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| Monitoring a transplanted coral on the reef |
We had another productive summer in the Childress Lab in the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. We were able to visit all of our reef
sites to conduct another round of reef surveys. I am happy to report that
parrotfish abundance and diversity remains high. The coral fragments we transplanted three
years ago are still present and are showing some vibrant colors. Hopefully
these will continue to grow over the next few years.
This summer, we were able to have some new faces in the
field. Madison and Jaclyn were able to put their scuba certification to use for
their first dives in the ocean. We saw loggerhead sea turtles, sting rays,
nurse sharks, dolphins, plenty of parrotfish, vibrant corals and many other
marine organisms. Lauren and Randi also spent their summer in the Keys and were
able to establish independent projects, which is a first for our Conservation
of Marine Resources Creative Inquiry Team!
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| Marker to determine territory size |
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Lauren spent her time underwater following supermale redband
and stoplight parrotfishes to determine their territory size and the number of
other parrotfish they interacted with. This will hopefully bring us a step
closer to understanding how these parrotfish impact the coral reef ecosystem.
Randi spent her time watching bicolor and dusky damselfishes, the Chihuahuas of
the reef. These aggressive fish are commonly seen chasing many fish, including
parrotfish, from grazing on macroalgae and may have a strong impact on the
competitive interaction taking place between macroalgae and coral. Stay tuned for an update on what their data
reveals!
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| Dr. Rod Bertelsen with Captain K! |
We also had the opportunity to work with Dr. Rod Bertelsen
with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) on a project
that tracked the movement of the Caribbean spiny lobsters. We placed acoustic
tags on the lobster’s backs and released them on the patch reefs of Coral
Gardens where an array of acoustic receivers will track their movement over the
next few weeks.
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| Spiny lobster with an acoustic tag on its carapace |
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I am also very excited to report that this tagging project
has lead me into the next portion of my research and will play a major role in
my dissertation work. In October, I will be going back to the Florida Keys to
work with FWC and learn how to surgically insert these acoustic tags into
parrotfish! This will allow us to answer questions about where these parrotfish
go in the absence of divers. Stay tuned for more from the Childress Lab!
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| Randi and Kylie on the boat |
