Leigh-Anne Carlson

Leigh-Anne’s work within the Benthic Ecology lab focuses on the Coral Propagation Techniques (CPT) development project under a larger Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) collaboration between other federal agencies and academic research institutions. She provides husbandry care to six species of mesophotic soft coral and maintains their saltwater aquaria systems. These corals are sampled from species most impacted by the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in an effort to assess the range of conditions in water quality, diet, substrates, light exposure etc. that are ideal for tissue recovery growth and yearly spawning. The long-term goal is to eventually outplant and restore these foundational ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico.