Joshua Voss, PhD | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Florida Atlantic University | 5600 US 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946 | Lab Phone: 772-242-2393
Coral Reef Health and Ecology Lab
  • Home
  • News
  • People
    • Current Lab Members
    • Lab Alumni
  • Research
    • Mesophotic Coral Reefs >
      • Flower Garden Banks
      • Cuba
      • Carrie Bow Cay, Belize
      • Pulley Ridge
    • Coral Health & Disease >
      • Tissue Loss Disease
      • St. Lucie Reef
      • Oil, Dispersant, and Disease
    • Project CLOUD
  • Publications
    • Papers
    • Presentations
    • Google Scholar
  • Teaching
  • Opportunities
  • Photos

New Voss Lab Publication: Connectivity on Cuba's Coral Reefs

9/23/2020

 
Picture
We are excited to share our most recent article published in Scientific Reports “Population genetic structure of the great star coral, Montastraea cavernosa, across the Cuban archipelago with comparisons between microsatellite and SNP markers." Voss Lab graduate student Lexie Sturm is first author on the study that also comprises part of her Ph.D. dissertation research at FAU Harbor Branch.       

​The full article is open-access and can be downloaded here.
 
The study stemmed from a collaborative effort between U.S. and Cuban scientists to study Cuba’s shallow and mesophotic reefs and their regional connectivity. On a joint research cruise in 2017, Voss led a team collecting samples of the coral Montastraea cavernosa from shallow (0-5 m) and a few mesophotic (30-150 m) colonies throughout the Cuban archipelago. These samples were then genotyped using nine microsatellite markers and a 2bRAD SNP genotyping approach that generated >9,000 SNPs. By implementing both of these molecular approaches, we were able to better characterize the population genetic structure of M. cavernosa in the region and compare the merits and drawbacks of both marker classes.

Both the microsatellite and the SNP datasets were able to identify significant levels of genetic differentiation among samples from the mesophotic population, Banco de San Antonio, and all other shallow sampling populations. Furthermore, the SNP dataset identified significant levels of genetic differentiation among most of the shallow sites and indicated that differentiation was highest between western and eastern coral populations in Cuba. From the SNP dataset, we were also able to identify a number of samples belonging to a unique genetic cluster. These samples were more commonly from the western populations where strong, oceanic currents dominate the hydrodynamic regime, perhaps connecting these populations to other reefs within the Tropical Western Atlantic region. We are continuing to generate SNP-based genetic datasets for other M. cavernosa populations in the region to evaluate regional metapopulation dynamics and to assess genetic connectivity between Cuba and other populations in the U.S., Mexico, and Belize. 

Picture
This work was funded by awards from NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research to the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology (CIOERT) at FAU Harbor Branch and student funding from the NSF GRFP, Women Divers Hall of Fame, and Florida Sea Grant Scholars program.  We are grateful to all of our American and Cuban colleagues who participated or facilitated this collaborative research expedition and follow-up molecular analyses.  Special thanks go to the co-authors of the study including PhD student Ryan Eckert at Harbor Branch, Juliett González Méndez from Cuba's National Center of Protected Areas,  and Dr. S. Patricia González Díaz, director of the Center for Marine Research at the University of Havana.
 

Behind the Science at FAU Harbor Branch

7/1/2020

 
FAU's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has launched the Behind the Science Seminar Series, giving those interested in marine science and engineer a chance to learn more about our research and faculty. Dr. Voss recently participated in the series through a live-streamed interview that is available on Harbor Branch's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGv-vokHjww&t=66s.  
Picture

Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants:  Telepresence Exploration in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

6/10/2020

 
In 2019, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries partnered with the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration to expand our understanding of sanctuaries through deep-water exploration and research shared in real-team via telepresence. Aboard the R/V Manta, academic research scientists, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration staff, and Flower Garden Bank National Marine Sanctuary staff ventured into the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. There, they explored areas that have been proposed for sanctuary expansion and investigated the biodiversity and connectivity of mesophotic coral ecosystems. Dr. Joshua Voss served as the science lead on the first leg of the expedition.  He recently partnered with NOAA Ocean Exploration and Research, NOAA Sanctuaries, and Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants to present highlights from the expedition and recounts their important discoveries. The video is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=eetsWxKeGh0.  
Picture

New paper from the Voss Lab: Depth influences Symbiodiniaceae associations among Montastraea cavernosa corals on the Belize Barrier Reef

4/9/2020

 
We are excited to share our most recent article "Depth influences Symbiodiniaceae associations among Montastraea cavernosa corals on the Belize Barrier Reef" which was just published in Frontiers in Microbiology. This work was led by graduate student Ryan Eckert, and was part of his Master's Thesis at FAU Harbor Branch.
Picture
For this study we identified the microscopic dinoflagellate algae (Family Symbiodiniaceae) found within M. cavernosa colonies across a depth gradient from 10–35 m. ​All M. cavernosa sampled were previously genotyped (Eckert, Studivan, and Voss 2019) and we found a strong genetic break between deep (25 and 35 m) and shallow (10 and 16 m) populations. We used the ITS2 ​region of Symbiodiniaceae ribosomal coding DNA and the newly-developed SymPortal (Hume et al. 2019) analysis frame work to identify putatitve Symbiodiniaceae taxa associated with these previously genotyped corals.

Shallow and deep M. cavernosa populations in our Belize study sites harbored different Symbiodiniaceae. Shallow populations had much more variable Symbiodiniaceae compared to deep populations. Notably, this split follows a similar trend to the host population genetic structure, with differences between shallow populations (back reef/ reef crest) and deeper populations (fore reef/ reef wall).
Picture
This collaborative project involved  multiple student co-authors, including PhD student Lexie Sturm and Link Intern Ashley Reaume. This work was funded by awards from NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration to the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology (CIOERT) and a donation from the Banbury Fund in memory of John and Andreija Robertson and a donation from the River Branch Foundation.  We are also grateful to our colleagues at the Smithsonian Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program who helped to facilitate this research.
The full article is open-access and can be downloaded here.

Congratulations and great work Ryan and team!

Welcome interns Ashley and Elle!

3/19/2020

 
Picture
Picture
The Voss Lab is growing again! Elle Cohen and Ashley Carreiro joined the lab as interns in January. They will be working on a wide variety of projects, including our ongoing stony coral tissue loss disease project and the Florida Reef Tract and Gulf of Mexico mesophotic habitat characterization projects.

We are very excited to welcome Ashley and Elle to the lab!
​

Combs graduates from FAU Biology Master’s program

12/17/2019

 
Picture
Following his successful thesis defense in December, Ian completed his remaining graduate requirements, submitted his thesis to the FAU Graduate College, and graduated on December 12th!
 
Ian has accepted a position as a research technician with the Voss Laboratory effective immediately and will be responsible for managing the lab as well as coordinating the Voss Laboratory’s local field work.
 
Congratulations Ian!

Ian Combs successfully defends Master's thesis

12/3/2019

 
Picture
​Voss lab graduate student Ian Combs successfully defended his master’s thesis research in a standing room only seminar on Thursday, October 31. Ian’s project is part of an ongoing collaborative effort to understand and combat stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) throughout southeast Florida. His research focused on monitoring the spread of SCTLD throughout the northern Florida Reef Tract, and characterized the impacts of SCTLD on individual colonies of Montastraea cavernosa using 3D photogrammetry.  Traditional coral surveys combined with the 3D photogrammetry method provided greater insights into the spatial/temporal dynamics and impacts of this disease on individual corals and reef populations than surveys alone.
 
This project was funded primarily by Florida Department of Environmental Protection with additional support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, EPA, and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation through the Indian River Lagoon Scholarship program.  Ian will continue working with the Voss Lab on SCTLD-related projects as a research technician.
 
Congratulations Ian!

CIOERT conducts two-week expedition exploring mesophotic coral ecosystems of the Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, and Pulley Ridge

9/8/2019

 
The Voss Lab led a 16-day Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration Research and Technology (CIOERT) mission exploring shallow and mesophotic reefs off of the Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas and Pulley Ridge aboard the University of Miami’s R/V Walton Smith. FAU-Harbor Branch research professor John Reed served as cheif scientist on the first leg which focused on mesophotic community and habitat characterization using the UNCW Mohawk ROV. Voss Lab graduate students Lexie Sturm and Ian Combs made up “Team Coral” on leg 1. Our primary goals were to survey mesophotic areas of interest, identify and annotate any observed cnidarian species, while also working alongside Team Sponge and Team Algae who were focused on surveying, sampling, and assessing the diversity of these taxa throughout these understudied mesophotic communities. Team Coral was also on the lookout for signs of coral disease, specifically stony coral tissue loss disease, as little is known about the prevalence or dynamics of this disease below 60 feet in depth. 

After a change-out day in Key West, the whole Voss Lab reunited and were joined by other Harbor Branch graduate students and collaborators to begin the diving leg of the cruise, led by project PI and executive director of CIOERT, Joshua Voss. Sampling efforts were split among a shallow team (focused on reefs shallower than 30 m) and a technical diving team (30-60 m). Three species of coral, Montastraea cavernosa, Stephanocoenia intersepta, and Orbicella faveolata and two species of sponge Xestospongia muta and Niphates erecta were collected for population genetics and connectivity assessments. These species are not only relatively abundant across the reefs of southwestern Florida and throughout the Tropical Western Atlantic but also are depth-generalist found on both shallow and mesophotic reefs. These samples will be used to identify genetic structure across the depth ranges of the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas and will contribute to our understanding of population connectivity across reefs in the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean.  We also conducted roving diver surveys to assess coral disease prevalence at shallow and mesophotic reefs and conducted coral mucus sampling of colonies that appeared to be affected by stony coral tissue loss disease.

We thank the staff of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary for working with us on cruise planning, objectives, and permitting as well as all the CIOERT researchers, Harbor Branch graduate students, collaborators, including Jeff Beal (FWC) and Jake Emmert (Moody Gardens), and the crew of the R/V Walton Smith for participating on this cruise and playing integral roles in its success. We can’t wait to start analyzing the mountains of generated data and samples, stay tuned for the cruise report and future mesophotic reef science! Until then, check out the highlights from this cruise on our Flickr page!

CIOERT Expedition Mesophotic Coral Reefs: Connectivity and Health in the FKNMS and Pulley Ridge by the numbers
  • 88.8 hours of bottom-time
  • 49 site targets
  • 9,661 images and screenshots
  • 1,156 coral, algae, and sponge samples

Leg 1 Science Personnel: 
  • John Reed, Chief Scientist, HBOI-FAU
  • Shirley Pomponi, Sponge PI, HBOI-FAU
  • Dennis Hanisak, Algal PI, HBOI-FAU
  • Stephanie Farrington, Research Scientist/Database Manager, HBOI-FAU
  • Alexis Sturm, Coral lead, PhD student, HBOI-FAU
  • Ian Combs, Coral disease biologist, masters student, HBOI-FAU
  • Megan Conkling, Sponge biologist, HBOI-FAU
  • Cris Diaz, Sponge biologist, HBOI-FAU
  • Kate Beckett, Algal biologist, HBOI-FAU
  • Jason White, ROV pilot/ technician, UNCW
  • Eric Glidden, ROV pilot/ technician, UNCW
  • Don Liberatore, ROV operator/technician, HBOI-FAU

Leg 2 Science Personnel:
  • Joshua Voss, Chief Scientist, Coral PI, HBOI-FAU
  • Alexis Sturm, Coral lead, PhD student, HBOI-FAU
  • Michael Studivan, Coral biologist, Postdoc, HBOI-FAU
  • Ian Combs, Coral disease biologist, masters student, HBOI-FAU
  • Ryan Eckert, Coral biologist, PhD student, HBOI-FAU
  • Erin Shilling, Coral disease biologist, masters student, HBOI-FAU
  • Michael McCallister, Fish biologist, HBOI-FAU
  • Jeff Beal, Restoration Specialist, FWC
  • Caroline Haymaker, Coral biologist, masters student,  HBOI-FAU
  • Juliett Ruggiero, Sponge biologist, masters student, HBOI-FAU
  • Jake Emmert, Dive specialist, Moody Gardens
  • Stephanie Farrington, Research Scientist/Database Manager, HBOI-FAU

Post By: Lexie Sturm

Welcome new Master's student Caroline Haymaker!

8/21/2019

 
Picture
The Voss Lab is growing again! A new Master's student, Caroline Haymaker, joined the lab in August. Originally from Old Dominion University where she did undergraduate research with Dr. Dan Barshis, Caroline has worked on projects regarding algal symbiont genotyping and coral acclimatization in American Samoa and Australia.

We are very excited to welcome Caroline to the ranks, and look forward to her thesis research as it develops. Stay tuned!

Voss lab completes ROV telepresence mission with Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration in Flower Garden Banks

8/20/2019

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Joshua Voss, graduate students Ryan Eckert and Erin Shilling, and HBOI assistant professor Jim Masterson recently joined Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) superintendent G.P. Schmahl as well as Todd Gregory, Karl McLectchie, Joshua Carlson, Jeff Laning, and Roland Brian from the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (GFOE) aboard the Research Vessel MANTA for a week of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) operations. This mission was the first of three legs with GFOE in the Northwest Gulf of Mexico.  The goal of this mission was to use GFOE's ROV Yogi and portable VSAT to demonstrate the ability to perform live-broadcast ROV telepresence missions from a small vessel. During the course of the mission the team streamed live ROV dives every day, and conducted live interactions with Marine and Oceanographic Academy (MOA) at HBOI and Moody Gardens Aquarium in Galveston, TX.

Throughout the week the team explored Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems (MCEs) on several banks in the NWGOM, including Alderdice Bank, McGrail Bank, Sonnier Bank and Geyer Bank, all under consideration for sanctuary expansion. In addition to technology demonstrations, HBOI researchers collected video and photographic transects for comparison to previously collected data from these banks. The team also tested the sample collection abilities of Yogi, collecting samples of sponge and black coral for use in genetic connectivity analyses throughout the NWGOM with collaborator Santiago Herrera (Lehigh University). The second and third legs of the GFOE cruises are being led by collaborators Sarah Davies (Boston University) and Mercer Brugler (NYC College of Technology) with focuses on MCE coral spawning and black corals, respectively.

​Thanks to GFOE, the crew of the R/V Manta, and FGBNMS for a successful research mission!

Learn more about the mission here:
https://www.engineeringfordiscovery.org/flower-gardens/

Review twitter posts from this cruise using #seathegarden
<<Previous

    Archives

    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    March 2012
    November 2011
    June 2011
    August 2010
    February 2010

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.