Effective management of marine resources begins with knowing the types, amounts, and spatial distribution of resources. Rigorously ground-truthed benthic habitat mapping using remote sensing data are interpreted into seafloor habitats, providing valuable information for management. In general, benthic habitats have been mapped in many coral reef ecosystems using a variety of techniques and data types,… Continue Reading Cryptic Coral Reefs in the Gulf
Coral disease is emerging as a major factor in the degradation of many coral reefs, and surveys indicate that significant and damaging new diseases are emerging. Coral diseases potentially affect both well-managed and unmanaged reefs indiscriminately. Strategies for managing disease outbreaks are currently lacking. The increasing frequency of diseases affecting and altering reef communities means… Continue Reading Gulf of Mexico Coral Disease Dashboard
Many economically important coral reef fishes (e.g., groupers, snappers) in the Gulf migrate to specific places to form spawning aggregations and can result in tens to thousands of fish in a single location during spawning events. However, spawning aggregations are often targeted by anglers, resulting in intense fishing effort that can negatively affect fish populations.… Continue Reading Spawning, aggregations and connectivity in the Gulf
Reef-building corals are increasingly being exposed to persistent threats that operate on both regional and global scales, and there is a need to better understand the complex processes that diminish coral populations. The majority of the scientific literature on threats to corals were focused on climatic stressors. There are limited studies that provide perspective on… Continue Reading Non-climatic stressors for corals in the Gulf
Coral cover can be influenced by biotic stressors such as the presence of invasive species and substrate competition with other benthic invertebrates. Invasive species can cause severe and lasting damage to the habitats they invade by reducing the abundance of native species as well as altering the ecosystem structure. They can rapidly spread in the… Continue Reading Coral Reef Invasive Species
