Data and Reports Explorer

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This book summarizes what is known about mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) geographically and by major taxa. MCEs are characterized by light-dependent corals and associated communities typically found at depths ranging from 30-40 m and extending to over 150 m in tropical and subtropical ecosystems. They are populated with organisms typically ...

This report is based on one of the recommendations from the 2014 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) "Scientific Workshop on Coral Reef Resilience in Planning and Decision-support Frameworks" to address the question can intermediate depth reefs serve as "lifeboats" for increasingly stressed coral reef ecosystems? This question was addressed by ...

MCEs are found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. The existence of corals at mesophotic depths has been known since at least 1889, when Darwin reported the discovery of corals at depths of 128 m (Darwin 1889). However, it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that direct observation of MCEs ...

MCEs are found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. The existence of corals at mesophotic depths has been known since at least 1889, when Darwin reported the discovery of corals at depths of 128 m (Darwin 1889). However, it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that direct observation of MCEs ...

Efforts to map coral reef ecosystems in the Hawaiian Archipelago using optical imagery have revealed the presence of numerous scleractinian, zoothanthellate coral reefs at depths of 30–130+ m, most of which were previously undiscovered. Such coral reefs and their associated communities have been recently defined as mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) ...

On July 12-15, 2008, researchers and resource managers met in Jupiter, Florida to discuss and review the state of knowledge regarding mesophotic coral ecosystems, develop a working definition for these ecosystems, identify critical resource management information needs, and develop a Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems Research Strategy to assist the U.S. National ...

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) were compared between La Parguera and Ponce, off the south coast of Puerto Rico. In contrast to La Parguera, Ponce has a narrow insular shelf and hosts several river outlets, a commercial port, a regional sewage treatment plant with associated deep water outfall, and three deep ...

Lake Erie is the most socioeconomically important and productive of the Laurentian (North American) Great Lakes. Since the mid-1990s cyanobacterial blooms dominated primarily by Microcystis have emerged to become annual, late summer events in the western basin of Lake Erie yet the effects of these blooms on food web dynamics ...

This chapter reviews research on ecosystem metabolism in coastal environments, focusing on the history of methods development, spatial/temporal variations in rates, controlling factors, and application of these methods to address diverse scientific questions. Essential concepts and widely used terms are defined and explained. The wide range of ecosystem metabolism methods ...

Polychlorinated biphynels and chlorinated pesticides are ubiquitous marine pollutants that are bioaccumulated by marine mammals and are biomagnified through the food chain. Marine mammals, at the top of their food chain, carry very heavy body burdens of these potentially toxic anthropogenic contaminants. In cetaceans and pinnipeds there is some limited ...

The goal of this NOAA Coastal Ocean Program-funded project is to transfer to environmental management practitioners information about consideration of cumulative impacts in environmental decision-making. This report views the issue from the perspectives of science, law, and environmental management. It provides a brief overview of key concepts, methodologies and techniques ...

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An understanding of the mean and maximum dispersal distances of target species and subsequent scaling of management efforts to dispersal distance can be key in slowing, containing, or eradicating invasive species. However, dispersal distance is often difficult to measure. Patterns of genetic relatedness can be interpreted to understand realized genetic ...

Microsatellites are the markers of choice for a variety of population genetic studies. The recent advent of next-generation pyrosequencing has drastically accelerated microsatellite locus discovery by providing a greater amount of DNA sequencing reads at lower costs compared to other techniques. However, laboratory testing of PCR primers targeting potential microsatellite ...

In August 2014, in situ measurements revealed an intense salinity drop impacting South Florida coral reefs, between Pulley Ridge (Southwest Florida Shelf) and the Florida Keys. The low salinity waters had a surface signal of 32 (down from 35.2) and extended over a 15–20-m deep lens. Satellite observations showed that ...

Anthropogenic nutrient overenrichment, coupled with rising temperatures, and an increasing frequency of extreme hydrologic events (storms and droughts) are accelerating eutrophication and promoting the expansion of harmful algal blooms (HABs) across the freshwater-to-marine continuum. All HABs—with a focus here on cyanobacterial blooms—pose serious consequences for water supplies, fisheries, recreational uses, ...

An activity book designed to introduce elementary school children to the animal life, plant life, and ecology of Mobile Bay ...

A simple improvement to objective analysis of hydrographic data is proposed to eliminate spatial aliasing effects in tidally energetic regions. The proposed method consists of the evaluation of anomalies from observations with respect to circulation model fields. The procedure is run iteratively to achieve convergence. The method is applied in ...