This dataset comprises still images recorded by remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys during four cruises from 2012 to 2015, which characterized the mesophotic coral ecosystems at Pulley Ridge and Dry Tortugas. A total of 87 ROV dives surveyed 91 random blocks in the Pulley Ridge and Dry Tortugas regions, and covered a distance of 150 kilometers at depths from 22.9 to 114.4 meters. The dataset totals 14,942 in situ digital still images, of which 11,104 were analyzed using Coral Point Count with Excel Extensions (CPCe) for benthic habitat, benthic macrobiota, and coral/sponge/algal cover.

This dataset includes population demographic data associated with bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus) that were collected from coral reef habitats at Pulley Ridge in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Florida Keys. The information includes individual fish data: lengths, weights, estimated fecundity, measurements of oocyte area, indices of spawning, otolith-derived ages, maturity, and fish densities derived from visual transects.

This dataset contains satellite-tracked drifting buoy data collected around the southwest Florida Shelf. CODE/DAVIS (Coastal Dynamics Experiment drifters described by Davis, 1985) and mini SVP (Surface Velocity Program drifters described by Lumpkin and Pazos, 2007) buoys were deployed around Pulley Ridge, Dry Tortugas, and southwest Florida Shelf on project cruises between 2012 and 2015. Drifting buoys are designed to float freely with ocean surface currents and report their position back to shore via satellite. Data includes drifter time and position.

This dataset includes temperature time series data from temperature data loggers from deep shelf (20-30 m) and shallow shelf (0-10 m) depths in the lower Florida Keys, Florida, USA.

Three-dimensional (3D) connectivity matrices between Pulley Ridge and the Florida Keys using the Connectivity Modeling System (CMS) for bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus), red lionfish (Pterois volitans), great star coral (Montastraea cavernosa), mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides), and red grouper (Epinephelus morio). For all species, the probability of connectivity between reefs from 2012-2014 is modeled; for S. partitus, daily probability of export from 2004-2008 is also provided.

Several parameters were used to assess coral bleaching in the Florida Keys as part of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). The data described in this package are light, seawater pH, and coral symbiont assemblage data collected from the upper and lower Florida Keys. Light data was collected using a PAR sensor which measures light as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, umol m-2 s-1). Seawater pH was collected using a SAMI pH sensor or a SeaBird SeaFET pH sensor. These sensors were located at the same sites as the PAR sensors and recorded pH hourly. During peak bleaching (22-25 September 2015), 20 colonies of O. faveolata were sampled with a hammer and chisel from 10 sites (n=200 total coral samples). All corals were sampled from the top of the colony given that symbiont types can change with colony orientation. A small subsample was immediately preserved in 95% ethanol for genetic analysis. Genomic DNA was extracted using the organic extraction protocol described in Rowan and Power (1991). Quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were used to understand patterns of algal symbiont community structure to detect the presence of background symbiont types. Zooxanthellae type and abundance data are described in this package to understand the relationship between O. faveolata and Symbiodinium to assess coral bleaching responses. Symbiont assemblages in the data set are described by clades A, B, C and D since O. faveolata has been shown to associate with members from all these clades.

Bottom-mounted, upward-facing, acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) were deployed at three locations (Northern Dry Tortugas, Southern Dry Tortugas and Pulley Ridge) across the southwest Florida shelf between 2012 and 2015. Each ADCP instrument recorded hourly measurements of near-surface and near-bottom water velocity (east/west component u, north/south component v, magnitude, and direction) and bottom temperature. A 40-hour low-pass filter (40HLP) was applied to the data, and vertically-integrated mean horizontal water velocity (VIMHWV) calculated.

This dataset provides geo-referenced observations on the occurrence of corals, sponges, fishes, and invertebrates in the deep waters of the northern Gulf of America. This dataset comprises video annotations on the diversity and abundance of organisms observed in 69 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives conducted over a five-year period from 2017-2021. Dives took place across the continental shelf and slope offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida at depths ranging from 55 to 2,200 meters below sea level. Data is formatted in an Excel workbook. This data package includes images taken from the ROV video, along with summary reports. This dataset provides annotations for data originally collected through two projects - the NOAA RESTORE Science Program “Population Connectivity of Deepwater Corals in the Northern Gulf of Mexico” (NA17NOS4510096) and NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Competitive Research Program “Connectivity of Coral Ecosystems (CYCLE) in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico” project (NA17NOS4510096).

This data release contains time-series photographs taken of corals and coral habitats in the Florida Keys between 1959 and 2015 at Carysfort Reef and Grecian Rocks (a total of six sites). The original intent was to show coral reef recovery after Hurricane Donna devastated the area in 1960. Corals, especially elkhorn and staghorn coral, grew prolifically after the storm until the late 1970s, then began to decline, with the maximum period of decline centered around 1983 and 1984. These time-series photographs, showing the same individual coral colonies year after year, document the decline in coral health observed at these locations, mirroring patterns seen region-wide across the western Atlantic. A selection of the photographs was previously published (in low resolution) in Lidz and others (2006), wherein findings and conclusions related to these data were discussed. Lidz, B. H., Reich, C. D., Peterson, R. L., and Shinn, E. A. (2006). New maps, new information: Coral reefs of the Florida Keys. Journal of Coastal Research, 22(2), 260-282, https://doi.org/10.2112/05A-0023.1