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

Following his successful thesis defense in June, Ryan completed his remaining graduate requirements, submitted his thesis to the FAU Graduate College, and graduated on August 6th! His thesis research has resulted in a published manuscript in Scientific Reports (found here) and another manuscript in preparation for submission in Fall 2019.

Ryan has been accepted into the Integrative Biology PhD program at FAU starting in Fall 2019, and will be continuing to work with the Voss Laboratory for his PhD as well as participate in field research with the lab this summer.

Congratulations Ryan!  Thrilled to have you sticking on with our team!

Ryan and I recently returned from a successful five-day diving trip exploring and sampling shallow and upper-mesophotic reefs in the southern Gulf of Mexico as part of the Mesophotic Coral Reefs project. We traveled from Progreso, Yucatan onboard the M/V Caribbean Kraken to sample the coral, Montastraea cavernosa, from sites along Alacranes reef and Bajos del Norte. Our sampling effort targeted colonies from ~10 m, ~15 m, ~25 m, and ~35 m depth zones to assess if there are genotypic differences in M. cavernosa or their algal symbiont assemblages across both depth zones and sites. These reefs’ location, oceanographic regimes, geomorphology, and biological communities make them unique contributors to our understanding of broad coral population connectivity across the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean. Alacranes reef is the largest coral reef system in the Gulf of Mexico. A Mexican National Protected Area and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, this biodiverse reef is situated at the edge of Campeche Bank, far from most human influence, 140 km to the north of the Yucatan peninsula. The second reef system, Bajos del Norte is a relatively poorly characterized site but may be an important piece of the coral connectivity puzzle due to its proximity to the Yucatan channel, the connection between the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. 

We were not the only scientists onboard the Caribbean Kraken. We were joined by graduate students from the Biodiversidad Marina de Yucatan team based out of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico-Unidad Academica Sisal. These students are studying the biodiversity on these southern gulf reefs, focused on taxa ranging from nudibranchs, to sponges, to ascidians. They were also tackling several important questions regarding invasive species dynamics focusing on invasive damselfish and lionfish. At the end of the trip, we gave “mini-talks” to communicate our research to each other, the crew, and the dive tourists aboard the Caribbean Kraken.  

After efficiently collecting and processing over 120 coral samples, we were able to take some time to explore and evaluate the coral diversity at these sites and to assess what species or reefs we would like to target in the future if we return to Mexico. We also had some extra time to explore Mexico’s land-based sites, wandering around Merida’s historic downtown, swimming in cenotes, and even getting to visit the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. We can’t thank both the crew of the Caribbean Kraken and UNAM-BDMY enough for organizing this trip, balancing our different research goals, and also ensuring we had some great diving and fun along the way!

To see more of the beauty and fun, check out our Flickr Page or these videos made by the Caribbean Kraken divemaster, Manuel Victoria.

Post by: Lexie Sturm
Satellite Image: Alacranes Reef, NASA Earth Observatory

​On Tuesday July 16th, graduate student Erin Shilling proposed her Master’s thesis research as part of FAU’s Marine Science & Oceanography program and was approved by her committee (Dr. Joshua Voss, Dr. Andia Chaves-Fonnegra, and Dr. Peter McCarthy). Her research project involves using 3D modelling to compare the success rates of various coral disease intervention methods on coral affected by Stony (Scleractinian) Coral Tissue Loss Disease on the Northern Florida Reef Tract. She will also be assessing any impacts these treatments may have on coral mucus microbial communities by utilizing the 16S V4 amplicon. Please visit out previous blog post to learn more about the intervention work being conducted.

Erin’s project has been made possible thanks to funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation, and the PADI Foundation. We are also extremely grateful for the support on this project from our partners including Jeff Beal with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and our many collaborators in the Florida Coral Disease Advisory Committee.
 
Congratulations Erin!

Voss lab graduate student Ryan Eckert  successfully defended his master’s thesis research in a truly outstanding seminar on Tuesday June 11. Ryan's project was funded primarily through NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology in the Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems project.  His research focused on two main objectives: 1) a population genetic analysis to assess fine scale connectivity of Montastraea cavernosa across depth on the Belize Barrier Reef (publication here), and 2) an amplicon sequencing based analysis to determine differences in Symbiodiniaceae communities of M. cavernosa across depth on the Belize Barrier Reef.

Ryan will continue working on his PhD with the Voss Lab next Fall and will be participating on multiple research expeditions this summer.
 
Congratulations Ryan!

Thesis Summary:
Coral reefs worldwide are experiencing unprecedented and rapid declines.
However, deeper, mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs; 30–150 m) may act as refuges for coral species, providing larvae to recolonize degraded shallow reefs. This study assessed the genetic connectivity of shallow and mesophotic Montastraea cavernosa populations on the Belize Barrier Reef and the community structure of their endosymbiotic algae (Family Symbiodiniaceae) across a fine-scale depth gradient (10, 16, 25, 35 m). Evaluation of nine polymorphic microsatellite markers demonstrated that relatively shallow (10 and 16 m) M. cavernosa populations were genetically distinct from relatively deep (25 and 35 m) populations. High throughput sequencing of ribosomal coding DNA from Symbiodiniaceae communities of M. cavernosa revealed differences in community structure across depth, with shallow-specialist and depth-generalist community profiles. This research provides important information for the management of distinct deep and adds to the body of research on the understudied MCEs of the Mesoamerican Reef.

​Graduate student Ryan Eckert, postdoc Dr. Michael Studivan, and PI Dr. Joshua Voss recently published a paper in Scientific Reports investigating genetic connectivity of Montastraea cavernosa populations across a depth gradient on the Belize Barrier Reef.

Eckert RJ, Studivan MS, Voss JD. 2019. Populations of the coral species Montastraea cavernosa on the Belize Barrier Reef lack vertical connectivity. ​Scientific Reports ​9:7200 doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-43479-x PDF

This study was funded by NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) and a grant from the PADI foundation.  The research is a product of a collaborative effort led by the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology (CIOERT) headquartered at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. CIOERT seeks to increase our understanding of mesophotic connectivity and ecology through enhanced habitat characterization and development of exploration technologies. Through this project we collaborated with Smithsonian Marine Station and the Carrie Bow Cay Field Station.

We examined the genetic structure of M. cavernosa populations on the Belize Barrier Reef across four depth zones from shallow reefs down to upper mesophotic coral ecosystems (10, 16, 25, 35 m). Here we identified genetic structure between “shallow” (10 & 16 m) and “deep” (25 & 35 m) populations. This observed break in gene flow coincides with the geomorphological transition from reef crest to fore reef at all four sampling sites. These results suggest there may be variability in oceanographic currents and environmental variables across depth zones driving the observed genetic differentiation.  We hope to return to Belize later this year to collect more detailed oceanographic data that coincide with coral spawning times. 

On April 23rd, graduate student Lexie Sturm gave an outstanding proposal seminar at HBOI that was unanimously approved by her dissertation committee (Dr. Joshua Voss, Dr. Nicholas Dickens, Dr. Andia Chaves-Fonnegra, Dr. Sarah Milton, and Dr. Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley). Lexie’s disertation research is focused on using population genetics to assess connectivity and structuring of shallow and mesophotic Montastraea cavernosa and their algal symbiont communities in Mexico and Cuba. She is using a 2bRAD SNP genotyping approach to generate high resolution genetic data for these populations. Stay tuned for updates on future field expeditions, including technical diving operations in Cuba and Mexico. 

​Congratulations Lexie, we are excited to see how your work progresses! 

Dr. Joshua Voss was recognized as Florida Atlantic University's Researcher of the Year at the Assistant Professor level during the University’s 50th annual Honors Convocation, held on Wednesday, April 17. FAU's Vice President of Research, Dr. Daniel Flynn, presented the award to the Harbor Branch Assistant Research Professor and Executive Director of CIOERT, specifically noting Dr. Voss's contributions to coral reef ecosystem science, marine conservation, and graduate student mentorship.  
For the full list of awardees at this year's FAU Honors Convocation visit:
​https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/50th-honors-convocation.php

Voss Lab members Dr. Joshua Voss, Erin Shilling, Ian Combs, Ryan Eckert, and Dr. Michael Studivan, as well as Jeff Beal from FWC and Catherine Lo from the Page-Karjian Lab at HBOI carried out the first round of disease intervention treatments for coral colonies affected by Scleractinian Tissue Loss Disease in Broward County. Over three days, they treated 23 diseased Montastraea cavernosa colonies across three sites in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Treated colonies were split into two treatment groups, one with an antibiotic application and the other with chlorinated epoxy. Each treated colony, in addition to 11 diseased controls and 8 healthy controls, were sampled for 3D modeling, microbial community composition, and transcriptomic analyses. This intervention trial is a portion of our lab’s research activities on the Intervention Team as part of a larger Disease Advisory Committee, which is being coordinated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and includes universities, government agencies, and non-profit institutions across the entire state of Florida. Our funding for this project was obtained through FDEP and NOAA OAR through the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (CIMAS).

This work builds on Master’s student Ian Comb’s project fate tracking this disease outbreak, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and FDEP, and will contribute to Master’s student Erin Shilling’s thesis assessing the success of different disease intervention techniques as well as any potential secondary impacts on coral mucus microbial communities.

We also want to give a huge thanks to our HBOI boat operator, Matt Roy, and our Dive Safety Officer Jimmy Nelson for their help coordinating and carrying out this intervention trial.

Master’s student Erin Shilling was recently awarded a $5,000 research grant from the PADI Foundation for her research comparing the success rates of various coral disease intervention methods on the Northern Florida Reef Tract, as well as analyzing any impacts these treatments may have on coral mucus microbial communities. The PADI Foundation encourages and supports research and education related to aquatic environments, funding and assisting research projects which enrich our understanding of aquatic environments and encourage protection of ecosystems. Erin’s application was one of 64 funded proposals in 2019 from a pool of over 400. Congratulations Erin!