Experimental coral-physiology data for Acropora palmata in Florida, U.S.A.
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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies (CREST) project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/) provides science that helps Department of Interior and other resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. This data release contains data on coral physiology of the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, grown at five sites along the Florida outer reef tract including in Biscayne National Park, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and Dry Tortugas National Park, from summer 2017 to autumn 2020. The data will be used to inform resource managers of the capacity for restoration and growth of this important, habitat-forming species of coral within U.S. waters. Some datasets included here were interpreted in Chapron and others (2023b). Chapron, L., Kuffner, I.B., Kemp, D.W., Hulver, A.M., Keister, E.F., Stathakopoulos, A., Bartlett, L.A., Lyons, E.O., and Grottoli, A.G., 2023, Heterotrophy, microbiome, and location effects on restoration efficacy of the threatened coral Acropora palmata: Communications Earth and Environment, vol. 4, art. 233, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00888-1.
Nutrient data collected from experimental tanks observing the effect of nutrient pollution on Acropora cervicornis disease susceptibility from 2020-09-14 to 2020-11-13 (NCEI Accession 0278916)
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This dataset contains the nutrient results for an experiment that assessed the effects of elevated NH4 on corals disease susceptibility. Eleven Acropora cervicornis genotypes were selected to conduct a full factorial tank. Replicate coral fragments (n=24 per genotype) were obtained in July-August 2020 from three South Florida coral nurseries and allowed to recover in tanks in the University of Miami and NOAAâs Experimental Reef Lab (ERL). After recovery from handling, the fragments were evenly allocated to one of eight independent tanks at ERL. For a month and a half, four tanks were maintained under ambient nutrients consistent with nutrient levels present in the seawater from Biscayne Bay, and four tanks were exposed to a 10 μM increase in ammonium concentration (n=12 fragments per genotype per nutrient treatment). To achieve and maintain the nutrient concentrations in the elevated ammonium tanks, a stock solution of NH4Cl was constantly added using peristaltic pumps (~ 10 mL of NH4Cl [2.25 mM] every 15 minutes) to replenish nutrient levels and account for the income of new water in the tanks. After 47 days of nutrient treatments, half of each nutrient cohort was challenged with a disease slurry and half with a placebo slurry, and signs of disease were monitored daily. NH4 concentrations were monitored approximately twice a week, and other nutrients (NO2, NO3, PO4, and Si) were estimated for a few time points. Water samples (~ 40 mL) for nutrient analysis were either preserved with 0.5 mL of Chloroform or were frozen until they were processed in the laboratory. The samples were always analyzed for ammonium on a SEAL AA3 Autoanalyzer following EPA methods and NELAC standards. For a few time points phosphate, nitrate+nitrite, nitrite, and silicate were also estimated.
Experimental data comparing two coral grow-out methods in nursery-raised Acropora cervicornis
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Staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, is a threatened species and the primary focus of western Atlantic reef-restoration efforts to date. As part of the USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/), scientists investigated skeletal characteristics of nursery-grown staghorn coral reared using two commonly used grow-out methods at Mote Tropical Research Laboratory’s offshore nursery. USGS staff compared linear extension, calcification rate, and skeletal density of nursery-raised A. cervicornis branches reared for six months either on blocks attached to substratum or hanging from monofilament line (on PVC “trees”) in the water column. The results demonstrated that branches grown on the substratum had significantly higher skeletal density, measured using computerized tomography (CT), and lower linear extension rates compared to water-column fragments. Calcification rates determined with buoyant weighing were not statistically different between the two grow-out methods, but did vary among coral genotypes. Whereas skeletal density and extension rates were plastic traits that depended on environment, the calcification rate was conserved. Results show that the two rearing methods generate the same amount of calcium-carbonate skeleton but produce colonies with different skeletal characteristics, and suggest that genetically based variability in coral-calcification performance exists. The data resulting from this experiment are provided in this data release and are interpreted in Kuffner et al. (2017).
Acropora cervicornis outplanting scores in the Florida Reef Tract from 2006-01-01 to 2099-12-31 (NCEI Accession 0209226)
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To maximize long term (>10yr) survival of nursery raised Acropora cervicornis corals, a map based tool was created that ranks locations in the Florida Acropora Critical Habitat based on climate vulnerability. Climate vulnerability is defined both in terms of exposure to future heat stress and the coral's sensitivity as resilience. Suitable sites are determined by a number of factors, suitable sites must be within the Acropora critical habitat and within the depth range 5-15m, with either hard bottom or coral present. Those possible locations are ranked based on projected climate change impacts and a resilience metric based on seven different indicators: coral cover, macroalgae cover, bleaching resistance, coral diversity, coral disease, herbivore biomass, and temperature variability. The data is presented as a Google Earth tool (zipped), maps, gridded netCDF files and are accompanied by a guidance document and a .csv file ranking all locations. The Google Earth tool contains five major layers: depth, turbidity, resilience, year of annual severe bleaching, and outplanting score. Bleaching projections included here use climate model data from 2006-2099.