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.
Professional Experience
Geology Topic Editor for Coral Reefs, the flagship journal of the International Society for Reef Studies: 2021‒present.
Elected Chair of the Geological Society of America Marine and Coastal Geoscience Division: 2021‒2025.
Invited Visiting Faculty and Lead Instructor for the Northeastern University Three Seas Program’s Graduate Coral Reef Ecology Field Course in Panama: 2016–2020.
Mendenhall Postdoctoral Researcher, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL: 2014‒2016.
Research Scientist, Florida Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, Melbourne, FL: 2013‒2014.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Florida Institute of Technology, Biological Sciences (2009–2013), Dissertation: Holocene coral-reef development in the tropical eastern Pacific
University of South Alabama Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Marine Science Graduate Program (2007–2008, transferred to Florida Institute of Technology)
B.S., University of Miami, Majors in Marine Science, Biology, and Motion Pictures, Minor in Chemistry (2002–2006)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 22
Local Radiocarbon Reservoir Age (Delta-R) Variability from the Nearshore and Open-Ocean Environments of the Florida Keys Reef Tract During the Holocene and Associated U-Series and Radiocarbon Data Local Radiocarbon Reservoir Age (Delta-R) Variability from the Nearshore and Open-Ocean Environments of the Florida Keys Reef Tract During the Holocene and Associated U-Series and Radiocarbon Data
Holocene-aged corals from reef cores collected throughout the Florida Keys reef tract (FKRT; Fig. 1) were dated using a combination of U-series and radiocarbon techniques to quantify the millennial-scale variability in the local radiocarbon reservoir age (delta-R) of the shallow water environments of south Florida. delta-R provides a measure of the deviation of local radiocarbon...
Radiometric Ages and Descriptive Data for Holocene Corals From Southeast Florida Radiometric Ages and Descriptive Data for Holocene Corals From Southeast Florida
This data release compiles descriptive information (location, water depth, etc.) and radiometric ages from corals collected through the Southeast Florida Continental Reef Tract (SFCRT; fig. 1). The database includes data from studies published between 1977 and 2015 as well as previously unpublished data. The samples were originally collected using coral-reef coring or other geologic...
DNA Microsatellite Markers for Mustard Hill Coral (Porites astreoides) from the Florida Keys Reef Tract DNA Microsatellite Markers for Mustard Hill Coral (Porites astreoides) from the Florida Keys Reef Tract
This data release includes allele sizes of 11 previously published microsatellites for 39 individuals of Porites astreoides (mustard hill coral) collected in the spring of 2017 from four locations in the Florida Keys: Fowey Rocks, Crocker Reef, Sombrero Reef, and Pulaski Shoal. Additionally, this data release also contains the DNA concentration of the extracted DNA prior to PCR reactions...
Experimental coral-growth data and time-series imagery for Acropora palmata in the Florida Keys, U.S.A. Experimental coral-growth data and time-series imagery for Acropora palmata in the Florida Keys, U.S.A.
The USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/) provides science that helps resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. This data release contains data on coral-growth rates and time-series photographs taken of colonies of the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, grown at five sites on the Florida Keys reef tract from spring 2018...
South Florida Holocene Coral Sea-level Database South Florida Holocene Coral Sea-level Database
Holocene-aged coral samples from the south Florida region were extensively characterized to create a new database of verified sea-level data (Stathakopoulos and others, in review). The samples were originally collected using coral-reef coring or other geologic sampling methods and were obtained by several different researchers from studies spanning the interval of 1977 to 2017. Many of...
The Absolute and Relative Composition of Holocene Reef Cores From the Florida Keys Reef Tract The Absolute and Relative Composition of Holocene Reef Cores From the Florida Keys Reef Tract
This data release provides a summary of the absolute percent composition of all recovered material and relative percent composition of coral taxa in the Holocene-aged intervals of 61 coral-reef cores collected throughout the Florida Keys reef tract (FKRT) housed in the USGS Core Archive in St. Petersburg, FL. Estimated ages for distinct depths within each core are also provided; those...
Experimental Data on Construction and Erosion of Orbicella Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys, U.S.A. Experimental Data on Construction and Erosion of Orbicella Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys, U.S.A.
The USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project provides science that helps resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. This data release contains data on coral-growth rates for Orbicella sp. coral colonies grown at five sites on the Florida Keys reef tract from 2013 to 2015, survey data for census-based carbonate budgeting at Hen and Chickens Reef (Islamorada...
Sr/Ca and Linear Extension Data for Five Modern O. faveolata Colonies from Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA Sr/Ca and Linear Extension Data for Five Modern O. faveolata Colonies from Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA
Strontium/Calcium (Sr/Ca) ratios act as a proxy for sea surface temperature (SST) in the skeletons of aragonite producing organisms, such as massive corals. The Sr/Ca-SST proxy shows promise when applied to single Orbicella faveolata colonies in the Atlantic/Caribbean regions, but it is currently unknown how well the Sr/Ca-SST proxy performs between colonies of this species. It is...
Descriptive Core Logs, Core Photographs, Radiocarbon Ages, and Accretion Data from Holocene Reef Cores Collected Throughout the Florida Keys Reef Tract Descriptive Core Logs, Core Photographs, Radiocarbon Ages, and Accretion Data from Holocene Reef Cores Collected Throughout the Florida Keys Reef Tract
The USGS core archive (Reich and others, 2009; USGS Core Archive) houses an extensive collection of coral-reef cores that USGS researchers have collected from throughout the Florida Keys reef tract (FKRT; fig. 1). USGS scientists have compiled all available data on the 71 core records that recovered Holocene reef framework, including radiometric ages (radiocarbon and U-series), data on...
Experimental data comparing two coral grow-out methods in nursery-raised Acropora cervicornis Experimental data comparing two coral grow-out methods in nursery-raised Acropora cervicornis
Staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, is a threatened species and the primary focus of western Atlantic reef-restoration efforts to date. As part of the USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/), we investigated skeletal characteristics of nursery-grown staghorn coral reared using two commonly used grow-out methods at Mote Tropical Research Laboratory...
Filter Total Items: 54
Discovery of a rare pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) death assemblage off southeast Florida reveals multi-century persistence during the late Holocene Discovery of a rare pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) death assemblage off southeast Florida reveals multi-century persistence during the late Holocene
In recent years, coral populations in the western Atlantic have undergone widespread declines from climate change, anthropogenic stressors, and infectious disease outbreaks. The pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, has been one of the most affected species, prompting its listing as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act in 2014 and critically endangered under the IUCN...
Authors
Alexander B. Modys, Lauren Toth, Richard A. Mortlock, Anton E. Olenik, William F. Precht
The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise
The ability of reefs to protect coastlines from storm-driven flooding hinges on their capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise. Here, we show how and whether coral restoration could achieve the often-cited goal of reversing the impacts of coral-reef degradation to preserve this essential function. We combined coral-growth measurements and carbonate-budget assessments of reef-accretion...
Authors
Lauren Toth, Curt D. Storlazzi, Elizabeth M. Whitcher, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Ellen Quataert, Johan Reyns, Robert T. McCall, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Nathaniel H. Holloway, Kristin A. Ewen, Clayton G. Pollock, Tess Code, Richard B. Aronson
Upwelling, climate change, and the shifting geography of coral reef development Upwelling, climate change, and the shifting geography of coral reef development
The eastern tropical Pacific is oceanographically unfavorable for coral-reef development. Nevertheless, reefs have persisted there for the last 7000 years. Rates of vertical accretion during the Holocene have been similar in the strong-upwelling Gulf of Panamá (GoP) and the adjacent, weak-upwelling Gulf of Chiriquí (GoC); however, seasonal upwelling in the GoP exacerbated a climate...
Authors
Victor Rodriguez-Ruano, Lauren Toth, Ian C. Enochs, Carly J. Randall, Richard B. Aronson
Climate-modulated range expansion of reef-building coral communities off southeast Florida during the late Holocene Climate-modulated range expansion of reef-building coral communities off southeast Florida during the late Holocene
The Holocene reefs off southeast Florida provide unique insights into the biogeographical and ecological response of western Atlantic coral reefs to past climate change that can be used to evaluate future climate impacts. However, previous studies have focused on millennial-scale change during the stable mid-Holocene, making it difficult to make inferences about the impact of shorter...
Authors
Alex B. Modys, Anton E. Olenik, Richard A. Mortlock, Lauren Toth, William F. Precht
Assigning causality to events in the Holocene record of coral reefs Assigning causality to events in the Holocene record of coral reefs
The uncemented reef-frameworks of Pacific Panamá, which have been dominated throughout the Holocene by branching corals of the genus Pocillopora, experienced a hiatus in vertical accretion lasting c. 2300 years, beginning c. 4100 years ago. The hiatus has been attributed to an increase in variability of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). We tested the alternative hypothesis that...
Authors
Victor Rodriguez-Ruano, Lauren Toth, Richard B. Aronson
Relative sea-level change in South Florida during the past ~5000 years Relative sea-level change in South Florida during the past ~5000 years
A paucity of detailed relative sea-level (RSL) reconstructions from low latitudes hinders efforts to understand the global, regional, and local processes that cause RSL change. We reconstruct RSL change during the past ~5 ka using cores of mangrove peat at two sites (Snipe Key and Swan Key) in the Florida Keys. Remote sensing and field surveys established the relationship between peat...
Authors
Nicole S. Khan, Erica L. Ashe, Ryan P. Moyer, Andrew C. Kemp, Simon E. Engelhart, Matthew J. Brain, Lauren Toth, Amanda R. Chappel, Margaret Christie, Robert E. Kopp, Benjamin P. Horton
Millennia-old coral holobiont DNA provides insight into future adaptive trajectories Millennia-old coral holobiont DNA provides insight into future adaptive trajectories
Ancient DNA (aDNA) has been applied to evolutionary questions across a wide variety of taxa. Here, for the first time, we leverage aDNA from millennia-old fossil coral fragments to gain new insights into a rapidly declining western Atlantic reef ecosystem. We sampled four Acropora palmata fragments (dated 4215 BCE - 1099 CE) obtained from two Florida Keys reef cores. From these samples...
Authors
Carly B. Scott, Anny Cardenas, Matthew Mah, Vagheesh Narasimhan, Nadin Rohland, Lauren Toth, Christian Voostra, David Reich, Mikhail V Matz
Documenting the multiple facets of a subsiding landscape from coastal cities and wetlands to the continental shelf Documenting the multiple facets of a subsiding landscape from coastal cities and wetlands to the continental shelf
Land subsidence is a settling, sinking, or collapse of the land surface. In the southeastern United States, subsidence is frequently observed as sinkhole collapse in karst environments, wetland degradation and loss in coastal and other low-lying areas, and inundation of coastal urban communities. Human activities such as fluid extraction, mining, and overburden alteration can cause or...
Authors
James G. Flocks, Eileen McGraw, John Barras, Julie Bernier, Mike Bradley, Devin L. Galloway, James Landmeyer, W. Scott McBride, Christopher Smith, Kathryn Smith, Christopher Swarzenski, Lauren Toth
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center (CFWSC), Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Gulf of America
The past, present, and future of coral reef growth in the Florida Keys The past, present, and future of coral reef growth in the Florida Keys
Coral-reef degradation is driving global-scale reductions in reef-building capacity and the ecological, geological, and socioeconomic functions it supports. The persistence of those essential functions will depend on whether coral-reef management is able to rebalance the competing processes of reef accretion and erosion. Here, we reconstructed census-based carbonate budgets of 46 reefs...
Authors
Lauren Toth, Travis A. Courtney, Michael A. Colella, Selena Anne-Marie Johnson, Robert R. Ruzicka
Scale dependence of coral reef oases and their environmental correlates Scale dependence of coral reef oases and their environmental correlates
Identifying relatively intact areas within ecosystems and determining the conditions favoring their existence is necessary for effective management in the context of widespread environmental degradation. In this study, we used 3766 surveys of randomly selected sites in the United States and U.S. Territories to identify the correlates of sites categorized as “oases” (defined as sites with
Authors
Robin Elahi, Peter J. Edmunds, Ruth D. Gates, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Brian B. Barnes, Iliana Chollett, Travis A. Courtney, James R. Guest, Elizabeth A. Lenz, Lauren Toth, T. Shay Viehman, Ivor D. Williams
A statistical framework for integrating nonparametric proxy distributions into geological reconstructions of relative sea level A statistical framework for integrating nonparametric proxy distributions into geological reconstructions of relative sea level
Robust, proxy-based reconstructions of relative sea-level (RSL) change are critical to distinguishing the processes that drive spatial and temporal sea-level variability. The relationships between individual proxies and RSL can be complex and are often poorly represented by traditional methods that assume Gaussian likelihood distributions. We develop a new statistical framework to...
Authors
Erica L. Ashe, Nicole S. Khan, Lauren Toth, Andrea Dutton, Robert E. Kopp
Upwelling and the persistence of coral-reef frameworks in the eastern tropical Pacific Upwelling and the persistence of coral-reef frameworks in the eastern tropical Pacific
In an era of global change, the fate and form of reef habitats will depend on shifting assemblages of organisms and their responses to multiple stressors. Multiphyletic assemblages of calcifying and bioeroding species contribute to a dynamic balance between constructive and erosive processes, and reef-framework growth occurs only when calcium-carbonate deposition exceeds erosion. Each...
Authors
Ian C. Enochs, Lauren Toth, Amanda Kirkland, Derek P. Manzello, Graham Kolodziej, John T Morris, Daniel M Holstein, Austin Schlenz, Carly J. Randall, Juan L Mate, James J Leichter, Richard B. Aronson
Non-USGS Publications**
Toth, L.T., I.G. Macintyre, and R.B. Aronson, 2017, Holocene reef development in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. In Glynn, P.W., D.P. Manzello, and I.C. Enochs (eds). Coral Reefs of the Eastern Pacific: Persistence and Loss in a Dynamic Environment. Springer-Verlag, New York. doi: 10.1007/978-94-017-7499-4_6.
Toth, L.T., R.B. Aronson, S.R. Smith, T.J.T. Murdoch, J.C. Ogden, W.F. Precht, and R. van Woesik, 2014, Do no-take reserves benefit corals? 14 years of stasis and change on Florida’s reefs. Coral Reefs 33:565–577, doi: 10.1007/s00338-014-1158-x.
Smith, T. B., Glynn, P. W., Maté, J. L., Toth, L. T. and Gyory, J., 2014, A depth refugium from catastrophic coral bleaching prevents regional extinction. Ecology, 95: 1663-1673. doi:10.1890/13-0468.1.
Staaterman, E.R., Z. Reichenbach, A. Bhandiwad, P. Gravinese, P. Moeller, A. Shantz, D.S. Shiffman, L.T. Toth, and A. Warneke, A.J. Gallagher, 2014, Lights, camera, science: The growing popularity of film festivals at scientific meetings. Ideas in Ecology and Evolution 7:11–16.
Aronson, R. B., Precht, W. F., Macintyre, I. G. and Toth, L. T., 2012, Catastrophe and the life span of coral reefs. Ecology, 93: 303-313, doi:10.1890/11-1037.1. doi:10.1126/science.1221168.
Toth, L.T., R.B. Aronson, S.V. Vollmer, J.W. Hobbs, D. Urrego, H. Cheng, I.C. Enochs, D.J. Combosch, R. van Woesik, and I.G. Macintyre, 2012, ENSO drove 2500-year collapse of eastern Pacific coral reefs. Science 337:81–84.
Enochs IC, Toth LT, Brandtneris VW, Afflerbach JC, Manzello DP, 2011, Environmental determinants of motile cryptofauna on an eastern Pacific coral reef. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 438:105-118. doi:10.3354/meps09259.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Filter Total Items: 27
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 22
Local Radiocarbon Reservoir Age (Delta-R) Variability from the Nearshore and Open-Ocean Environments of the Florida Keys Reef Tract During the Holocene and Associated U-Series and Radiocarbon Data Local Radiocarbon Reservoir Age (Delta-R) Variability from the Nearshore and Open-Ocean Environments of the Florida Keys Reef Tract During the Holocene and Associated U-Series and Radiocarbon Data
Holocene-aged corals from reef cores collected throughout the Florida Keys reef tract (FKRT; Fig. 1) were dated using a combination of U-series and radiocarbon techniques to quantify the millennial-scale variability in the local radiocarbon reservoir age (delta-R) of the shallow water environments of south Florida. delta-R provides a measure of the deviation of local radiocarbon...
Radiometric Ages and Descriptive Data for Holocene Corals From Southeast Florida Radiometric Ages and Descriptive Data for Holocene Corals From Southeast Florida
This data release compiles descriptive information (location, water depth, etc.) and radiometric ages from corals collected through the Southeast Florida Continental Reef Tract (SFCRT; fig. 1). The database includes data from studies published between 1977 and 2015 as well as previously unpublished data. The samples were originally collected using coral-reef coring or other geologic...
DNA Microsatellite Markers for Mustard Hill Coral (Porites astreoides) from the Florida Keys Reef Tract DNA Microsatellite Markers for Mustard Hill Coral (Porites astreoides) from the Florida Keys Reef Tract
This data release includes allele sizes of 11 previously published microsatellites for 39 individuals of Porites astreoides (mustard hill coral) collected in the spring of 2017 from four locations in the Florida Keys: Fowey Rocks, Crocker Reef, Sombrero Reef, and Pulaski Shoal. Additionally, this data release also contains the DNA concentration of the extracted DNA prior to PCR reactions...
Experimental coral-growth data and time-series imagery for Acropora palmata in the Florida Keys, U.S.A. Experimental coral-growth data and time-series imagery for Acropora palmata in the Florida Keys, U.S.A.
The USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/) provides science that helps resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. This data release contains data on coral-growth rates and time-series photographs taken of colonies of the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, grown at five sites on the Florida Keys reef tract from spring 2018...
South Florida Holocene Coral Sea-level Database South Florida Holocene Coral Sea-level Database
Holocene-aged coral samples from the south Florida region were extensively characterized to create a new database of verified sea-level data (Stathakopoulos and others, in review). The samples were originally collected using coral-reef coring or other geologic sampling methods and were obtained by several different researchers from studies spanning the interval of 1977 to 2017. Many of...
The Absolute and Relative Composition of Holocene Reef Cores From the Florida Keys Reef Tract The Absolute and Relative Composition of Holocene Reef Cores From the Florida Keys Reef Tract
This data release provides a summary of the absolute percent composition of all recovered material and relative percent composition of coral taxa in the Holocene-aged intervals of 61 coral-reef cores collected throughout the Florida Keys reef tract (FKRT) housed in the USGS Core Archive in St. Petersburg, FL. Estimated ages for distinct depths within each core are also provided; those...
Experimental Data on Construction and Erosion of Orbicella Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys, U.S.A. Experimental Data on Construction and Erosion of Orbicella Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys, U.S.A.
The USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project provides science that helps resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. This data release contains data on coral-growth rates for Orbicella sp. coral colonies grown at five sites on the Florida Keys reef tract from 2013 to 2015, survey data for census-based carbonate budgeting at Hen and Chickens Reef (Islamorada...
Sr/Ca and Linear Extension Data for Five Modern O. faveolata Colonies from Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA Sr/Ca and Linear Extension Data for Five Modern O. faveolata Colonies from Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA
Strontium/Calcium (Sr/Ca) ratios act as a proxy for sea surface temperature (SST) in the skeletons of aragonite producing organisms, such as massive corals. The Sr/Ca-SST proxy shows promise when applied to single Orbicella faveolata colonies in the Atlantic/Caribbean regions, but it is currently unknown how well the Sr/Ca-SST proxy performs between colonies of this species. It is...
Descriptive Core Logs, Core Photographs, Radiocarbon Ages, and Accretion Data from Holocene Reef Cores Collected Throughout the Florida Keys Reef Tract Descriptive Core Logs, Core Photographs, Radiocarbon Ages, and Accretion Data from Holocene Reef Cores Collected Throughout the Florida Keys Reef Tract
The USGS core archive (Reich and others, 2009; USGS Core Archive) houses an extensive collection of coral-reef cores that USGS researchers have collected from throughout the Florida Keys reef tract (FKRT; fig. 1). USGS scientists have compiled all available data on the 71 core records that recovered Holocene reef framework, including radiometric ages (radiocarbon and U-series), data on...
Experimental data comparing two coral grow-out methods in nursery-raised Acropora cervicornis Experimental data comparing two coral grow-out methods in nursery-raised Acropora cervicornis
Staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, is a threatened species and the primary focus of western Atlantic reef-restoration efforts to date. As part of the USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/), we investigated skeletal characteristics of nursery-grown staghorn coral reared using two commonly used grow-out methods at Mote Tropical Research Laboratory...
Filter Total Items: 54
Discovery of a rare pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) death assemblage off southeast Florida reveals multi-century persistence during the late Holocene Discovery of a rare pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) death assemblage off southeast Florida reveals multi-century persistence during the late Holocene
In recent years, coral populations in the western Atlantic have undergone widespread declines from climate change, anthropogenic stressors, and infectious disease outbreaks. The pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, has been one of the most affected species, prompting its listing as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act in 2014 and critically endangered under the IUCN...
Authors
Alexander B. Modys, Lauren Toth, Richard A. Mortlock, Anton E. Olenik, William F. Precht
The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise
The ability of reefs to protect coastlines from storm-driven flooding hinges on their capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise. Here, we show how and whether coral restoration could achieve the often-cited goal of reversing the impacts of coral-reef degradation to preserve this essential function. We combined coral-growth measurements and carbonate-budget assessments of reef-accretion...
Authors
Lauren Toth, Curt D. Storlazzi, Elizabeth M. Whitcher, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Ellen Quataert, Johan Reyns, Robert T. McCall, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Nathaniel H. Holloway, Kristin A. Ewen, Clayton G. Pollock, Tess Code, Richard B. Aronson
Upwelling, climate change, and the shifting geography of coral reef development Upwelling, climate change, and the shifting geography of coral reef development
The eastern tropical Pacific is oceanographically unfavorable for coral-reef development. Nevertheless, reefs have persisted there for the last 7000 years. Rates of vertical accretion during the Holocene have been similar in the strong-upwelling Gulf of Panamá (GoP) and the adjacent, weak-upwelling Gulf of Chiriquí (GoC); however, seasonal upwelling in the GoP exacerbated a climate...
Authors
Victor Rodriguez-Ruano, Lauren Toth, Ian C. Enochs, Carly J. Randall, Richard B. Aronson
Climate-modulated range expansion of reef-building coral communities off southeast Florida during the late Holocene Climate-modulated range expansion of reef-building coral communities off southeast Florida during the late Holocene
The Holocene reefs off southeast Florida provide unique insights into the biogeographical and ecological response of western Atlantic coral reefs to past climate change that can be used to evaluate future climate impacts. However, previous studies have focused on millennial-scale change during the stable mid-Holocene, making it difficult to make inferences about the impact of shorter...
Authors
Alex B. Modys, Anton E. Olenik, Richard A. Mortlock, Lauren Toth, William F. Precht
Assigning causality to events in the Holocene record of coral reefs Assigning causality to events in the Holocene record of coral reefs
The uncemented reef-frameworks of Pacific Panamá, which have been dominated throughout the Holocene by branching corals of the genus Pocillopora, experienced a hiatus in vertical accretion lasting c. 2300 years, beginning c. 4100 years ago. The hiatus has been attributed to an increase in variability of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). We tested the alternative hypothesis that...
Authors
Victor Rodriguez-Ruano, Lauren Toth, Richard B. Aronson
Relative sea-level change in South Florida during the past ~5000 years Relative sea-level change in South Florida during the past ~5000 years
A paucity of detailed relative sea-level (RSL) reconstructions from low latitudes hinders efforts to understand the global, regional, and local processes that cause RSL change. We reconstruct RSL change during the past ~5 ka using cores of mangrove peat at two sites (Snipe Key and Swan Key) in the Florida Keys. Remote sensing and field surveys established the relationship between peat...
Authors
Nicole S. Khan, Erica L. Ashe, Ryan P. Moyer, Andrew C. Kemp, Simon E. Engelhart, Matthew J. Brain, Lauren Toth, Amanda R. Chappel, Margaret Christie, Robert E. Kopp, Benjamin P. Horton
Millennia-old coral holobiont DNA provides insight into future adaptive trajectories Millennia-old coral holobiont DNA provides insight into future adaptive trajectories
Ancient DNA (aDNA) has been applied to evolutionary questions across a wide variety of taxa. Here, for the first time, we leverage aDNA from millennia-old fossil coral fragments to gain new insights into a rapidly declining western Atlantic reef ecosystem. We sampled four Acropora palmata fragments (dated 4215 BCE - 1099 CE) obtained from two Florida Keys reef cores. From these samples...
Authors
Carly B. Scott, Anny Cardenas, Matthew Mah, Vagheesh Narasimhan, Nadin Rohland, Lauren Toth, Christian Voostra, David Reich, Mikhail V Matz
Documenting the multiple facets of a subsiding landscape from coastal cities and wetlands to the continental shelf Documenting the multiple facets of a subsiding landscape from coastal cities and wetlands to the continental shelf
Land subsidence is a settling, sinking, or collapse of the land surface. In the southeastern United States, subsidence is frequently observed as sinkhole collapse in karst environments, wetland degradation and loss in coastal and other low-lying areas, and inundation of coastal urban communities. Human activities such as fluid extraction, mining, and overburden alteration can cause or...
Authors
James G. Flocks, Eileen McGraw, John Barras, Julie Bernier, Mike Bradley, Devin L. Galloway, James Landmeyer, W. Scott McBride, Christopher Smith, Kathryn Smith, Christopher Swarzenski, Lauren Toth
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center (CFWSC), Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Gulf of America
The past, present, and future of coral reef growth in the Florida Keys The past, present, and future of coral reef growth in the Florida Keys
Coral-reef degradation is driving global-scale reductions in reef-building capacity and the ecological, geological, and socioeconomic functions it supports. The persistence of those essential functions will depend on whether coral-reef management is able to rebalance the competing processes of reef accretion and erosion. Here, we reconstructed census-based carbonate budgets of 46 reefs...
Authors
Lauren Toth, Travis A. Courtney, Michael A. Colella, Selena Anne-Marie Johnson, Robert R. Ruzicka
Scale dependence of coral reef oases and their environmental correlates Scale dependence of coral reef oases and their environmental correlates
Identifying relatively intact areas within ecosystems and determining the conditions favoring their existence is necessary for effective management in the context of widespread environmental degradation. In this study, we used 3766 surveys of randomly selected sites in the United States and U.S. Territories to identify the correlates of sites categorized as “oases” (defined as sites with
Authors
Robin Elahi, Peter J. Edmunds, Ruth D. Gates, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Brian B. Barnes, Iliana Chollett, Travis A. Courtney, James R. Guest, Elizabeth A. Lenz, Lauren Toth, T. Shay Viehman, Ivor D. Williams
A statistical framework for integrating nonparametric proxy distributions into geological reconstructions of relative sea level A statistical framework for integrating nonparametric proxy distributions into geological reconstructions of relative sea level
Robust, proxy-based reconstructions of relative sea-level (RSL) change are critical to distinguishing the processes that drive spatial and temporal sea-level variability. The relationships between individual proxies and RSL can be complex and are often poorly represented by traditional methods that assume Gaussian likelihood distributions. We develop a new statistical framework to...
Authors
Erica L. Ashe, Nicole S. Khan, Lauren Toth, Andrea Dutton, Robert E. Kopp
Upwelling and the persistence of coral-reef frameworks in the eastern tropical Pacific Upwelling and the persistence of coral-reef frameworks in the eastern tropical Pacific
In an era of global change, the fate and form of reef habitats will depend on shifting assemblages of organisms and their responses to multiple stressors. Multiphyletic assemblages of calcifying and bioeroding species contribute to a dynamic balance between constructive and erosive processes, and reef-framework growth occurs only when calcium-carbonate deposition exceeds erosion. Each...
Authors
Ian C. Enochs, Lauren Toth, Amanda Kirkland, Derek P. Manzello, Graham Kolodziej, John T Morris, Daniel M Holstein, Austin Schlenz, Carly J. Randall, Juan L Mate, James J Leichter, Richard B. Aronson
Non-USGS Publications**
Toth, L.T., I.G. Macintyre, and R.B. Aronson, 2017, Holocene reef development in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. In Glynn, P.W., D.P. Manzello, and I.C. Enochs (eds). Coral Reefs of the Eastern Pacific: Persistence and Loss in a Dynamic Environment. Springer-Verlag, New York. doi: 10.1007/978-94-017-7499-4_6.
Toth, L.T., R.B. Aronson, S.R. Smith, T.J.T. Murdoch, J.C. Ogden, W.F. Precht, and R. van Woesik, 2014, Do no-take reserves benefit corals? 14 years of stasis and change on Florida’s reefs. Coral Reefs 33:565–577, doi: 10.1007/s00338-014-1158-x.
Smith, T. B., Glynn, P. W., Maté, J. L., Toth, L. T. and Gyory, J., 2014, A depth refugium from catastrophic coral bleaching prevents regional extinction. Ecology, 95: 1663-1673. doi:10.1890/13-0468.1.
Staaterman, E.R., Z. Reichenbach, A. Bhandiwad, P. Gravinese, P. Moeller, A. Shantz, D.S. Shiffman, L.T. Toth, and A. Warneke, A.J. Gallagher, 2014, Lights, camera, science: The growing popularity of film festivals at scientific meetings. Ideas in Ecology and Evolution 7:11–16.
Aronson, R. B., Precht, W. F., Macintyre, I. G. and Toth, L. T., 2012, Catastrophe and the life span of coral reefs. Ecology, 93: 303-313, doi:10.1890/11-1037.1. doi:10.1126/science.1221168.
Toth, L.T., R.B. Aronson, S.V. Vollmer, J.W. Hobbs, D. Urrego, H. Cheng, I.C. Enochs, D.J. Combosch, R. van Woesik, and I.G. Macintyre, 2012, ENSO drove 2500-year collapse of eastern Pacific coral reefs. Science 337:81–84.
Enochs IC, Toth LT, Brandtneris VW, Afflerbach JC, Manzello DP, 2011, Environmental determinants of motile cryptofauna on an eastern Pacific coral reef. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 438:105-118. doi:10.3354/meps09259.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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