shoreline protection because it is the only species that builds reef-crest habitat in the Caribbean region.