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Research Projects -
ocean
The objectives are to identify chemical and microbial contaminants associated with African dust air masses in source and downwind sites and determine the effects of dust particles and the chemical contaminants on downwind coral reefs and human health. Isla del Coco Fishes, written by coral reef ecologist Ginger Garrison, is the first synthesis of scientific information about the remote Isla del Coco National Park (Costa Rica) and UN Natural World Heritage Site. The book, written in Spanish and English, presents the complete fish and coral species lists and contains descriptions and color photographs of 150 of the over 270 fish species known from Isla del Coco, arranged in phylogenetic order. Many of the species are new records for the island and/or the eastern tropical Pacific. The first edition was published in 2000, the Second edition was revised and published in 2005, and the Third edition will be published in 2010. Most people are familiar with tropical coral reefs, located in warm, shallow waters. However, corals also exist hundreds and even thousands of meters below the ocean's surface where it is cold and completely dark. In the last few decades, scientists have discovered and photographed incredible gardens of deep-sea corals off the coasts of North America, Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. These corals survive without algal symbionts (because there is no light for photosynthesis) and may take a long time to grow. Thus the potential role of coral-associated microbes is even more interesting. It is possible that the microbes are helping to feed these corals, similar to the chemosynthetic bacterial symbionts that feed hydrothermal-vent worms. The microbial communities of these cold adapted corals are also likely to contain novel organisms, which will not only increase our understanding of microbial diversity but could also be a source of new enzymes or pharmaceuticals. Pulley Ridge is a 100+ km-long series of N-S trending, drowned, barrier islands on the southwest Florida Shelf approximately 250 km west of Cape Sable, Florida. The ridge has been mapped using multibeam bathymetry, submarines and remotely operated vehicles, and a variety of geophysical tools. The ridge is a subtle feature about 5 km across with less than 10 m of relief. The shallowest parts of the ridge are about 60 m deep. Surprisingly at this depth, the southern portion of the ridge hosts an unusual variety of zooxanthellate scleractinian corals, green, red and brown macro algae, and typically shallow-water tropical fishes.
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U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
African Dust, Ecosystems, and Human Health
Isla del Coco Fishes
Microbial Ecology of Deep-Sea Corals
Pulley Ridge