Ocean acidification compromises recruitment success of the threatened Caribbean coral Acropora palmata
"Ocean acidification (OA) refers to the ongoing decline in oceanic pH resulting from the uptake of atmospheric CO2. Mounting experimental evidence suggests that OA will have negative consequences for a variety of marine organisms. Whereas the effect of OA...
Molassamide, a depsipeptide serine protease inhibitor from the marine cyanobacterium Dichothrix utahensis
"A new dolastatin 13 analogue, molassamide (1), was isolated from cyanobacterial assemblages of Dichothrix utahensis collected from the Molasses Reef, Key Largo, Florida, and from Brewers Bay, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. This is the first peptide rep...
Modeling and monitoring tools to assess recovery status and convergence rates between restored and undistributed coral reef habitats
"Boating activities are an increasing source of physical damage to coral reefs worldwide. The damage caused by ship groundings can be significant and may result in a shift in reef structure and function. In this study we evaluate the status of two restora...
Substrate composition and adult distribution determine recruitment patterns in a Caribbean brooding coral
"This study demonstrates the interactive effect of both substrate composition and adult presence on recruitment and mortality patterns of the earliest life stages in the coral Siderastrea radians in the Florida Keys. Low substrate complexity on a wreck (t...
Coral larvae settle at a higher frequency on red surfaces
"Although chemical cues serve as the primary determinants of larval settlement and metamorphosis, light is also known to influence the behavior and the settlement of coral planulae. For example, Porites astreoides planulae settle preferentially on uncondi...
Evidence for multiple phototransduction pathways in a reef-building coral
"Photosensitive behaviors and circadian rhythms are well documented in reef-building corals and their larvae, but the mechanisms responsible for photoreception have not been described in these organisms. Here we report the cloning, immunolocalization, and...
The importance of evaluation, experimentation, and ecological process in advancing reef restoration success
The practice of coral reef restoration in the past has been largely confined to replacement of habitat with artificial structures and the transplant of coral colonies or fragments, either borrowed from nearby populations or rescued from the disturbance. D...
Alternate benthic assemblages on reef restoration structures and cascading effects on coral settlement
"In coral reefs, restoration actions often involve artificial construction since physical structure enhances physico-chemical conditions for benthic communities and provides habitat for reef-associated fauna. We evaluated the performance of 4 restoration ...
Location-Specific Responses to Thermal Stress in Larvae of the Reef-Building Coral Montastraea faveolata
"Background: The potential to adapt to a changing climate depends in part upon the standing genetic variation present in wild populations. In corals, the dispersive larval phase is particularly vulnerable to the effects of environmental stress. Larval sur...
Ocean acidification compromises recruitment success of the threatened Caribbean coral Acropora palmata