A Bold and Unprecedented New Effort to Tackle the Vast Threats to Marine Ecosystems
NOAA announced $4.2 million in funding awarded to a collaborative project entitled the Florida Regional Ecosystems Stressors Collaborative Assessment (FRESCA), co-led by NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the University of Miami, and involving seven different academic and research institutions.
NOAA Scientists Return to Cheeca Rocks, Find Reef Completely Bleached
The growing concerns of coral bleaching due to the ongoing marine heatwave across South Florida, the Gulf of America, and the greater Caribbean led scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Lab (AOML) to return to Cheeca Rocks on July 31st and August 1st, 2023.
New study establishes monitoring framework for evaluating reef persistence under climate change and ocean acidification
Webb, A.E., Enochs, I.C., van Hooidonk, R. et al. Restoration and coral adaptation delay, but do not prevent, climate-driven reef framework erosion of an inshore site in the Florida Keys. Sci Rep 13, 258 (2023).
For reef framework to persist, calcium carbonate production by corals and other calcifiers needs to outpace loss due to physical, chemical, and biological erosion. This balance is both delicate and dynamic and is currently threatened by the effects of ocean warming and acidification. Although the protection and recovery of ecosystem functions are at the center of most restoration and conservation programs, decision makers are limited by the lack of predictive tools to forecast habitat persistence under different emission scenarios. To address this, we developed a modelling approach, based on carbonate budgets, that ties species-specific responses to site-specific global change using the latest generation of climate models projections (CMIP6). We applied this model to Cheeca Rocks…
What a Marine Heatwave Means for South Florida
A marine heatwave has spread across the Gulf of America and the Caribbean with temperatures ranging between one and three degrees Celsius (~2-4.5˚F) above average. Ocean temperatures around south Florida are the warmest on record for the month of July (dating back to 1981). Marine heatwaves are not unprecedented, but their influence on tropical storm development and coral reef health, as well as the persistence of the current heatwave, are among the causes for concern.
Threats to Coral
Threats to Coral Reefs Identifying and Addressing Threats to Reef Communities SCROLL TO LEARN MORE What We Mean by "Threats" Coral reefs face a variety of anthropogenic and environmental stressors from warming ocean temperatures and bleaching events to disease brought on by climate change and increased human activity, leading to degradation, loss of biodiversity, and [...]
AOML Interns Dive into DNA Extraction and Processing Coral Samples for ‘Omics Analyses
Only a few weeks into summer, Coral Program Interns Lorelei Ing, Taylor Gill, Zachary Zagon and Kenzie Cooke have been hard at work as they process coral samples and perform DNA extractions in preparation for ‘Omics analyses that will help to better understand how the genetic structure of corals influences their resilience to environmental stressors. The Coral Program falls within the Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division (OCED) at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML).
Port of Miami Corals Remarkably Persistent
The Port of Miami is a bustling waterway with large cruise and cargo ships, ferries, fishing vessels, and recreational boats. As it turns out, this waterway is also home to a thriving coral community.
AOML receives coral tree, expanding research capabilities
In collaboration with the Lirman Lab at the University of Miami (UM), NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory’s (AOML) Coral Program now has its own coral nursery tree!
Meta-analysis finds key bacteria linked to stony coral disease outbreak
Using a crowdsourcing approach to gather both published and unpublished data, scientists have determined the global bacteria patterns associated with deadly stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD).
