2007 Reef Plate Grant Awards

By buying the Protect Our Reefs specialty license plate, Florida drivers generate unique funding for coral reef research, education and conservation programs. In June 2007, the Protect Our Reefs grant committee announced new grant awards to the following individuals and organizations:

SCIENCE PROGRAMS

Grant Title: Exploring Mechanisms for Targeted Biological Control of Bacterial Diseases in Corals
Grant Amount: $25,208
Grant Summary: Preliminary coral studies have indicated that corals recruit bacteria that can help keep them healthy by fighting off “bad” or invading microbes. Work has shown that the “good” bacteria found on coral help fight off invaders by producing compounds that won’t allow the invaders to grow in corals’ protective mucus or by producing compounds that disrupt cell-to-cell communication among invading microbes. This study is designed to help characterize these biocontrol activities so that beneficial bacteria may some day be harnessed to help protect coral reefs.
Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Max Teplitski, Assistant Professor, Department of Soil and Water Science, Genetics Institute, University of Florida, P.O. Box 103610 Gainesville, FL 32610-3610, maxtep@ufl.edu.
Link 

Grant Title: Seasonal Changes in the Protective Properties of Elkhorn Coral Surface Mucus
Grant Amount: $45,795
Grant Summary: This project continues studies to characterize the immunity of the threatened elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata). Initial studies in 2004-2005 showed that the antibiotic properties of this coral species’ mucus changes as temperatures increase. The work indicates that elkhorn corals may lose the ability to protect themselves against invading bacteria as water temperatures rise. Work in 2006 showed that the coral antibiotic properties remained low, following the 2005 coral bleaching event. Continued study will allow for a more complete data set and help provide an understanding of the fluctuations that affect coral health and why some corals are increasingly susceptible to disease. Findings should also help provide optimal growth temperatures and microbial compositions for healthy corals and aid in management decisions.
Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Kimberly B. Ritchie, Manager, Marine Microbiology Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, ritchie@mote.org.
Link

Grant Title: Impact of Toxic Cyanobacterial Blooms on Coral Reef Habitats Off Southeastern Florida and the Florida Keys
Grant Amount: $22,988
Grant Summary: Lyngbya polychroa and Lyngbya confervoides are two of the most abundant cyanobacteria reported on coral reefs offshore in Palm Beach and Broward counties and in Key Largo. They affect reefs and seagrasses by smothering them, often resulting in severe damage or death of the habitat within weeks. Additionally, both species produce toxins whose effects on the marine life community is unknown. This study seeks to understand whether blooms are impacted by point-source pollution and how the toxins these species produce affect adjacent marine life.
Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Valerie Paul, Head Scientist, Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, 701 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce, FL 34949-3140, paul@sms.si.edu.
Link

Grant Title: Impacts of Red Tides and Associated Toxins on Scleractinian Coral Health and Settlement
Grant Amount: $18,950
Grant Summary: This study seeks to understand whether the organism that causes Florida red tides, Karenia brevis, has any impact on coral larvae development. The study will focus on Porites astreoides, or mustard hill coral. Coral samples will be removed from a seawall at the base of Spanish Channel Harbor Bridge in the Florida Keys and brought to Mote’s Tropical Research Laboratory for in-tank spawning. The coral larvae will then be exposed to K. brevis in the laboratory, then placed in a natural environment and later analyzed.
Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Valerie Paul, Head Scientist, Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, 701 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce, FL 34949-3140, paul@sms.si.edu.
Link 

Grant Title: Investigation of Microbes Associated with Early Life Stages of Acropora palmata in the Florida Keys
Grant Amount: $18,224
Grant Summary: This grant seeks to understand how recently settled coral polyps take up naturally occurring bacterial associates. Recent studies have shown that certain coral species are closely associated with specific microbes that play a role in keeping coral healthy. This study seeks to understand how Acropora palmata, or elkhorn coral, acquire these bacteria.
Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Valerie Paul, Head Scientist, Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, 701 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce, FL 34949-3140, paul@sms.si.edu.
Link  

Grant Title: Evaluating the Effects of Increasing PCO2 on Coral Larval Survivorship, Recruitment, and Post-Settlement Growth of the Brooding Coral Porites Astreoides and the Broadcast-Spawning Coral Acropora Palmata
Grant Amount: $13,720
Grant Summary: Coral reef systems are threatened by increases in the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which can increase the acidity of the ocean and, in-turn, affect corals’ ability to calcify and build reefs. This study will look at how coral larvae and juvenile corals are affected by changes in carbon dioxide levels.
Contact Information/Organization: Chris Langdon, Professor of Marine Biology, University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, clangdon@rsmas.miami.edu.
Link  

Grant Title: Coral Spawning Partnership 2007
Grant Amount: $21,900
Grant Summary: Funding will support the second annual Coral Spawning Cruise. The first, which took place in August 2006, resulted in new conservation research efforts designed to better understand the annual coral spawning process and gather important baseline data on coral reproduction – an important effort given the current declines in coral reefs worldwide.
Contact Information/Organization: Lauri MacLaughlin, Resource Manager, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, P.O. Box 1083, Key Largo, FL 33037, lauri.maclaughlin@noaa.gov.
Link
 

RESTORATION PROGRAMS

Grant Title: Examining the Efficacy of Diadema antillarum Enhancement for Restoration of Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys
Grant Amount: $57,000
Grant Summary: Long-spined sea urchins, Diadema antillarum, a cornerstone species on Caribbean coral reefs, underwent a massive die-off in the 1980s. The mortality was a major cause in the phase shift from coral-dominated to algal-dominated communities. While some urchin populations have rebounded in other parts of the Caribbean, the urchin community has not come back in the Florida Keys. This study seeks to understand the reasons why the urchin populations have not rebounded in the Florida Keys, as well as use aquaculture methods to produce new urchin populations to study the efficacy of restocking efforts.
Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Kenneth M. Leber, Director, Center for Fisheries Enhancement, Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, kleber@mote.org.
 
Grant Title: Conservation of Florida’s Coral Reefs Through Controlled Propagation
Grant Amount: $25,520
Grant Summary: This grant seeks to create new methodologies for growing coral in a laboratory setting for later replanting on coral reefs, aiding restoration efforts. The focus will be on four species of stony corals – Acropora palmata, Acropora cervicornis, Montastrea cavernosa and Montastrea annularis – whose growth rates will be documented in controlled settings, with a particular focus on changes in light conditions. The project will also establish captive broodstock colonies of these species for additional restocking and research efforts.
Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Kevan Main, Director, Center for Aquaculture Research and Development, Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, kmain@mote.org.
 

MONITORING PROGRAMS

Grant Title: Florida Keys BleachWatch
Grant Amount: $16,128
Grant Summary: The Florida Keys BleachWatch Project was developed in conjunction with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to train volunteer divers to report on coral bleaching events throughout the Florida Keys. Reports from BleachWatch volunteers are combined with data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch system that utilizes satellite images and in-situ observation platforms to predict coral bleaching. Combining the two data sources allows for a more well-rounded and real-time picture of coral bleaching events. Funding helps provide training and materials for volunteer divers who make observations on their own time.
Contact Information/Organization: Erich Bartels, Program Manager, Coral Reef Science and Monitoring Program, Tropical Research Laboratory, Mote Marine Laboratory, 24244 Overseas Highway, Summerland Key, FL 33042, ebartels@mote.org.
Link

 
Grant Title: Marine Ecosystem Event Response and Assessment (MEERA)
Grant Amount: $19,280
Grant Summary: Funding will help continue the ongoing Marine Ecosystem Event Response and Assessment Project developed with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in 1997. The MEERA Project facilitates the transfer of information on environmental or biological events throughout the Florida Keys through a network of community “Marine Observers,” and by pro-active monitoring of remote sensing and other in situ data from throughout the southwest Florida region. Significant or related reports that indicate a possible event are then further investigated utilizing a combination of volunteers, cooperative work with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and other agency personnel, and Mote Marine Laboratory staff and equipment. All information is provided to relevant experts and resource managers, and is made available to the public on the internet via Mote’s webpage.
Contact Information/Organization: Erich Bartels, Program Manager, Coral Reef Science and Monitoring Program, Tropical Research Laboratory, Mote Marine Laboratory, 24244 Overseas Highway, Summerland Key, FL 33042, ebartels@mote.org.
Link

 
PUBLIC OUTREACH/EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Grant Title: Blue Star Program
Grant Amount: $31,717
Grant Summary: The Blue Star Program is designed to increase coral reef protections by publicly recognizing reef-friendly dive and snorkel charter businesses that have completed a training program and provide information and education to their customers. The program is designed to increase the knowledge of “best practices” for coral reef divers and snorkelers and reduce human-related damage on coral reefs.
Contact Information/Organization: Cheva Heck, Communications Director, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 33 East Quay Road, Key West, FL 33040, cheva.heck@noaa.gov.
Link  

Grant Title: Coral Reef Classroom
Grant Amount: $15,500
Grant Summary: Coral Reef Classroom has provided free educational excursions to the reef for more than 2,000 local students and teachers since 1991. Environmental stewardship is highlighted as students develop their own hypotheses about the condition of essential habitats, record and compare field observations, and discuss ecosystem management strategies. The objectives of Coral Reef Classroom are to teach basic coral reef biology and concepts of habitat interdependence by engaging students in activities such as water quality sampling, data collection, and evaluation. Each Coral Reef Classroom program includes a shoreside presentation and a boat trip to the coral reef.
Contact Information/Organization: Mary Tagliareni, Education and Outreach Coordinator, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 33 East Quay Road, Key West, FL 33040, mary.tagliareni@noaa.gov.
Link  

PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOPS

Grant Title: 11^th International Coral Reef Symposium (Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center)
Grant Amount: $22,000
Grant Summary: Grant supports the “Reefs for the Future,” the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium. This is the world’s largest scientific conference dealing with research, education and conservation of coral reefs and reef-related ecosystems. The international meeting is held every four years, with Florida leading the bid to host the 2008 symposium in Fort Lauderdale. More than 2,500 attendees are expected and sessions will focus on sharing current coral reef research efforts in multi-disciplinary platforms. Conference sessions include: “coral reef organisms as recorders of local and global environmental change,” “functional biology of corals and coral symbioses,” “coral microbial interactions,” “ecological processes on today’s reef ecosystems,” “reef resilience,” “reef management” and “reef restoration.”
Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Richard Dodge, Dean, Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, 8000 North Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, FL 33004. dodge@nova.edu.
Link  

Grant Title: Advanced Courses for Coral Reef Students
Grant Amount: $9,300
Grant Summary: Each year, Mote Marine Laboratory’s Tropical Research Laboratory based in Summerland Key, Fla., hosts several advanced workshops designed for coral reef scientists, resource managers and others who specialize in coral reef-related research on matters relevant to the health of the Florida reef tract. The grant award will help subsidize the cost of providing the classes, making these graduate-level classes affordable for coral scientists. Courses may focus on coral diseases, coral tissue slide reading, applied techniques in restoration ecology and benthic taxonomy of Florida/Caribbean sponges.
Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Dan Gallagher, Education Coordinator, Tropical Research Laboratory, Mote Marine Laboratory, 24244 Overseas Highway, Summerland Key, FL 33042, dgallagher@mote.org.

Grant Title: Professional Workshop in Support of a Practical Guide to the Shallow-Water Marine Sponges (Porifera) of South Florida
Grant Amount: $11,770
Grant Summary: This grant will bring together leading experts in sponge identification for the ultimate creation of a comprehensive and practical sponge field guide. The week-long workshop will allow the experts to examine previously collected specimens, collect new specimens and gather the information and photographs needed to create a comprehensive listing of sponge species. The guide will focus on sponges from the Indian River Lagoon south to the Dry Tortugas and be available online and via CD-Rom.
Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Charles G. Messing, Oceanographic Center, Nova Southeastern University, 8000 N. Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, FL 33004, messingc@nova.edu.
Link