This dataset is a point shapefile showing the distribution of species richness, Shannon's Diversity (H), and Shannon's Evennes (J) along the Florida Keys (Key Biscayne to Key West based on data collected from 1980 through 2010. Point estimates of species ...

The deep reef refugia hypothesis proposes that deep reefs can act as local recruitment sources for shallow reefs following disturbance. To test this hypothesis, nine polymorphic DNA microsatellite loci were developed and used to assess vertical connectivity in 583 coral ...

The upper insular slope of southwest Puerto Rico is defined as extending from the shelf break at ~20 m water depth down to a depth of ~160 m where there is a pronounced change in geomorphic character and the basal ...

This data set comprises maps of predicted long-term groundfish biodiversity hotspot probabilities off the Pacific Coast of Oregon. Predicted hotspot probabilities are given for four biodiversity indices: 1) relative abundance, 2) relative biomass, and 3) species number for all groundfishes, ...

The absence of accurate, contemporary, or detailed bathymetric data in nearshore coastal waters impedes coastal research, conservation, disaster response, planning, and management efforts. The use of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and low cost RGB (red, blue, green) cameras, coupled ...

Global habitat decline may displace organisms from optimal environments, increasing reliance on ecosystems with lower habitat suitability and availability. For coral reef fishes, potentially marginal mesophotic coral ecosystems (~30–150 m) may be buffered from anthropogenic stressors; however, variation in habitat ...

There is growing awareness that fluctuations in larval flux (connectivity) depress the long-run growth of marine metapopulations, but by how much is unclear. Here, we explore how reproductive schedule and larval behavior affect how much connectivity fluctuations depress growth. We ...

Mesophotic hard corals (MHC) are increasingly threatened by a growing number of anthropogenic stressors, including impacts from fishing, land-based sources of pollution, and ocean acidification. However, little is known about their geographic distributions (particularly around the Pacific islands) because it ...

The Guana Tolomato Matanzas reserve is one of 28 National Estuarine Research Reserves (GTMNERR) encompassing approximately 73,300 acres of salt marsh and mangrove tidal wetlands, oyster bars, estuarine lagoons, upland areas, and offshore ocean waters along the northeastern coast of ...

Coastal marine ecosystems worldwide are being degraded as a result of anthropogenic disturbance, including pollution, runoff, and sedimentation, which are directly tied to human activities within adjacent watersheds. While the biophysical sciences can provide critical data determining cause-and-effect relationships among ...