The USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/) provides science that helps resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. This data release contains data on coral-growth rates and time-series photographs taken of colonies of the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, grown at five sites on the Florida Keys reef tract from Spring 2018 to Autumn 2019. The data will be used to inform resource managers of the capacity for restoration and growth of this threatened species of coral along 350 kilometers of the Florida reef tract to aid species recovery throughout the western Atlantic. The datasets included here were interpreted in Kuffner and others (2020). Kuffner, I.B., Stathakopoulos, A., Toth, L.T., and Bartlett, L.A. In press. Reestablishing a stepping-stone population of the threatened coral, Acropora palmata, to aid regional recovery. Endangered Species Research.

The USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/) provides science that helps resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. This data release contains data on coral-growth rates and time-series photographs taken of colonies of the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, grown at five sites on the Florida Keys reef tract from Spring 2018 to Autumn 2019. The data will be used to inform resource managers of the capacity for restoration and growth of this threatened species of coral along 350 kilometers of the Florida reef tract to aid species recovery throughout the western Atlantic. The datasets included here were interpreted in Kuffner and others (2020). Kuffner, I.B., Stathakopoulos, A., Toth, L.T., and Bartlett, L.A. In press. Reestablishing a stepping-stone population of the threatened coral, Acropora palmata, to aid regional recovery. Endangered Species Research.

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.

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).

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).

This data release includes new sub annual and mean annual Sr/Ca records from two species of massive coral, Orbicella faveolata (coral B3) and Siderastrea siderea (coral CG2), from the Dry Tortugas National Park, FL (DTNP). We combine these new records with published Sr/Ca data from three additional S. siderea coral (DeLong et al., 2014) to generate a 278-year long multi-species stacked Sr/Ca-SST record from DRTO.

This data release includes new sub annual and mean annual Sr/Ca records from two species of massive coral, Orbicella faveolata (coral B3) and Siderastrea siderea (coral CG2), from the Dry Tortugas National Park, FL (DTNP). We combine these new records with published Sr/Ca data from three additional S. siderea coral (DeLong et al., 2014) to generate a 278-year long multi-species stacked Sr/Ca-SST record from DRTO.

Six replicate fragments from each of twelve A. cervicornis genotypes from the University of Miami (UM) and twelve genotypes from the Nova Southeastern University (NSU) nurseries were collected and brought to the Experimental Reef Lab (ERL). At ERL, the growth rates of all the fragments were assessed using buoyant weight. For the UM genotypes, the maximum photosynthetic yield of the algal symbionts (Fv/Fm) was additionally measured.