The cumacean fauna of the Caribbean mesophotic reefs is remarkably rich but understudied. Herein, we present the description of 22 new species of the family Nannastacidae, including one from shallow reefs, 20 of them belonging to Cumella (Cumella) and two ...
Read More

Ulvalean algae (Chlorophyta) are most commonly described from intertidal and shallow subtidal marine environments worldwide, but are less well known from mesophotic environments. Their morphological simplicity and phenotypic plasticity make accurate species determinations difficult, even at the generic level. Here, ...
Read More

Increased natural and anthropogenic stresses have threatened the Earth’s ability to meet growing human demands of food, energy and water (FEW) in a sustainable way. Although much progress has been made in the provision of individual component of FEW, it ...
Read More

Benthic marine populations are often replenished by a combination of larvae from local and distant sources. To promote retention of locally spawned larvae in strong, unidirectional boundary current systems, benthic marine organisms must utilize biophysical mechanisms to minimize advective loss ...
Read More

Sponges are one of the dominant fauna on Florida and Caribbean coral reefs, with species diversity often exceeding that of scleractinian corals. Despite the key role of sponges as structural components, habitat providers, and nutrient recyclers in reef ecosystems, their ...
Read More

The Pulley Ridge and Dry Tortugas coral reefs are among the most pristine, but also fragile, marine ecosystems of the continental United States. Understanding connectivity processes between them and with surrounding shelf and deep areas is fundamental for their management ...
Read More

Successful management of spatially isolated coral reefs is contingent on an understanding of ecological connections across populations. To investigate genetic connectivity of the depth-generalist coral species Montastraea cavernosa, populations from both shallow (15–30 m) and mesophotic coral ecosystems (30–70 m) ...
Read More

Identifying genetic connectivity and discrete population boundaries is an important objective for management of declining Caribbean reef-building corals. A double digest restriction-associated DNA sequencing protocol was utilized to generate 321 single nucleotide polymorphisms to estimate patterns of horizontal and vertical ...
Read More

This cruise is the first of four planned for this project. The intent of this preliminary report is to provide information on sampling and other activities of this first cruise, so that processing of data and samples can quickly begin ...
Read More

As global fisheries management shifts towards ecosystem-based management, responsible organizations and governments must also address the socio-economic impacts of this shift. This study evaluates potential impacts of such management shift with a case study of Pulley Ridge (PR), an ecologically ...
Read More