Wish us luck, and stay tuned for our post cruise update next month!
FAU Harbor Branch to join NSU in Dry Tortugas National Park for coral disease intervention effort8/25/2021
Several members of the Voss Lab have been invited to join a research mission to Dry Tortugas National Park led by Dr. Karen Neely of Nova Southeastern University to treat stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)-affected corals. Dry Tortugas NP consists of several small islands and their surrounding waters about 70 miles from Key West. The park, which lies within the westernmost region of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, is a popular travel destination for diving and snorkeling due to its abundant coral reef and associated marine life. Until recently, the Dry Tortugas were the last remaining region of Florida’s Coral Reef to be unaffected by SCTLD. Unfortunately, in May 2021 members of the park’s Coral Response Team observed signs of SCTLD while conducting disease monitoring (see report here). The three species initially identified to have SCTLD were Meandrina meandrites, Meandrina jacksoni, and Dichocoenia stokesii, which are all highly susceptible species and are typically the first to show signs of the disease in a region. The goal of the upcoming cruise is to treat SCTLD infected corals with an antibiotic paste consisting of Base 2B (Ocean Alchemists LLC) and amoxicillin. This is the most effective method for treating infected corals and preventing total colony mortality (see more on this treatment here and here). Divers will be surveying for infected colonies, treating them with Base 2b plus amoxicillin, and photographically recording all infected/treated corals. The overarching goals of this effort are to protect as much of the spectacular coral reefs of the Dry Tortugas as possible and to provide opportunities for scientific exchange and optimizing best coral intervention practices between the NSU and FAU Harbor Branch teams.
Wish us luck, and stay tuned for our post cruise update next month! Voss Lab completes successful research expedition in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary8/9/2021
The Voss Lab recently completed a 5-day research expedition to Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) as part of a collaborative NOAA CYCLE project with Dr. Santiago Herrera. The overall goal of this project, funded by NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, is to investigate connectivity of coral, sponge, and fish species between shallow and mesophotic coral ecosystems of FGBNMS including the new sanctuary expansion areas. For this trip we were limited to only 5 divers due to COVID-19 safety protocols. The divers consisted of PI and executive director of the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration Research and Technology (CIOERT), Joshua Voss, Voss Lab graduate students Ryan Eckert, Alexis Sturm, and Ashley Carrerio, and long-time collaborator and colleague, Moody Gardens Dive Safety Officer Jake Emmert. Despite being short on science crew, during 5 days aboard R/V MANTA we collected more than 300 coral (Stephanocoenia intersepta, Orbicella faveolata) and sponge (Xestospongia muta) samples from shallow and mesophotic depths over 19 shallow and technical Trimix SCUBA dives. These samples will be combined with samples collected in 2018 to determine the levels of vertical and horizontal connectivity between coral and sponge populations in the northwest Gulf of Mexico using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genetic markers as a part of Ryan Eckert’s dissertation research. We would like to sincerely thank the crew of R/V MANTA for a productive and safe week offshore, and FGBNMS staff for providing research permits and coordination.
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