 |  |
Congratulations to master’s student Gabby Pantoni on her recent successful thesis defense and graduation from the FAU biology program!
Gabby successfully defended her master’s thesis this past spring. Her research focused on survival and growth analyses of corals outplanted as part the collaborative Restoration Team Trials study on two reefs within the northern portion of Florida’s Coral Reef tract. After two years of monitoring, she found that corals outplanted in both Palm Beach and St. Lucie Reef exhibited high survival and low incidence of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD). As a result, we can now recommend that restoration efforts using Montastraea cavernosa, Pseudodiploria clivosa, and Orbicella faveolata can continue in this region with little SCTLD impact. Following the successful results of this study, Gabby was awarded an Indian River Lagoon Graduate Research Fellowship to conduct an additional coral transplanting study to expand coral restoration on St. Lucie Reef. Using corals from an artificial tire reef in Ft. Lauderdale that were transplanted in February 2024, she plans to assess how initial coral outplant size impacts outplant growth and survival over time for three species: Montastraea cavernosa, Stephanocoenia intersepta, and Siderastrea siderea. Following graduation, Gabby has transitioned to a research technician role where she will continue her many contributions to the lab's research projects, including serving as the lead for the St. Lucie Reef transplant study.
Gabby successfully defended her master’s thesis this past spring. Her research focused on survival and growth analyses of corals outplanted as part the collaborative Restoration Team Trials study on two reefs within the northern portion of Florida’s Coral Reef tract. After two years of monitoring, she found that corals outplanted in both Palm Beach and St. Lucie Reef exhibited high survival and low incidence of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD). As a result, we can now recommend that restoration efforts using Montastraea cavernosa, Pseudodiploria clivosa, and Orbicella faveolata can continue in this region with little SCTLD impact. Following the successful results of this study, Gabby was awarded an Indian River Lagoon Graduate Research Fellowship to conduct an additional coral transplanting study to expand coral restoration on St. Lucie Reef. Using corals from an artificial tire reef in Ft. Lauderdale that were transplanted in February 2024, she plans to assess how initial coral outplant size impacts outplant growth and survival over time for three species: Montastraea cavernosa, Stephanocoenia intersepta, and Siderastrea siderea. Following graduation, Gabby has transitioned to a research technician role where she will continue her many contributions to the lab's research projects, including serving as the lead for the St. Lucie Reef transplant study.
RSS Feed
