Here - Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program

Smithsonian Institution
CCRE Annual Report 2012
Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems • National Museum of Natural History
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CCRE ANNUAL REPORT
2012
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce
Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program
Fort Pierce, FL 34949
October 2012
Table of Contents
CCRE 2012.........................................................................................................................................................................1
Flashbacks...........................................................................................................................................................................2
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................................5
Research Projects .............................................................................................................................................................6
Long-term Ecological Research...................................................................................................................6
Ecology & Evolution................................................................................................................................................12
Corals........................................................................................................................................12
Fish...........................................................................................................................................16
Mangroves................................................................................................................................17
Sponges....................................................................................................................................19
Other Invertebrates...................................................................................................................21
Dinoflagellates.........................................................................................................................26
Anthropogenic Influences on Ecosystems........................................................................................................28
Diversity and Species Conservation.....................................................................................................................36
Contributions 2012 .......................................................................................................................................................41
Participants 2012 ..........................................................................................................................................................42
Photograph & Art Credits ..........................................................................................................................................44
CCRE 2012
In 1972, two Smithsonian scientists first set foot on Carrie Bow Cay and made arrangements
to use the island as a field station (see page 39). The ensuing 40 years have been a period of important
advances in coral reef science, as well as dramatic changes to coral reefs worldwide. In this time, the
research program known first as Investigations of Marine Shallow-Water Ecocsystems (IMSWE),
later renamed Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems (CCRE), has sought to apply a multi-disciplinary,
long-term approach to understanding the ecology and evolution of shallow marine water plants and
animals, resulting in an impressive body of work and 930 scientific publications.
It is rare to find a research site with over 40 years of observations on coral reef environments,
and the CCRE Program is committed to supporting a platform for continued long term observations that address the Smithsonian’s Grand Challenge of Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse
Planet. In addition to continued oceanographic monitoring efforts within the Caribbean Coastal
Marine Productivity Program (CARICOMP, see page 9), CCRE and its collaborators now conduct
bi-annual reef assessments to study the efficacy of marine protected areas, and are engaged in a long
term demographic study of threatened reef-building corals. As a site for visiting scientists, Carrie
Bow Cay Field Station continued to be active in 2012, with over 1200 visitor days from 82 scientific
visitors. Additionally, over 30% of research dives logged at the Smithsonian Institution were from
Carrie Bow Cay, reaching a total of 875. Many questions loom as the fate of coral reefs worldwide
remains uncertain. Carrie Bow Cay Field Station is an important venue for this research and will
continue to stay busy in the coming years.
1
Flashbacks
1971
1972
1974 1975 1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
• National Museum of Natural History’s I.G. Macintyre (geology & sedimentology), W. Adey, P. Kier, T. Waller (paleobiology), A. Dahl (botany), A. Antonius (postdoctoral fellow, invertebrate zoology), M. Rice, and K. Ruet-
zler (invertebrate zoology) found the program Investigations of Marine Shallow Water Ecosystems (IMSWE).
• IMSWE search party identifies Carrie Bow Cay on the barrier reef of Belize as ideally located and affordable site for long-term, collaborative field research on tropical coastal ecosystems
• Establishment of principal reference transect across the Belize barrier reef just north of Carrie Bow Cay
• Hurricane Fifi destroys laboratory structures, uproots coconut trees, and reduces the surface area of Carrie Bow Cay by about one third, to 0.4 hectare.
• EXXON Corporation provides grant for study of the coral reef ecosystem at Carrie Bow Cay.
• Marine and terrestrial post-hurricane surveys.• Establishment of all-manual meteorological station.
• Refinement and calibration of profiles and maps with the aid of vertical aerial photographs taken by Royal Sig-
nals Detachment helicopter • Introduction of aerial photography by helium balloon for community mapping
• Submersible tide recorder installed at Carrie Bow Cay concrete dock.
• Field trip to Carrie Bow Cay by participants of the Third International Coral Reef Symposium.• Aerial and underwater surveys expanded to cover the entire barrier reef of Belize • Geology team drills first cores to determine reef history • EXXON’s The Lamp publishes article on company-sponsored research at
Carrie Bow Cay (“Where seaworms glow..”).
• Hurricane Greta destroys Carrie Bow Cay field station.
• Post-hurricane survey and rebuilding of laboratory with several improvements • Count of participating scien-
tists and of published scientific contributions both pass the 50 mark; 23 scientific institutions are now collabora- ting with NMNH.
• EXXON Corporation funds new initiative: comprehensive study of a western Atlantic mangrove swamp ecosys-
tem, now known as SWAMP (Smithsonian Western Atlantic Mangrove Program)
• Mapping of Twin Cays, principal site of SWAMP, by aerial photography and ground truthing.
• Initiation of Art in a SWAMP project where scientific illustrators and scientists collaborate in analysis and picto-
rial rendition of mangrove communities in time and space • Employment of H. Edgerton underwater time-lapse
camera with strobe light (on loan from the inventor) to record day-night activity in benthic communities
• Vibracoring at Twin Cays to determine internal structure and development.
• Publication of The Atlantic Barrier Reef Ecosystem at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize, 1: Structure and Communities. Smithsonian Institution Press (K. Ruetzler & I.G. Macintyre, eds.).
• New weather protected and enlarged seawater system for laboratory experiments installed on Carrie Bow Cay • Series of extremely low tides at noon time were observed to have catastrophic effects on reef
and mangrove organisms.
1984 • First automated weather station installed at Twin Cays • Cooperation with Belize Government identifying
coastal marine areas suitable for natural resource conservation • Busiest year since program start: 8 months con-
tinuing laboratory operation for 45 research staff.
1985 • First year of operation of Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems (CCRE), a new program of the National Museum
of Natural History. It replaces the old IMSWE project and supplements the ongoing SWAMP program which is supported by a renewed annual grant by the EXXON Corporation.
1986 • Renovations on Carrie Bow Cay to accommodate dry-laboratory space, added living quarters, and boat, diving, and laboratory equipment • Mangrove vegetation map for Twin Cays completed • Published scientific contribu
tions pass the number 200.
1987 • Record visitation of Carrie Bow laboratory, 120 total: 90 scientists and assistants; others dignitaries, including the Prime Minister of Belize, Smithsonian administrators, and media people working on documentaries and
news-related productions • Continued facility renovation, including addition of solar photovoltaic system, large
seawater tank, two fiberglass whalers, fluorescence microscope, and time-lapse video recorder with underwater camcorder.
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1988 1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997 1998
1999
2000
2001
• Mangrove workshop for 37 EXXON-SWAMP scientists at Solomons, Maryland, entitled A Mangrove Ecosystem: Twin Cays, Belize.
• Science as Art exhibit at the Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center displays scientifically important and
aesthetically pleasing products from SWAMP mangrove research, such as community drawings, paintings, photo-
graphs, and sculpture-like epoxy casts of soft-bottom animal burrows • Vandalized and malfunctioning weather
station reconditioned and relocated to the Carrie Bow field laboratory • Increasing problems with anthropogenic
stresses at research sites, such as heavy tourist visitation, garbage dumping, and clear-cutting mangrove trees.
• CCRE-SWAMP program represented at first Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity workshop, Jamaica,
CARICOMP is a program for Caribbean-wide monitoring of environmental quality in reefs, mangroves, and
seagrass meadows.
• Belize Forestry Department helps stopping disturbances to SWAMP research sites. Belize Department of
Natural Resources reviews legislation with intention of declaring Carrie Bow Cay - Twin Cays area protected research site • CCRE-SWAMP program staff participates in developing Belize Tropical Forestry Action Plan and helps designing Institute for Ecology to be based in Belmopan.
• CCRE-SWAMP researchers produce video documentary on mangrove swamp biology • Unprecedented, severe problem with hydrozoan stings to snorkelers and divers in the Carrie Bow area traced to microscopic
siphonophorans • CCRE-SWAMP staff and Belize Fisheries Department and Agriculture representatives conduct
first workshop for Belize high-school teachers entitled Mangrove Conservation through Education
• CCRE-SWAMP lecture series started in Belize City, co-hosted by Belize Audubon Society • CCRE officially joins the CARICOMP network and initiates monitoring program.
• Belize Ministry of Natural Resources grants rights to Twin Cays for mangrove research • Launching of new
8 m (25 ft) research vessel Physalia, funded by a grant from the U. S. National Science Foundation, extends research radius over most of central and southern Belize • Ivan Goodbody pioneers surveys of Pelican Cays, a
tunicate heaven at SSW of Carrie Bow.
• Start of collaborative surveys and experimental projects in the Pelican Cays • Pelican Cays workshop, co-hosted by Candy Feller (SERC), at Edgewater, Maryland.
• Finalized lease with the Villanuevas of Placentia to southern portion of Northeast Cay, Pelican group, to
establish a field base for future studies • Malcolm Spaulding develops plans for new integrated environmental sensing system with radio- telemetry link to the University of Rhode Island’s COASTMAP network.
• Installation by Tom Opishinski of self-contained Endeco-YSI-Campbell monitoring station of meteorological
and oceanographic parameters and hookup to Internet • Visit of field party from 8th International Coral Reef
Symposium, Panamá.
• Celebration of the 25th birthday of the Carrie Bow Marine Field Station • New U. S. National Science
Foundation grant allows purchase of a second 8-m (25 ft) boat to back up the heavily used Physalia (under
construction) • International team of seven expert systematists conducts workshop at Carrie Bow Cay to quantify
the unusually high sponge diversity of the Pelican Cays • Number 500 reached in CCRE scientific contributions
• Carrie Bow Field Station, including laboratories, weather station, kitchen, and living quarters is consumed by an accidental electrical fire which was apparently sparked by a short in the wiring and aided by dry, termite-riddled lumber and strong northerly winds. Luckily, no-one was hurt.
• Island clean-up and design for new field station completed. Construction work initiated but delayed by flooding
and coastal erosion from hurricane Mitch • Completed editorial work on CD-ROM containing over 100 represen-
tative CCRE scientific papers that resulted from research at Carrie Bow Cay • Cosponsored Smithsonian (STRI)
exhibit Our Reefs –Caribbean Connections in Belize City. Contributed large poster describing 25 years of CCRE
coral reef research in Belize • Serious coral bleaching and die-off on reefs off Carrie Bow and Pelican Cays
observed, partly caused by hurricane Mitch.
• Rededication ceremony for the new Carrie Bow Marine Field Station, in August • BBC team (Bristol, UK) films segments for its Blue Planet TV series, including (with E. Duffy) eusocial shrimps living in sponges.
• Publication of Natural History of Pelican Cays, Belize, in Atoll Research Bulletin (Macintyre & Ruetzler, eds,
2000) • Replacement of environmental monitoring station lost in the 1997 fire • Initiation of Twin Cays
Biocomplexity Study funded by an NSF grant (to I. Feller & colleagues).
• Completion of 3-room cottage over the eastern shore of Carrie Bow Cay • Hurricanes Michelle and Iris
(October) barely miss Carrie Bow Cay, causing some damage to buildings and heavy beach erosion and devastate
3
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
(Iris, in particular) large areas in southern Belize • Signing of MoU with Belize Fisheries Department officially acknowledging the Carrie Bow Marine Field Station as a nationally recognized laboratory • Publication of Golden
(50-year anniversary) issue of Atoll Research Bulletin recognizing prominent coral reef scientists through their
autobiographies, several of them participants in the CCRE Program.
• Founding of the Smithsonian Marine Science Network (MSN), incorporating the CCRE Program and the Carrie Bow Marine Field Station • Number 600 reached of CCRE scientific contributions • Ranger Station established on southeast Twin Cays by Belize Fisheries Department to oversee South Water Cay Marine Reserve.
• Cristián Samper, recently appointed director of the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum, visits the Carrie Bow station in July, dives on the barrier reef, and snorkels in mangroves habitats • Hurricane Claudette threatens Carrie Bow (July) and necessitates temporary evacuation • Smithsonian Secretary Larry Small visits the Carrie Bow lab in December and dives on the reefs • Twin Cays Mangrove Biodiversity Conference is held at
Ft. Pierce, Florida (December), convened by Klaus Ruetzler, Ilka Feller, and Ian Macintyre, and cosponsored by Valerie Paul of the Smithsonian Marine Station at Ft. Pierce.
• CCRE Postdoctoral Fellowship established • Hurricane Ivan causes substantial coastal erosion of Carrie Bow
Cay • Atoll Research Bulletin volume dedicated to Twin Cays Mangrove Biodiversity goes to press
• Number 700 reached of CCRE scientific contributions • Carla Dietrich takes over from Michelle Nestlerode as CCRE research assistant • Addendum to MoU with Belize Fisheries Department signed, clarifying intellectual property rights and issues of bioprospecting sponges in particular • CCRE Program Administrator Marsha Sitnik (recently, administrative advisor) retires.
• A total of 13 hurricanes formed this season. Three category five hurricanes (Katrina, Rita and Wilma)
caused substantial coastal erosion and damage to the Carrie Bow facilities. The record number of 25 named storms
in the Caribbean broke the previous record (from 1933) of 21 named storms • An external scientific review
of the CCRE Program was conducted and resulted in a strong endorsement of the program’s mission and accomplishments • Over 50 new CCRE scientific contributions were published.
• The first Belize National Marine Science Symposium, cosponsored by Belize Fisheries and Forestry departments and the Hugh Parkey Foundation, took place and CCRE was represented with 4 talks and 8 posters, including a
review of 35 years of Smithsonian Marine Science in Belize • CCRE hosted the U. S. Ambassador and 35 Embassy staff for a picnic, including a tour of the Carrie Bow lab facilities • More than 130 Smithsonian Asociates,
North Carolina teachers, and members of the Sierra Club visited Carrie Bow for guided tours of facilties and ongoing projects • A film crew for a Discovery channel in The Netherlands worked at Carrie Bow to document Gordon Hendler’s work on newly discovered brittle-star light-sensing organs • The CCRE program and the Carrie Bow Marine Field Station, along with all other Smithsonian marine programs and facilities, took part in an external review ordered by the Smithsonian Undersecretary for Science; The efficiency and scientific productivity of
the program and its field station received excellent marks.
• Hurricane Dean strikes Northern Belize and Yucatan, Mexico (August), Felix passed over Honduras south of Belize (September); both cause major beach erosion at Carrie Bow Cay but no damage to buildings.
• The Belize Minister of Natural Resources and his staff visit our facilities and tour the Pelican Cays to view dam-
age caused my mangrove clear-cutting in this part of the Southwater Cay Marine Reserve. 2009 • Ilka “Candy” Feller was again offered use of Light Hawk, a volunteer pilot-based organization
at Lander, WY, to observe and photograph environmental damage to mangrove coast and cays. •Pro-
ceedings of the first Smithsonian Marine Science Symposium highlight CCRE’s diverse contributions to knowledge of the biology and geology of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Belize •Mike Carpen-
ter retired after 25 years of service as CCRE Operations Manager and will build a new home in the woods of Georgia •Klaus Ruetzler resigned as CCRE Director after 25 years in this position (and a total 37 years as leader of the IMSWE, SWAMP, and CCRE programs). He will be followed by Valerie Paul of SMSFP.
2010
• Director Valerie Paul and new staff at Fort Pierce assume responsibility for CCRE • Michael Carpenter, Zach
4
Foltz, and Woody Lee spend three weeks on Carrie Bow Cay, for training and transition • A new CCRE website is launched: www.ccre.si.edu • U.S. Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally and five others from the U.S. Embassy
in Belize visit Carrie Bow Cay on August 30, 2010 • Belize Fisheries establishes the South Water Caye Marine Reserve Conservation Zone, a no-take zone encompassing the area around Carrie Bow Cay (www.swcmr.org).
2011 • Carrie Bow Cay recieved major infractructure improvements, including 10 kw diesel generator,
improved photovoltaic system, air compressor for SCUBA, and composting toilets • CCRE contibutions list reached #900 • Randi Rotjan, Peter Gawne, Jay Dimond, Scott Jones, and Zach Foltz initiated 24 permanent reef transects, establishing a long-term reef monitoring program to assess the effects of the SCWMR no-take
zone • CCRE director, Valerie Paul, along with Raphael Ritson-Williams, Scott Jones, and Nicole
Fogarty receive an award from the Smithsonian Endowment Program for “Population dynamics of
threatened Caribbean acroporid corals at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize.” • Tropical Storm Harvey forces evacuation
and makes landfall in Belize, no damage was caused to the station.
2012 • The CCRE program celebrates its 40-year anniversary since Drs. Klaus Rutlzer and Arnfried Antonious
happen upon Carrie Bow Cay and secure an agreement to use it for field operations • Hurricane Ernesto threatened
Belize in early August, theatening to force evacuation of the island; the storm tracked north and caused no damage to the island. • Sherry Reed assumed responsibilities as Dive Safery Officer for the CCRE program • Over 30%
of the Smithosonian’s logged dives were completed in the waters surrounding Carrie Bow Cay, a total of 875 dives.
Acknowledgements
Our research is hosted by the Belize Fisheries Department and we thank Ms. Beverly Wade and Mr. James
Azueta and staff for collaboration and issuing permits. The owners and staff of Pelican Beach Resort in Dangriga provided logistical support for our fieldwork.; Earl David and his fine staff provided boat transportation as well invaluable
advice and support.
Numerous volunteer managers helped run the field station and assisted in research activities; we greatly appreciate their many efforts: Tom Pezzella, Joel & Linda Moore, George & Jeanne Scheff, Gary Peresta, Jim Taylor
& Tanya Ruetzler, Jonathan Hootman, Jerry & Sandy Alanko, Ed & Bonnie James, Greg & JoAnn Dramer, Carl &
Ginger Hansen, Craig Sherwood, Keith & Shirley Parsons, Mike Carpenter, Alan Campbell, and Daniel Gouge.
Back in Fort Pierce, we sincerely thank Joan Kaminski for administrative advice and assistance with many fund
management tasks. Our DSO, Sherry Reed was very helpful in assisting dive operations at Carrie Bow. Many thanks to
Laura Diederick for her editorial eye, her expertise in educational outreach, and moral support.
In Washington, Klaus Ruetzler and Mike Carpenter were always willing to share wisdom stemming from their
many years of experience in Belize. A number of people at NMNH were always willing to answer question: Charmone
Williams, Marty Joynt, Sue Fruchter, Carol Youmans, among many others. We also thank the Smithsonian offices of the
Undersecretary for Science and the Director of the National Museum of Natural History for continued support.
The CCRE program is supported by Federal funding complemented by the Hunterdon Oceanographic Research Fund.
Carrie Bow Cay Field Station. Photo: Candy Feller
5
Long Term Ecological
Research
health continues to decline, and monitoring results of
target conservation species show only slight improvements in their populations. The paramount threat to the
reserves is overfishing and illegal fishing. At the same
time, unrestricted coastal and caye development is inSouth Water Caye Marine Reserve Long- creasingly linked to loss of critical sea grass, coral,
term Atoll Monitoring Program (LAMP)
and mangrove habitats, through dredging, clearance of
vegetation, and improper waste disposal. There is also
Robin Coleman
the growing threat of climate change, as well as newlyemerging threats of offshore oil exploration and invaThe Wildlife Conservation Society’s vision is a Belize sive species such as the lionfish.
Barrier Reef System that supports healthy, vibrant coral
habitats hosting hundreds of species within a broader It is essential to strengthen marine reserve management
seascape sustained by a highly effective, locally sup- and reduce these stresses through improved surveilported fisheries management regime. The South Wa- lance and enforcement, increased stakeholder engageter Caye Marine Reserve (SWCMR) is one of seven ment, improved fisheries management, and expanded
marine reserves which has been designated as part of field monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of interthe Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System World Heritage ventions and inform management. WCS aims to expand
Site. The SWCMR includes important spawning aggre- management capacity at SWCMR by assisting reserve
gation sites for the endangered Nassau grouper and is staff in implementing the management plan, in particuhome to many other reef species, including marine tur- lar to strengthen monitoring and enforcement.
tles and sharks. It is also a great contributor to two of Adapting existing WCS protocols used at Glover’s
the most important economic activities in Belize: tour- Reef Marine Reserve, two programs are now being imism and fisheries.
plemented at the SWCMR: the fisheries catch monitorThe Marine Protected Area (MPA) system is expected ing which involves gathering data from fishers on their
to contribute to sustainable fisheries by providing ref- catch and the Long-term Atoll Monitoring Program
uge areas that allow for species reproduction and ulti- (LAMP), which is designed specifically for the longmately, the replenishment of adjacent fished areas. De- term monitoring of physical and biological parameters.
spite Belize’s impressive network of MPAs, coral reef
Measuring conch during LAMP survey at SWCMR.
6
In August 2012, WCS conducted a LAMP survey at
SWCMR. The aim of the LAMP is to collect baseline information and data over
time that will be used to determine the current status and monitor trends of commercial fish species (distribution, density, size
class structure, reproduction) and habitat
quality. The information on the population dynamics of target species will also
be used to develop recommendations to
guide management decisions on fishing
quotas, length of fishing season, size limits and other regulations to ensure profitability and sustainability of the fishery.
A total of thirty-four sites were selected
as potential long-term monitoring sites.
Twenty-three sites were located on patch
reefs and 11 sites were located on sand
flats. Of the 23 patch reef sites, 7 were
located in the no-take Conservation Zone
(CZ) and 16 in the General Use Zone
(GUZ). Of the 11 sand algal flat sites, 7
were located in the CZ and 4 in the GUZ.
Data were collected on the spiny lobster (Panulirus argus); queen conch (Strombus gigas); long-spined sea
urchin (Diadema antillarum); five commercial finfish
species (Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus, Black
grouper Mycteroperca bonaci, Hogfish Lachnolaimus
maximus, Mutton snapper Lutjanus analis and Queen
triggerfish Balistes vetula); and six species of parrotfish (Stoplight Sparisoma viride, Redtail Sparisoma
chrysopterum, Yellowtail Sparisoma rubripinne, Princess Scarus taeniopterus, Striped Scarus croicensis and
Redband Sparisoma aurofrenatum). At each site, water
temperature, conductivity, salinity, depth and visibility
were recorded.
Carrie Bow Acroporid Demographics
Program (CBAD)
Nicole Fogarty, Scott Jones, Zach Foltz, Raphael
Ritson-Williams, Valerie Paul, and Susie Arnold
Smithsonian postdoctoral fellow Nicole Fogarty and
CCRE staff made significant progress on their multiyear project aimed at modeling the population demographics of threatened reef-building coral species.
Acropora palmata and A. cervicornis were the dominant
shallow-water corals in the Caribbean for millions of
years, yet over the past 30 years losses exceeding 97%
of the population have led to the listing of these species
as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
The loss of these species could have devastating effects
on shallow Caribbean reef ecosystems and their associated biodiversity because of their rapid growth and the
three dimensional structure they create for other reef
organisms. Despite the tremendous ecological importance of Caribbean acroporids, their demographic processes are not well understood. The recent development
of Caribbean acroporid microsatellite markers provides
a technique to genotype individual coral colonies and
to distinguish between genetically unique and clonal
individuals. The specific objectives of this study are to
(1) tag, map, and measure all acroporid colonies at the
field site at Carrie Bow Cay, (2) genotype all mapped
colonies, (3) monitor colonies to examine incidence of
disease, predation, and bleaching and to identify new
sexual recruits or asexually produced ramets, (4) determine if specific genotypes are more susceptible to
disease and bleaching and how disease spreads through
the population, and (5) create a matrix model to deter-
Nicole Forgarty performs growth measurement on a colony of Fused Staghorn coral, Acropora prolifera. This coral is a hybrid and
the CBAD project is the only demographic project in the Caribbean to include it in surveys.
7
mine the population growth at this site and its future
trajectory. The first phase of mapping, tagging, and genotyping was completed in the summer of 2011. Five
quarterly assessments have been completed, with the
sixth scheduled for January 2013. Already, considerable progress has been made and several important observations include:
• The Carrie Bow Acroporid Demographics (CBAD)
project is the only acroporid demographic project
Caribbean-wide that examines both threatened species and their hybrid, and the only acroporid demographic project in the western Caribbean.
• Over 500 corals have been tagged, mapped, genotyped, photographed, and measured. Every 4
months each tagged coral is given a health assessment, measured, and photographed. In addition,
new fragments and new juvenile corals (recruits) are
tagged and mapped.
•At least 3 potential new recruits have been recorded, which is extremely exciting because in recent
decades there has been a complete failure of acroporid recruitment Caribbean-wide.
•Disease is the primary culprit that has led to the unprecedented declines in acroporids since the 1980’s.
In the first year of this study, a baseline was created
3 months prior to a major disease outbreak and coral
bleaching event. During this event, the reef saw substantial mortality and the loss of entire genotypes.
The recovery of individual colonies with resistant
genotypes to this mortality event is now being followed.
•No other monitored acroporid site in the Caribbean is as reliable for the annual spawning reproductive event as Carrie Bow Cay. During the first
two spawning seasons, over 100 observations of
setting (when the gamete bundle becomes visible)
and/or spawning of tagged acroporid colonies in the
CBAD project were made.
•Currently, this population has very few acroporid
eating snails, which is one of the primary causes of
mortality in the Florida Keys population. Anecdotal
evidence from other sites in Belize suggests that the
snails are becoming more prevalent. This site will
be closely monitored in the coming sampling periods to determine if snails are increasing in number.
CCRE South Water Caye Marine Reserve
Reef Assessment Program
Scott Jones, Randi Rotjan, Zach Foltz, Peter
Gawne, and James Dimond
This year marks the second full year that CCRE staff and
collaborators from the New England Aquarium have
implemented the South Water Caye Marine Reserve
Reef Assessment Program. This project is directed at
assessing effects of the no-take Conservation
Zone around Carrie Bow Cay on recovery of
fish and coral populations. Permanent transects were established in June 2011 inside
(12 transects) and outside (12 transects) the
area’s boundary.
Most monitoring plans measure the diversity
and abundance of key reef organisms; some
of the best programs also assess biomass of
benthic reef builders and fishes. We have designed our program to assess similar ecological metrics, so as to be cross-compatible with
historical and simultaneous efforts elsewhere
in Belize and the western Atlantic Ocean.
However, we have also added some innovative and critically important assessments that
yield information about key ecological rates
and states that are thought to contribute to
reef resistance, resilience, and recovery in the
face of negative impacts. Rates include the
A diver completes a coral transect in which each hard coral within a 1 x 25m grazing rates of herbivorous parrotfishes and
belt is identified and assigned to size class.
surgeonfishes. Benthic states include scler-
8
actinian coral health status as well as recruitment and
growth dynamics. This plan will enable more comprehensive ecological monitoring, and inform models of
reef dynamics that will be used to generate new insights
into reef community structure in response to different
reserve management regimes. This study is designed to
take advantage of the strengths and capabilities of the
Carrie Bow Cay Field Station and produce important
information that will be applied to habitat management
in the newly formed SWCMR no-take area.
Results to date show that:
• Hard coral cover is holding steady at ~10%, supported by data collected via 2 methods: transects
and photoquadrat analysis
• As of yet, there are no obvious reserve-level effects on benthic structure
•There are some very interesting, reef-wide temporal changes in fish communities (e.g. a spike and
then rapid decline in Canthigaster rostrata), but the
drivers of these changes are not yet clear
• Some coral species that were seen in the past decade (e.g. Mussa angulosa) have not been observed
at all since the monitoring program has begun
•Beginning in the Spring of 2010, invasive lionfish
detection has gone from rare sightings with small
individuals to extremely common sightings with
large individuals
CARICOMP
Karen Koltes, John Tschirky, Stephanie Rihl, and
Hanae Spathias
Monitoring surveys were conducted in June 2012 under the Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) program. CARICOMP was launched at Carrie
Bow Cay in 1993 as part of a regional scientific effort
to study land-sea interaction processes; to monitor for
change on a local and regional scale and distinguish
anthropogenic change from natural variation; and to
provide appropriate scientific information for management. Standardized, synoptic measurements are made
in the three primary Caribbean coastal ecosystems of
mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs together with
relevant oceanographic and meteorological measurements. In addition to the standard CARICOMP measurements conducted at CBC, enhancements to the
protocols include photo-documenting and measuring
octocorals to improve estimates of their population dynamics, light intensity measurements on the forereef
and more recently, measurements of water flow.
Over the past year, development continued on a simple,
inexpensive technique for monitoring water movement
in shallow, nearshore ecosystems. The technique was
developed in response to long-term CARICOMP data
that indicated a significant decline in water clarity since
monitoring began at CBC. While turbidity events were
strongly correlated with wind direction, movement of
water masses only could be inferred because of lack of data on water movement.
To address the issue of the source of turbid
water along the reef tract, a prototype current meter was developed in 2010. One
current meter was deployed in the channel
south of Carrie Bow Cay (2m above the
substrate in a total water depth of 4m) and
a second one the CARICOMP site on the
inner forereef (approximately 1m above
the substrate in 12m total water depth).
Water flow is recorded every 90 seconds.
Field trials of the prototype current meter
demonstrated that the direction of water
flow could be determined using fairly simple mathematical computations. Water
velocity, however, could be assessed only
qualitatively. To derive current speeds,
Figure 1: Calibrations of the current meter in the Annapolis Naval Academy test calibration of the current meter was necestank, April 2012. The laboratory trials revealed that the current meter can record sary. Coarse calibrations were carried out
speeds > 50 cm/s.
in the fall of 2011 using a Gurley current
9
meter submerged in a shallow stream flow. In April
2012, more sophisticated calibrations were conducted
in the 120-foot towing test tank at the Annapolis Naval
Academy (Figure 1).
Field trials also revealed that maximum current flows,
particularly those associated with ebbing spring tides
in the channel south of Carrie Bow Cay, exceeded the
prototype current meter’s upper limit. To increase the
maximum threshold for recording current velocity, the
design was modified in 2011 by adding weights to increase resistance in higher rates of flow. Field trials
with a series of graduated weights showed these modifications were able to significantly increase the maximum velocity that could be recorded as well as allow
the current meter to be tailored to the range of flow rates
in local current regimes. Refinements to the mathematical algorithms generated by the Annapolis test tank data
continue, but it appears that current velocities of up to
50 cm/s can be recorded.
Preliminary results indicate that the dominant flow of
water both above the substrate at the CARICOMP site
on the inner forereef and in the channel south of CBC
is primarily in a south-southwesterly direction (Figure
2). This is consistent with the geomorphology of the
coastline as well as circulation of the counter-current
gyre in the Gulf of Honduras. Preliminary estimates
indicate that peak current speeds exceed 50 cm/s in the
channel, particularly on ebbing spring tides. Analysis
of data from February-March 2012 indicates that water
flow 1m above the inner forereef at the CARICOMP
site averages nearly due west at <5 cm/s. The highest
current velocities (20-25 cm/s) are observed in occasional north-flowing currents.
The data now being collected represent the first instance
of a continuous, long-term record of water flow being
generated in the vicinity of Carrie Bow and likely along
the entire MesoAmerican Barrier Reef system. These
estimates, in turn, will be valuable not only to studies of
water quality but to determining potential sources and
sinks of larvae and other resource management information needs.
Figure 2 - Current vector plot that displays the frequency and velocity of current speed.
10
Carrie Bow Cay Environmental Monitoring
System (EMS)
Tom Opishinski
The Environmental Monitoring System at Carrie Bow
Cay is a fully automated system that measures oceanographic (temperature, salinity, turbidity, water level, pH,
and dissolved oxygen) and meterological conditions
(air temperature, wind speed/direction, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, and solar radiation)
every ten minutes. Data acquisition of both systems is
managed automatically by a data-logger and transmitted by radio to a server on the mainland. Current and
historical data are publically available online at
www.ccre.si.edu. The EMS is an important resource for
researchers, scientists, and resource managers as it is
the only system continously monitoring both oceanographic and meterological parameters on the
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. As such, a rigorous maintenance, calibration and sensor monitoring program is
followed to maintain optimal operation of system components and accuracy of the sensors. The 13-year dataset has contributed to new and existing research studies, publications, and management programs for both
Smithsonian researchers and an increasing number of
organizations in the region.
Metereological sensor tower that air temperature measures wind
speed/direction, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, rainfall
and solar radiation.
11
Ecology & Evolution
Corals
Community Dynamics in the Central Shelf
Lagoon of the Belizean Barrier Reef
Richard B. Aronson and Ian G. Macintyre
An earthquake north of Roatán, Honduras in 2009 had a
catastrophic impact on the reef communities on the uncemented rhomboid shoals in the central shelf lagoon of
the Belizean barrier reef. Approximately half of 21 benthic reef communities that we had surveyed before the
earthquake were eradicated by slope failure during the
tectonic event. Ecological dynamics that had played out
over the previous 23 years, including the mass mortalities of two sequentially dominant coral species, Acropora cervicornis and Agaricia tenuifolia, and an opportunistic increase in the cover of the encrusting sponge
Chondrilla caribensis, had no impact on the outcome
in areas of slope failure. Those dynamics did, however,
determine the benthic composition of reef areas in the
rhomboid shoals that remained intact, meaning that the
history of those reefs will likely influence recovery in
the failed areas. Geological analysis of the reef framework yielded a minimum return time of 2000–4000 yr
for this type of high-amplitude event. Our team began
a new phase of monitoring on the rhomboid shoals, the
goal of which will be to observe the post-earthquake
dynamics of the affected reef slopes.
Chemical Signals in Coral Cpawning
Precision
Nicole Fogarty
The synchronous release of coral gametes is very important to replenish degraded coral reefs. Previous
studies have demonstrated that differences in spawning times of only 15 minutes during the annual coral
reproduction event can greatly reduce the chance of fertilization. There appears to be a hierarchy of cues that
corals use to synchronize the release of gametes. It has
been suggested that
corals use seawater
temperature and solar irradiance to cue
on the same month,
the full moon to cue
on the same day,
sunset to cue on the
same hour and perhaps a chemical cue
(i.e., pheromone) to
spawn within minutes of conspecifics.
Only a few studies have isolated
sex steroids during
coral spawning, but
the exact function
of many of these
sterols is not clear.
Estradiol, E2 glucuronide, and testosterone glucuronide
have been found to
Florida Tech doctoral student Lauren Toth surveys coral recruits on a reef-slope in the rhomboid shoals that peak in coral tissue
during the weeks
failed in the 2009 earthquake
12
prior to spawning. Twan et al. (1999) found that E2 was
higher than E2 glucuronide throughout the year with
the exception of the spawning period where E2 glucuronide exceeded E2, suggesting the potential role E2
glucuronide plays in late gametogenesis, final oocyte
growth, and the movement of egg and sperm into bundles and toward the polyp’s mouth. In soft corals progesterone has been observed to be higher in females,
while testosterone (T) was higher in males and peaked
prior to spawning. E2 and E2 glucuronide have been
found in the seawater just prior to and during spawning
with concentrations three times higher near female colonies than the surface seawater suggesting an important
role of communicating gamete release with conspecifics. Despite the potential for sex steroids to be an important aspect in coral spawning synchrony, no one has
tested them to determine if they induce spawning.
One aspect of my Marine Science Network post-doctoral fellowship is to identify the pheromone that is
responsible for spawning synchrony. To test if these
compounds can induce corals to spawn, two ripe coral
fragments from a single colony were collected, brought
into the laboratory, and placed in buckets. When the
coral was observed to set, either a treatment or a control
was added to the paired corals. The treatments included the compounds extracted from the sea water during
spawning from the previous year or a cocktail of synthetic sex steroids composed of E2, T, E2 glucuronide,
and progesterone. Although the sex steroid cocktail
and seawater extracts were found to induce spawning
earlier than the control in the first few replicates, this
pattern dissolved with further replication. What we
have learned from this research is that the pheromone
involved in spawning synchrony is far more complex
than originally expected. It is either a compound found
at extremely small concentrations that even our sophisticated chromatography equipment cannot detect or
that many compounds are acting synergistically to cue
the coral to release their gametes.
Gamete bundles emerging from individual polyps in a colony of Montastrea prior to spawning.
13
Bridging phenotypic plasticity and
ecological speciation in a gorgonian coral:
a genome-wide approach
ecological speciation operate to generate habitat related diversification among Caribbean octocorals, using
Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata(=kallos) as model system, and how the symbiosis between octocoral and dinoflagellate algae within the genus Symbiodinium (B1)
Juan A. Sánchez
is a key component of that diversification. Recognizing
An important question in evolution is whether pheno- this diversity and understanding how it has been gentypic plasticity, in response to contrasting environments, erated and maintained, is crucial to our understanding
can lead to ecological speciation. Phenotypic plastic- of the biodiversity, conservation and management of
ity allows species to thrive at different environmental coral reefs and to our understanding of how reefs will
conditions by responding with near optimal changes in respond to environmental change.
phenotype. But, can phenotypic plasticity provide the Habitat related genetic structure in host (octocorals)
initial seed for ecological speciation? Phenotypic plas- and symbiont populations will be characterized using
ticity can impede diversification since a single genotype genome-wide scans for single nucleotide polymoris supposed to give rise to different phenotypes. How- phisms (SNPs), which will be indexed in genome orever, large philopatric populations that are consistently der thanks to an octocoral reference genome currently
in different habitats are exposed to different environ- being sequenced. Population genomics will be used to
mental challenges for which the same genotype cannot identify regions across the octocoral genome, where
be at the optimum adaptive peak. This promotes diver- genetic differences in morphotypes can be attributed to
gent selection across the habitats, which is the prerequi- selection in different environments; a signal that should
site to ecological speciation. Divergent selection should be lost when comparing adjacent populations in the
then leave genetic signatures in morphotypes that can same habitats. As in other cases of ecological speciabe detected with genomic scans. In this proposal, we tion, geographical barriers may multiply the diversifiaim to test if different environments have induced un- cation event as parallel evolution may occur in isolated
derlying adaptations
in a Caribbean gorgonian coral, where
habitat preferences
impose a change
in morphology and
also are associated
with changes in the
type of obligate photosynthetic
endosymbiont harbored
by the gorgonian.
Coral reefs are routinely characterized
as among the most
diverse ecosystems
on the planet. While
the extraordinary diversity of coral reefs
is clear, there is no
consensus regarding
the processes that
generate it. We aim
to examine how local adaptation and
14
The Caribbean octocoral, Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata near Carrie Bow Cay.
Newly settled A, palmata on the CCA Hydroliton boergesenii; biofilms on CCA can affect coral settlement
populations. Collections will be made in two distant
populations of P. bipinnata-kallos (Belize-Carrie Bow
Cay-CBC, Bahamas, Panama-Bocas del Toro, Colombia-Tortugas Bank) and genetic differences among sites
and morphotypes will be analyzed in a population genomics approach to determine the role of geographical isolation in the process. Genetic-cross experiments
(F2 progeny: F1-back cross) will be done to assess the
genetic linkage map and to be able to follow selection
hotspots along the gorgonian coral genome and determine how host-symbiont selectivity affects habitat adaptations. Dozens of P. bipinnata colonies have been
tagged in CBC in order to find large females naturally
occurred F1 progeny, which will allow us to get the F1back cross needed for population genomics.
This project will contribute to speciation theory by
testing a mechanism where species can originate without geographical barriers. It will enlighten the role of
plasticity, environmental gradients, and photosynthetic
symbionts as major evolutionary forces.
Chemical cues from marine bacteria induce
the settlement of coral larvae
J.M. Sneed, R. Ritson-Williams, V.J. Paul
Coral reefs are declining worldwide and one key to the
survival of endangered coral species is their ability to
recruit to appropriate surfaces during the larval settlement stage of their life cycle. Coral larvae often exhibit
a preference for crustose coralline algae (CCA) when
choosing suitable substrata for settlement and metamorphosis. However, the mechanism by which they
identify these surfaces is unknown.
Recent studies suggest that bacterial biofilms are playing a role in the selection of settlement substrata by
some coral species. At Carrie Bow Cay we examined
the settlement response of the threatened coral Acropora
palmata to biofilms of 27 individual bacterial strains
isolated from the surfaces of CCA. Several of these
bacterial strains increased larval settlement while oth15
ers did not, indicating that certain strains may be impor- Fish
tant when larvae are choosing settlement substrata. We
previously determined that treating naturally biofilmed
The complete life cycle of a coral reef fish
tiles with antibiotics does not affect the settlement response of A. palmata larvae, indicating that these corals
P. M. Buston, C. C. D’Aloia, J. E. Majoris, A. J.
do not respond to biofilm bacteria in general, but rather
Rickborn et al.
are cuing in on specific bacterial strains associated with
CCA surfaces.
Most coral reef fishes have a bi-partite life cycle comTo understand whether the larvae of A. palmata are re- posed of a relatively sedentary adult phase and a relasponding to chemical or physical properties of the in- tively mobile larval phase. While much is known about
ductive bacteria we extracted the organic compounds certain aspects of the adult biology and larval biology
from one inductive bacterial strain and exposed the lar- of many reef fishes, there are few cases in which the
vae to these extracts in the absence of any other settle- complete life cycle has been investigated from an evoment substrata. The extracts induced as much larval set- lutionary ecology perspective. (The best-studied case
tlement as Hydrolithon boergesenii, a species of CCA to date is that of the clown anemonefish, Amphiprion
which has been identified as a facilitator of settlement percula, in Papua New Guinea). We are endeavoring
for this coral. We are currently in the process of identi- to understand the complete life cycle of the neon goby,
fying the compound or suite of compounds responsible Elacatinus lori, in Belize. By linking studies of adult
for this response and determining if other inductive behavior and ecology, with studies of larval dispersal,
bacterial strains produce similar chemical cues.
behavior, and ecology we intend to turn E. lori into a
model system for testing and generating new ideas in
marine evolutionary ecology.
In 2010 we made our first trip to Belize, staying at Wee
Wee Cay, a few kilometers south of Carrie Bow Cay.
In that year, we conducted a basic study of the distribution and abundance of E. lori on the reefs around Carrie
Bow Cay (D’Aloia et al. 2011). In 2011 we stayed at
Wee Wee Cay once more, and conducted studies settler
habitat preferences (Majoris
et al. in prep.)
and larval dispersal
over
short distances
(D’Aloia
et
al. in prep.)
around
Curlew Cay. In
2012, we were
lucky enough
to stay at Carrie Bow for a
couple of wonderful weeks.
This year, we
focused
on
the adult biolA neon goby, Elacatnus lori near the opening of a tube sponge.
ogy of E. lori,
investigating
16
adult life history transitions (Rickborn et al. in prep.)
and the collecting preliminary data on the sponge - fish
symbiosis (Rickborn et al. in prep.).
Rickborn AJ, Wong MYL, Majoris JE, D’Aloia CC,
Buston PM. In prep. Life history transitions of the neon
goby Elacatinus lori.
This project is shaping up really nicely and we hope to be
able to fill you in with all the results in the forthcoming
years. Look out for the following publications:
Mangroves
The assembly of arboreal arthropod com-
D’Aloia CC, Majoris JE, Buston PM. 2011. Predictors munities on mangrove trees.
of the distribution and abundance of a tube sponge and
A. J. Forde, I. C. Feller, D. S. Gruner, M. Nathan
its resident goby. Coral Reefs 30: 777-786.
D’Aloia CC, Bogdanowicz SM, Majoris JE, Harrison
RG, Buston PM. In prep. A simple rule of thumb explains larval retention and predicts larval export in a
coral reef fish.
Majoris JE, D’Aloia CC, Buston PM. In prep. Settler
preferences and post-settlement processes combine to
explain the distribution of a sponge-dwelling goby.
Rickborn AJ, Wong MYL, D’Aloia CC, Majoris JE,
Buston PM. In prep. Possible causes of positive correlations between body size and microhabitat size in a
coral reef fish.
Processes operating at multiple scales affect the composition of communities. These processes can be especially complex for metacommunities – collections of
communities that are connected by dispersal. Metacommunity theory predicts that when a habitat exists as
isolated patches in a landscape, dispersal, patch characteristics, species interactions, and the pool of species
present in the entire region all shape the community of
each individual patch. To better understand the relative
importance and interdependence of these factors, we
manipulated dispersal rates and habitat patches at two
sites with differing regional
species pools. The sites were
located on the two largest
mangrove islands that comprise Twin Cays, 12km off
the coast of Belize.
Divers from the Buston lab collecting neon gobies near Carrie Bow Cay Field Station.
Interior areas of Caribbean
mangrove islands are ideal
for testing hypotheses about
metacommunities. Pristine
areas tend to contain small,
slow-growing, nutrient-limited red mangrove trees (Rhizophora mangle) residing
in ponds or mud flats. Areas
that have been disturbed by
clear-cutting, however, often
contain small, fast-growing
trees embedded in a matrix
of herbaceous plants, such
as saltwort (Batis maritima).
In both settings, individual
mangrove trees together constitute a network of discrete
habitat patches that sustain
a diverse and characteristic
group of arthropods. By comparing the dynamics of meta17
communities on mangrove trees in both disturbed and
undisturbed areas, we can start to address questions regarding the effects of patch productivity (fast vs. slow
growing trees), as well as effects of disturbance history.
perimental trees. We manipulated patch quality by adding ten shelters (6cm hollowed-out twigs) to half of the
trees and crossed the presence vs. absence of saltwort
and shelters.
Research on factors that shape arthropod communities
in mangrove forests is not only of academic interest but
also stands to inform conservation efforts. Arthropod
herbivores can significantly alter plant growth, canopy
cover and nutrient cycling in mangrove ecosystems.
Predators of arthropod herbivores can also exert indirect effects on mangrove growth. The study of arthropod community dynamics has benefited mangrove
restorations in Thailand and stands to improve the management of mangrove systems worldwide.
Both projects are ongoing, and we are repeatedly collecting the arthropods from the experimental trees as
well as measuring rates of herbivory and tree growth.
No data have been collected from the trees at the disturbed site, which were manipulated in July 2012, but
we do have data from 8 and 13 months post-manipulation for the pristine site. Preliminary results indicate
that dispersal, patch quality and top predators have interactive effects on total arthropod abundance, and vary
in their impacts on different taxonomic and functional
For our study of an undisturbed system, we manipulated groups of arthropods. For example, enhancing connec48 small (approx. 1m tall) slow-growing red mangrove tivity of patches with rope increased the abundance of
trees spanning a 300x50m pond on the West island of tree crabs (Aratus pisonii) but had no effect on spiders,
Twin Cays. The trees were not contiguous with any other vegetation and were
surrounded by water during both high
and low tides. To manipulate dispersal we connected experimental trees to
nearby stands of red mangroves using
rope. We manipulated habitat quality by
attaching 10 shelters (empty Lepidopteran cocoons) to trees. Shelter addition
was deemed a reasonable manipulation
of patch quality based on previous work
indicating that more than 70 arthropod
species on Twin Cays benefit from shelters such as dead twigs. Additionally,
we manipulated food chain length by
excluding top predators (birds) using
PVC frames covered in propylene netting. The presence vs. absence of rope,
shelters, and top predators were crossed
in a full factorial design.
For our study of a disturbed system we
selected 24 small vigorously growing
red mangrove trees (approx. 1m tall)
spanning a 150x50m area on the East island of Twin Cays. The chosen area was
clear-cut in 1995, and while mangroves
are recruiting, saltwort currently carpets
the majority of the area. The thicket of
saltwort constitutes the only route by
which non-flying arthropods can actively disperse between trees. Therefore,
to manipulate dispersal, we removed all
vegetation in a 1.25m2 area around ex18
The author, Alex Forde, sampling arthropods in the field at Twin Cays.
ants or herbivores. Increasing patch quality by adding shelters, on the other hand,
increased the abundances of ants and spiders, but did not affect crab abundance.
While treatment effects on the abundances of different groups of arthropods is interesting, our goal is to perform analyses
on the diversity and composition of entire communities that are collected from
trees. In the future, besides undertaking
multivariate and hierarchical modeling of
community dynamics, we plan to undertake two projects that will complement
our current experiments. We will conduct
behavior trials to elucidate the nature of
interactions between dominant arthropod
species, and we will establish transects
of traps to quantify the relative dispersal abilities of species that are part of the
metacommunity.
Sponges
Aplysina Red Band Syndrome on Aplysina cauliformis. Note red bands dominated
by filamentous cyanobacteria, bordering necrotic tissue
Developing a model for transmission of
an infectious disease of marine
sponges
Deborah J. Gochfeld, Julie B. Olson,
Cole G. Easson
Sponge diseases are increasing worldwide, but no models of sponge disease dynamics have been produced.
The increasing prevalence and diversity of diseases affecting marine systems highlight the need to develop
new tools to test hypotheses related to disease spread
and impacts on populations and communities. We aim
to develop a disease transmission model for Aplysina
Red Band Syndrome (ARBS). Our specific aims are to:
(1) characterize the pathogen(s) responsible for ARBS,
(2) identify potential environmental reservoirs and/or
vectors for transmission of pathogens to the sponge
Aplysina cauliformis, and (3) use spatial demographic
data to develop a conceptual model of ARBS transmission at the population level.
et al. 2006, Gochfeld et al. 2007, Gochfeld et al. 2012),
and we previously reported it from the patch reefs near
Carrie Bow Cay (CBC), Belize, in 2008 and 2009. The
present study enabled us to revisit and re-survey several
patch reefs near CBC for the presence and abundance
of this disease, and assess the potential mechanisms for
disease transmission in the environment. Samples of
Aplysina sponges affected by ARBS, as well as sediment, ambient water, and swabs of the oral cavity of
spongivorous fishes were collected for molecular, microbiological and chemical analyses to identify potential reservoirs and/or vectors for pathogen transmission.
Six 10 x 2m transects were previously established on
each of three patch reefs near Carrie Bow Cay and biodiversity surveys were performed for comparison with
surveys conducted in 2008 and 2009. On each transect,
a combination of point intercept and band transects
were performed to assess percent cover of all substrata,
and abundance and diversity of sponges, corals and
gorgonians. In addition, the condition of each Aplysina
sponge was recorded. ARBS was found to affect both
A. cauliformis and A. fulva on the survey reefs, but at a
lower frequency than at our study sites in the Bahamas.
Aplysina Red Band Syndrome (ARBS; see photo For example, we found ARBS on 3.2% of A. cauliforabove) is an infectious disease affecting Caribbean mis in Belize compared to 6.6% in the Bahamas in the
sponges of the genus Aplysina (Olson et al. 2006). same period.
ARBS is widespread throughout the Caribbean (Olson
19
fishes, pufferfishes) were collected with hand nets and transferred
to large plastic bags. In the boat,
swabs of the oral cavities of the
fish were taken and placed into
RNALater for molecular microbiological analyses. All fish were
then returned to the reef. Samples of the ambient water and
sediment were also collected and
preserved to determine whether
these may serve as reservoirs for
potential pathogens.
Literature Cited
Olson J.B., D.J. Gochfeld, M.
Slattery. 2006. Aplysina red band
syndrome: a new threat to Caribbean sponges. Dis. Aquat. Org.
71:163-168.
Gochfeld D.J., C. Schlöder, R.W.
Thacker. 2007. Sponge Community Structure and Disease Prevalence on coral reefs in Bocas del
Divers collected spongivorous reef fishes and swabbed their oral cavities as a possible source Toro, Panama. In: Custódio,
M.R., Lõbo-Hajdu, G., Hajdu,
of sponge pathogens.
E., Muricy G. (eds) Porifera RePreliminary analyses suggest that ARBS abundance is
search: Biodiversity, Innovation, and Sustainability.
correlated with the abundance of its primary host, A.
Série Livros 28. Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. Pp.
cauliformis, but is not correlated with other measures 335-343.
of sponge, coral or gorgonian diversity. In spite of a
Gochfeld D.J., C.G. Easson, M. Slattery, R.W. Thacker,
reported sponge mortality event on the Carrie Bow Cay
J.B. Olson. 2012. Population dynamics of a sponge disforereef in 2011, our surveys on patch reefs indicated ease on Caribbean reefs. In: Stellar, D. (ed), Diving for
that overall sponge number and diversity did not differ Science 2012. Proceedings of the American Academy
significantly between 2008, 2009 and 2012. In fact, A. of Underwater Scientists 31st Symposium. Dauphin Iscauliformis and A. fulva density increased significant- land, AL.
ly between 2009 and 2012. ARBS was slightly more
prevalent in 2012 than during our earlier surveys.
We also established a 10 x 10 m2 grid on each of two
patch reefs and the whole grid was photographed in 1 x
1 m2 increments to create a photomosaic. Within each
grid, every A. cauliformis was mapped and measured,
and the number of ARBS lesions was recorded on a
map, so that spatial statistics can be used to characterize the dispersion pattern and transmissibility of the
disease on the reef. These data will be compared to a
model developed with similar data from the Bahamas
to determine whether it is possible to model the prevalence of ARBS across the Caribbean basin.
Using SCUBA, spongivorous fishes (angelfishes, file20
Drastic decline in coral reef sponges on the
Belize Barrier Reef
Janie Wulff
Sponge mortality associated with a dense phytoplankton bloom on the southern portions of the Belize Barrier Reef in late summer 2011 was extreme. Because
our lab has been mapping, identifying, and measuring
(volume) all sponges on a set of shallow patch reefs in
the Blue Ground Range at yearly intervals, beginning
in 2006, we have been able to quantify sponge losses
One of the survivors: A vase sponge Niphates digitalis. is regenerating after sufffering partial mortality.
with respect to sponge biomass, number of individuals,
and species. In the midst of the phytoplankton bloom,
in August 2011, already 30% of the sponge biomass had
been lost by comparison with a year earlier, and the net
effect of this disturbance, revealed by a complete recensus 4 months later, in December 2011, was a loss of
70% of the sponge biomass. That the sponges on the Belize Barrier Reef appeared to be very abundant, diverse,
and healthy in December 2011 underscores the great
degree to which substantial sponge losses are invisible
unless individuals have been followed over time. If we
had not been monitoring the volume of hundreds of individual sponges for some years, it would have been
impossible to imagine that a major mortality event had
just occurred. Rapid healing of partially killed sponges, combined with rapid disarticulation and utter disappearance of skeletons of dead sponges, had entirely
obscured the substantial earlier mortality. Differences
in response among sponge species, ranging from complete loss to no effect, have resulted in striking changes
in community structure. Most immediately crucial for
the health of the reef system may be the abrupt loss of
over 2/3 of the capacity for filtering bacteria and cya-
nobacteria from the water column. How will the next
phytoplankton bloom be controlled before it becomes
disastrous if the water filtering capacity for these reefs
has been reduced by 70%?
Other Invertebrates
Kin structure, conflict and caste formation:
the evolution of sociality in alpheid shrimp
Emmett Duffy, Dustin R. Rubenstein, Kenneth S.
Macdonald, Tin Chi Solomon Chak,Sarah Bornbusch
Our work at Carrie Bow Cay in July 2012 is part of a
long-term research program investigating the systematics, evolution, ecology, and behavior of sponge-dwelling snapping shrimp (Synalpheus spp.), a highly diverse
group of primarily tropical crustaceans that includes the
only known eusocial marine animals. We are currently
funded by the NSF on a comparative study examining
the evolutionary routes to, and transitions among, dif21
transitions among social systems, and links between social
evolution and morphological
and behavioral caste diversification.
Our research over the last two
decades, concentrated in Belize but including several other
sites in the Caribbean, shows
that eusocial species have dominated the diverse and abundant fauna of sponge-dwelling
shrimp in coral rubble for most
of that time and throughout
most of the region.
In July 2012 we returned to
Carrie Bow (Duffy’s 14th
visit) to collect social shrimp
for a range of genetic, microscopic, and systematics studSponge-dwelling snapping shrimp, Synalpheus spp.
ies. For the first time ever, we
could not find any. We quickly
ferent modes of social living in ~40 species of spongerefocused our efforts on documenting the change. We
dwelling snapping shrimp. Because closely related
made extensive collections of coral rubble and associspecies of Synalpheus span the gamut from pairs to euated sponges and shrimp from shallow reefs throughout
social colonies, and share key life history traits of both
the Sand Bores region.
social vertebrates and insects, they represent a powerful
and unusually tractable system for revealing general, Our research documented apparent local extinction of
unifying patterns in the evolution of animal sociality. three of the four eusocial species known from the area
The results from this study will provide insights into (Synalpheus regalis, S. elizabethae, and S. filidigitus),
several key problems in behavioral and evolutionary as well as steep declines in colony size and increases in
ecology, such as the evolution of altruism, the roles of frequency of queenless colonies of social species prior
kin structure and conflict in the evolution of sociality, to their disappearance. Concordant with these declines,
several pair-forming Synalpheus species increased in
frequency. The decline in social shrimp appears to be
explained in part, but not entirely, by disappearance of
two sponge species favored by social shrimp, Neopetrosia spp. And Oceanapia sp. In Belize both sponge and
shrimp faunas were considerably more homogeneous in
2012 than in prior years, the differences largely reflecting the absence in 2012 of eusocial shrimp species, loss
of their primary sponge host, and increased frequency of
several pair-forming shrimp species.
A “shrimp-picking” station at Carrie Bow Cay.
22
Eusocial shrimp collections from Jamaica in 2012
showed similar patterns of decline in colony size and
increased queenlessness compared with our prior Jamaican collections from 2008. The decline and local extinction of social shrimp may reflect declines in sponge assemblages increasingly reported from the Caribbean, as
well as the tumultuous changes in
coral asemblages documented on
the Belize reefs by Rich Aronson
and colleagues. Our results suggest that crustaceans may provide
important proxies of coral reef
health.
Our results show that eusocial
shrimp species have declined
greatly and several species apparently have disappeared from
shallow reefs in the central part
of the Belize Barrier Reef after
dominating these habitats for at
least two decades.
Our research at Carrie Bow was
covered by the New York Times
Scientist-at-work blog:
http://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/author/j-emmett-duffy/
http://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/author/dustin-r-rubenstein/
Scanning electron micrograph of a Eubostrichus dianae nematode covered by its bacterial
ectosymbiont.
uous. From a cell biological point of view, this revealed
Reproductive strategies
of Gammaproteobacteria associated to the an unexpected versatility of the gammaproteobacterial
cytokinetic machinery (Leisch et al., Current Biology,
surface of marine nematodes
Silvia Bulgheresi
Stilbonematids are marine nematodes that are invariably coated with sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. As these
ectosymbionts must transmit the attachment to the
nematode surface to their daughter cells, we assume
that the evolutionary pressure to maintain the symbiotic
lifestyle shaped their reproductive strategies.
On our 2011 research stay at Carrie Bow Cay we collected nematodes to investigate the reproductive strategies of the ectosymbionts found on Laxus oneistus (1)
and Eubostrichus dianae (2). In the case of the L. oneistus gammaproteobacterial ectosymbiont, we provided
morphometric and immunocytochemical evidence that
it (1) grows in width, (2) sets a constricting FtsZ ring
parallel to its long axis, and (3) divides longitudinally
by default. Remarkably, confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that this newly described FtsZ ring
appears not only 90° shifted with respect to model rods
such as Escherichia coli, but also elliptic and discontin-
in press). From a symbiosis-centered perspective, it is
intriguing to speculate that ectosymbiont longitudinal
fission may be induced by a molecule produced by the
nematode host, similarly to host-induced cytokinesis
inhibition in insect and plant endosymbionts.
As for the E. dianae nematode, we succeeded in the
molecular identification of its giant, multinucleated
filamentous ectosymbiont. Based on 16S rRNA-based
phylogeny, it is a sulfur-oxidizing gammaproteobacterium closely related to the other stilbonematid ectosymbionts characterized so far. Given that specific fluorescence in situ hybridization probes detected not only
maximum length filaments but also shorter ones, the E.
dianae ectosymbiont appears to grow on its nematode
host. As for its reproductive strategies, we are currently
investigating if it can divide by binary fission (Pende,
Leisch et al., in preparation).
23
Differential contrast image (left), corresponding confocal laser scanning microscopy image (middle), and overlay (right) showing
FtsZ (green) localization in a longitudinally dividing L. oneistus ectosymbiont cell. Scale bar is 1 μm.
Samples were taken by skin diving at five locations,
Diversity and molecular phylogeny of
Stilbonematinae – marine nematodes with which according to the previous studies encompassed
the complete diversity so far encountered. These sambacterial symbionts
pling locations were: Subtidal medium sand in 1-1.5 m
depth on the west side of CBC (CBC); intertidal and
Joerg Ott and Renate Ott
shallow subtidal coarse sand in <0.5 m depth at a sand
spit on the south end of South Water Cay (SWC); interThe Stilbonematinae (Desmodoridae, Chromadoria) tidal and shallow subtidal fine sand among mangroves
are a monophyletic taxon of marine nematodes remark- and sea grass on the west side of Twin Cayes (“Candy’s
able for their association with ectosymbiotic chemoau- Trail”, CT); subtidal fine sand in 0.5 - 1 m depth north
totrophic sulfur-oxidizing gammaproteobacteria. They of the Fisheries Station on Twin Cayes (FS); subtidal
inhabit sheltered sulfidic sands in the intertidal and fine sand in 0.5 - 1 m depth at the northern passage
subtidal being especially abundant in tropical to warm through Cocoa Plum Cay (CP).
temperate sediments. The research group of the PI has
Worms were extracted from sand samples by gently
studied these worms intensively for several years in the
shaking and decanting in seawater and sorted live using
vicinity of Carrie Bow Cay. The early years concena dissecting scope. For most of the small species it was
trated on ecology (e.g. Ott et al. 1991, Hentschel et al.
necessary to verify their identity on slides using a com1999), the identification of the symbionts (Polz et al.
pound microscope at high magnification. Sorting was
1992, 1994) and functional aspects of several model
done according to a morphospecies concept. A total of
species (e.g. Schiemer et al. 1990, Bulgheresi et al.
22 species could be collected in sufficient numbers to
2006, 2011, Heindl et al. 2011). In the course of these
fix specimens for light microscopy, SEM and DNA exstudies an extraordinary diversity of Stilbonematinae
traction. These species are processed in Vienna and will
became apparent where most of the species appeared to
be described in the near future.
be new to science. Only for a few species have descriptions been published yet (Ott et al. 1995, Ott 1997). The The nematode fauna of the coarse sand at SWC is domiaim of the present research visit was to complement the nated by Stilbonematinae almost exclusively belonging
existing collections to allow the description of new spe- to 4 large species (Laxus oneistus, Stilbonema majum,
cies in a complete and modern manner including sam- Robbea sp. 3 and Adelphos rolandi). In contrast, the
fine sand samples contain small species at a much highples for molecular systematics and phylogeny.
24
er diversity. There is considerable overlap in the species
composition of the three fine sand locations (CT, FS,
CT), however at each location the relative abundance
of the various small species differs. The stilbonematid
fauna of the medium sand location (CBC) is intermediate between the extremes in grain size and contains
both the large species and some of the small species
(e.g. Eubostrichus dianae) albeit in small numbers.
References:
Bulgheresi, S., H. R. Gruber-Vodicka, et al. (2011).
Sequence variability of the pattern recognition receptor Mermaid mediates specificity of marine nematode
symbioses. The International Society for Microbial
Ecology Journal 5: 986-998.
Bulgheresi, S., I. Schabussova, et al. (2006). A new
C-type lectin similar to the human immunoreceptor
DC-SIGN mediates symbiont acquisition by a marine
nematode. Applied and Environmental Microbiology
72: 2950-2956.
Heindl, N. R., H. R. Gruber-Vodicka, et al.
(2011). First detection of thiotrophic symbiont
phylotypes in the pelagic marine environment.
Federation of European Microbiological Societies Microbiology Ecology 77: 223-227.
Hentschel, U., E. C. Berger, et al. (1999). Metabolism of nitrogen and sulfur in ectosymbiotic
bacteria of marine nematodes (Nematoda, Stilbonematinae). Marine Ecology Progress Series
183: 149-158.
Ott, J. (1997). A new symbiotic marine nematode, Adelphos rolandi gen.n. sp.n. (Stilbonematinae), from the Caribbean Sea. Ann. Naturhist.
Mus. Wien 99 B: 417-422.
Ott, J., R. Novak, et al. (1991). Tackling the sulfide gradient: a novel strategy involving marine
nematodes and chemoautotrophic ectosymbionts. Marine Ecology 12(3): 261-279.
Ott, J. A., M. Bauer-Nebelsick, et al. (1995).
The genus Laxus Cobb, 1894 (Stilbonematinae:
Nematoda): Description of two new species
with ectosymbiotic, chemoautotrophic bacteria.
Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 108(3): 508-527.
Polz, M. F., D. L. Distel, et al. (1994). Phylogenetic analysis of a highly specific association between ectosymbiotic, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria
and a marine nematode. Applied Environmental
Microbiology 60: 4461-4467.
Polz, M. F., H. Felbeck, et al. (1992). Chemoautotrophic, Sulfur-Oxidizing Symbiotic Bacteria
on Marine Nematodes: Morphological and Biochemical Characterization. Microbial Ecology
24: 313-329.
Anterior end of Stilbonema majum, a large species common in coarse to
medium sand. Except for the cephalic capsule the worms are covered by
several layers of bacteria.
Schiemer, F., R. Novak, et al. (1990). Metabolic
studies on thiobiotic free-living nematodes and
their symbiotic microorganisms. Marine Biology 106: 129-137.
25
Dinoflagellates
Seasonal Abundance of Ciguatera
Causing Dinoflagellates in Belize
nutrient systems, whereas Ostreopsis species favor
higher flow lower nutrient areas. Prorocentrum species
appear to do equally well in both these environments.
Preliminary data confirm that Gambierdiscus species
composition is similar between seasons. Gambierdiscus was found at all sampling locations around Carrie
Pat Tester and Chris Holland
Bow Cay, Twin Bays and Southwater Cay. A single
trip was made to Douglas Cay in 2012, a habitat known
Tropical dinoflagellates in the genera Gambierdiscus, for abundant Gambierdiscus cells during the dry seaOstreopsis and Prorocentrum produce toxins that bio- son. Abundances observed during the Jan/Feb 2012
accumulate in marine food webs causing ciguatera fish sampling were some of the highest seen of any of our
poisoning (CFP), the most common non-bacterial food previous sampling trips to Belize.
poisoning in the world. Of these, species belonging to
the genus Gambierdiscus are thought to be the most Another major goal of this year’s work was to evaluate
important contributors to CFP. The focus of this year’s the most effective way to sample benthic HAB species.
Artificial substrate, small uniform pieces of window
research was two fold:
screen, act as artificial seaweeds. Our question was
1) Determine differences in seasonal abundances of
“Will Gambierdiscus cells accumulate on artificial subGambierdiscus, comparing the Jan/Feb cell concentrastrate in proportion to the densities found on surroundtions to those seen during the April/May period and
ing algae?” The 2012 sampling provided an opportu2)Validate artificial substrate sampling methods for nity to test this concept and compare seasonal data to
benthic harmful algal species that cause CFP.
determine if the correlation noted in April/May would
The data collected in January/February 2012 provided be the same in different seasons.
comparative information on differences in Gambierdis- Carefully measured pieces of window screen are ancus abundance relative to April-May. Analysis of the chored with fishing weights near the bottom of the water
samples from previous field seasons indicated, that in column. These artificial substrate sampling devices are
Belize, Gambierdiscus species prefer low flow, high allowed to remain in place for up to 2 days before they
are collected and the benthic
dinoflagellates are harvested
from them. Control samples
of algae were also collected
from the site and harvested for
BHAB species as well. The
preliminary results indicate
that abundances of Gambierdiscus and Prorocentrum and,
to a lesser extent, Ostreopsis
from artificial substrate directly correlate with the densities
of these species on the surrounding macrophytes algae.
Ciguaterra-producing dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus sp.
26
A study designed to understand the length of time needed
for the artificial substrate deployment or “soak time” was
also completed. A 48-hour diel
study was conducted by sampling the artificial substrate
every 6 hours to demonstrate
the significance of sufficient soak time for the sampling
screens. Data clearly indicated that after 24 hours the
screens had become saturated with detritus and likely
diatoms to make effective measurements.
The 2012 sampling also revealed a high abundance of
Gambierdiscus in Douglas Cay (DC). The species composition of this bloom is being determined and will be
compared with similar blooms that occurred in 2006
and 2009 during the dry season. The 2009 bloom was
heavy enough to produce a mucous net over much of
the benthos. Knowing which species are most abundant
during the seasonal blooms is a significant result in that
not all Gambierdiscus are equally toxic. If there is a
species composition differences in the dry vs wet season, the likelihood of differential ciguatera fish poisoning risk is also a strong possibility. Risk assessment of
environmentally mediated BHAB blooms is a proactive
way of managing resources and focusing public health
resources.
Time series of Gambierdiscus (Gam), Ostreopsis (Ost), and Prorocentrum (Pro) cell
abundances associated with screens incubated at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize for 6, 12, 18, 24,
36 and 48 h on 18-19 January, 2012sp.
27
Anthropogenic Influences
on Ecosystems
lar a recent dredge and fill operation on a southern mangrove cay. We observed widespread sponge mortality
at many sites. Samples of healthy and diseased sponges
were collected for putative pathogen identification.
This work is underway at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham.
Stable Isotope Ecology: detecting
anthropogenic sources of nutrients,
understanding coral bleaching, mangrove While our field collections addressed land-based sourcecology, and feeding habits of invasive fish es of pollution, we were also interested in testing the
species.
effects of global climate change on marine symbioses.
We brought live sea fan corals, hard corals and sponges
back to Carrie Bow for a series of experiments. Using
stable isotope tracers, we incubated these specimens
during daylight hours to determine the effect of sevOur diverse team came to Carrie Bow with a focus on eral parameters on the assimilation of carbon, nitrogen,
three environments; 1) coral reef communities, 2) man- and hydrogen. Of note was an experiment with the
grove cays, and 3) microbial mat communities. The hard coral Montastrea faveolata. We used this species
specific summaries are detailed below.
to ask, what is the effect of subbleaching thermal stress on the assimilation and translocation of the
aforementioned elements between
the zooxanthellae and the host?
We used a portable solar powered
battery system to heat a water bath
through the night, which allowed us
to simulate warming prior to a coral
bleaching event. On the day of the
experiment the corals were sealed
in plastic bottles in the presence of
the isotope tracers. The resulting
data show that temperature has a
positive effect of both carbon and
nitrogen assimilation by zooxanthellae, but that this benefit did not
extend to the host. This observation
implicates symbiont metabolism as
being an important precursor to the
coral bleaching response.
David Baker, Marilyn Fogel, Chris Freeman, and
Derek Smith
Sea fan Gorgonia ventalina on the reef near Carrie Bow Cay
David Baker and Chris Freeman ventured to the surrounding reefs to collect gorgonian corals and sponges
for stable isotope analysis. By measuring the isotopes
of nitrogen in the animal tissues, we can ascertain the
provenance of that nitrogen and thus, whether anthropogenic sources such as sewage are present. Our collections took us from Tobacco Cay to Cat Cay and out to
the southern tip of Glover’s atoll. A total of 92 samples
of the sea fan Gorgonia ventalina were collected from
17 sites. The data have revealed a significant variation
in isotope values among these sites, with signs of human perturbation near inhabited islands and in particu28
Our terrestrial team, comprised of
Marilyn Fogel and Derek Smith, spent their time on
Twin Cays. Dr. Fogel visited and sampled mangrove
leaves from a long-term monitoring project aimed at
understanding nutrient dynamics in the species. As a
group, we sampled mangrove leaves and sponge epibionts growing on their prop roots in small channels.
This sampling was conducted to test the hypothesis
that nitrogen transformations by encrusting sponges
may benefit fringing mangroves. Dr. Fogel and Derek
Smith took samples from microbial mat communities
within hypersaline ponds on Twin Cay. Sediment cores
and surface mats were sampled and portions of these
Terrestrial team in fringing mangroves on Twin Cays
samples were used to develop anoxic cultures of cyanobacteria and sulfur cycling bacteria. These materials
will also be analyzed by stable isotope analysis to better
understand the biogeochemical processes that are occurring throughout these microbial communities.
In our free time, we collected lionfish in the area using
pole spears. Over 130 lionfish were sampled. The largest catch came from Glover’s atoll, where 67 lionfish
were collected on 4 dives. We measured and sampled a
small plug of muscle tissue for stable isotope analysis.
These data will be added to a Caribbean wide dataset
we are compiling. Here, the isotope values tell us more
about what the fish are eating. With the large sample
size from Belize, we are able to demonstrate that larger
lionfish are feeding slightly higher on the food chain,
likely taking more small reef fish and fewer invertebrates. The fish were properly recycled. Martha did a
wonderful job preparing lionfish in creative ways including pan-fried, steamed, empanadas, and meat balls.
Mangroves
Latitudinal variations in ecological
stoichiometry in mangrove communities
Candy Feller
Our objective is to determine how excess nutrients in
the environment affect biodiversity, population dynamics, ecological stoichiometry, and ecosystem function
in mangrove forests along a latitudinal gradient of
>2000 km and 18º of latitude from Florida to Panama.
Nutrient over-enrichment is a global threat to marine
environments.
Nutrient over enrichment is widely recognized as
one of the most serious threats to coastal ecosystems
around the world. A major challenge for ecologists is
to develop a predictive understanding of how nutrient
loading alters the structure and function of these ecosystems. Different community components and ecological processes within coastal ecosystems are predicted to have different patterns of nutrient limitation.
Despite the critical implications of this hypothesis for
mangroves, it has been tested at only a few locations:
Twin Cays, Belize, Indian River Lagoon (IRL), FL, and
Bocas del Toro, Panama. In these studies, we showed
that increased nutrient availability affected physiologi29
growth is nitrogen (N)-limited from the fringe to the
dwarf forest in the interior; at Twin Cays, the fringe
was N-limited, but the dwarf forest was phosphorus
(P)-limited; at Bocas del Toro, the fringe is N-limited,
but the dwarf is both N- and P-limited. In addition to
increased primary productivity, nutrient enrichment
also caused dramatic decreases in the C:nutrient ratios of the trees and altered the quality and quantity
of herbivory. The preliminary data from these longterm experiments provide an ideal opportunity to determine how nutrient enrichment will affect the distribution of C, N, and P in mangrove heterotrophs as
well as autotrophs.
Turbidity trends and seagrass
distributions in the waters surrounding
Carrie Bow Cay, Belize
Charles Gallegos, Jud Kenworthy and
Troels Pedersen
Smithsonian research assistant, Anne Chamberlain sampling
mangrove fauna
Seagrasses have high light requirements, so that degradation of water quality that limits the penetration of
cal processes and nutrient conservation patterns such
photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) underwater
that litter quality and decomposit ion rates were altered.
has the potential to severely impact the survival depth
In addition, hydrology and associated physico chemiand areal coverage of seagrass meadows. Seagrass syscal parameters influenced the interactions among these
tems are, therefore, a sensitive indicator of habitat loss
processes. These results suggested that interactions bedue to human impacts in the coastal zone.
tween nutrient availability and hydrology will affect
nutrient cycling processes, which are linked directly to Water clarity in the waters surrounding CBC has detecarbon (C) sequestration and habitat stability, and ul- riorated. Since the inception of measurements in 1993,
timately, to the ability of these systems to keep pace
with rising sea level. Nutrient enrichment also affects
mangrove growth and tissue quality, which affects the
diversity of the associated mangrove fauna and animalplant interactions. In this study, we are investigating the
effects of nutrient limitation and loading on mangrove
food webs and ecological stoichiometry. We hypothesize that: 1) mismatches in the elemental composition
between mangrove trees and their fauna will constrain
growth and production of associated consumers in both
grazing and detrital food webs. 2) The addition of the
limiting nutrient will lead to increased growth and nutrient uptake and retention by consumers. 3) Lower latitude and more productive environments will have longer and more diverse food chains (detectable in stable
isotope ratios). The C:nutrient ratios of plant biomass
are generally variable and high, especially under nutrient limitation, compared to animals, which have low
C:nutrient ratios that are regulated homeostatically,
Troels Pedersen installing light meter on the sea floor.
depending on species or developmental stage. At IRL,
30
horizontally sighted Secchi distance outside a shallow
seagrass bed near Twin Cays has declined at a rate of
0.29 m•y-1, while the vertically sighted Secchi depth at
a deep station on the fore-reef has declined at a rate of
0.52 m•y-1. Episodes of low visibility (<6 m) have always occurred, but appear to be more frequent in recent
years, while very clear water with visibility exceeding
18 m has not been observed since 2004.
The cause of the visibility decline has not been identified. It is likely to be due to a change in amounts and/or
kinds of suspended solids because visual transparency
is more sensitive to light scattering than to light absorption. The objectives of this work are: to quantify the
relative contributions of suspended solids, colored dissolved organic matter, and phytoplankton to light attenuation and visibility in the vicinity of Carrie Bow
Cay; to relate properties measured in the long term
CARICOMP program to inherent optical properties
of the water; to improve our estimate of the light requirements of the Thalassia testudinum bed at the Blue
Ground Range (BGR) site in Lagoon Channel, Belize;
to biologically characterize the deep T. testudinum bed
at the BGR to establish it as a sentinel site for assessing effects of deteriorating water clarity in the lagoon
at Carrie Bow Cay. We visited Carrie BowCay for 1
week in December 2011 and March 2012. We measured inherent optical properties, white and black disk
visibility, and light attenuation at BGR, the Twin Cays
CARICOMP site, the water quality monitoring site at
the fore-reef, and an additional station at Cat Key where
a steeply sloping bottom makes for a sharply delineated
Thalassia deep edge.
This year we published a paper
reporting the effect of sediment
re-suspension on near-bottom
light attenuation using an array of in situ light sensors with
very close spacing near the
sediment-water interface that
included data from Carrie Bow
Cay taken in 2010. We found
that the light attenuation coefficient over 4.5 cm just above
the bottom exceeded the attenuation found higher in the water column by a factor ranging
from 1.6 to >30. The enhanced
light attenuation was the least at
the Belize sites, compared with
measurements around Chesa-
peake Bay and coastal North Carolina, due to coarser
and less organic matter in sediments there.
Mangrove peat decomposition and nutrient
enrichment
Joost A. Keuskamp
Mangrove forests are highly productive systems passing through large quantities of carbon. Carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere is consumed in photosynthesis
and provides the carbon and energy needed to build up
plant material. Dead plant material, largely consisting
of carbon, becomes part of the soil where it decomposes: bacteria and fungi consume the dead plant material
for energy and carbon dioxide is released again to the
atmosphere.
On the mangrove islands in Belize, decomposition is
very slow: the soil largely consists out of carbon in the
form of still recognizable plant parts and therefore is
classified as peat. Over the course of time, thick packages of peat have formed through accumulation of dead
plant material, on top of which the mangrove trees grow.
Through this process, the islands surface raises up from
the sea bottom, at a rate fast enough to keep pace with
sea-level rise. The peat layers underlying mangrove islands can be several dozens of feet thick and represent
an enormous storage of carbon.
Due to human activity in coastal zones, many mangroves receive increasing amounts of nutrients, such as
Soil sampling in the field.
31
nitrogen and phosphorus, which are leached from agricultural zones close to the coast. These nutrients often cause mangrove trees to grow significantly faster,
thereby consuming extra carbon dioxide. This may lead
to increased peat build-up as more dead plant material
enters the soil. This would facilitate keeping up with
sea level rise while storing extra carbon. However, if
decomposers also profit from the extra nutrients, the
exact opposite could happen: The extra nutrients may
help the decomposers in breaking down plant material
so that more carbon dioxide is released than that it is
fixed. Due to a changing microbial community even
historically built up peat may be broken down, causing
soil subsidence so that mangroves ultimately disappear
by prolonged flooding. To study the effect of nutrient
enrichment on mangrove peat decomposition, we made
use of the long-term research sites that were established
by Candy Feller on Twin Cayes to observe the consequences of nutrient amendment on herbivory, primary
production, and recruitment. We took soil cores near
trees not receiving extra nutrients and near trees that
were fertilized with either nitrogen or phosphorus. We
measured bacterial biomass, activity, respiration and
potential growth rates in those cores, and repeated that
after amending nutrients. The results will reveal the
short and long term effects of nutrient enrichment on
the peat decomposition rate in mangroves. It will also
tell us if changes in microbial community will lead to
the breakdown of accumulated complex organic compounds in mangrove peat. Combining these results with
the, already known, effects of nutrients on primary production will help to predict the effect of nutrients on
net peat formation and carbon dioxide emission from
mangroves to the atmosphere.
un-quantified. Once established, introduced populations can become numerically or functionally dominant
in invaded communities. Although effects of most invasions remain unexplored, it is evident that some nonnative species are having significant and widespread
impacts by altering ecosystem processes, impacting
economies, and affecting human health. Introduced
species are widely considered ‘invasive’ when they become superabundant in their new ranges, displace native species and cause economic damage. The apparent
newfound success of many invasive species is thought
to stem from some fundamental change in ecological or
evolutionary interactions that leads to increased vigor,
population growth, or habitat expansion. The impacts
of introduced species are a direct function of their demographic success in their new range so evaluating differences in performance provides insight as to relative
impacts across native and introduced regions as well
as across introduced regions. Once established, introduced species are often reported to be more abundant,
larger, or more ‘vigorous’ relative to native conspecific populations. Similarly some introduced species are
abundant and considered pests in some regions while
they are not in others. Understanding the factors driving this variability is critical for effective management
techniques and for evaluating the factors that control
population growth in general, however, there exist few
standards by which to judge the differential success
of introduced species. Biotic resistance by predation,
parasitism and competition on introduced species from
native species can limit demographic success and thus
impacts caused by invaders. Tropical regions are hypothesized to have stronger biotic interactions relative
to higher latitudes and this may limit invasion success
Comparison of demographic performance, at low latitudes. Biotic resistance to invasion is a key
hypothesis in invasion ecology and has been supported
parasite transmission and predatory
in some systems. While some empirical evidence from
impacts of the invasive lionfish, Pterois
marine systems suggests that biotic interactions may be
volitans, across latitudes.
stronger at lower latitudes, the potential implications on
marine invaders have not been evaluated. The recent
Andrew Sellers, Mark Torchin, and Gregory Ruiz
and widespread invasion of the Indo-Pacific lionfish,
Pterois volitans provides an ideal opportunity to test
Biological invasions are a key threat to biodiversity the hypothesis that the demographic success and predaworldwide. Predation, competition, and habitat al- tory impacts are reduced and parasite transmission interation by invasive species changes community com- creases at low latitudes.
position and ecosystem function. Globalization has
substantially increased the rate of these biological inva- The Indo-Pacific lionfish, Pterois volitans, was likely
sions particularly in marine and estuarine ecosystems. introduced off the Atlantic coast of Florida in the early
Although it is clear that invasions are having significant 1990s, presumably through releases from aquaria. It
impacts, the effects of most aquatic invasions remain spread rapidly along the eastern coast of the United
States and through the Caribbean. The lionfish is an ag32
The Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans has quickly established populations in the Western Caribbean, including Belize.
gressive invader in the Bahamas where it presumably
reaches densities of up to eight times that of its native
range Lionfish are voracious predators which can decimate populations of other reef fish. In the Bahamas one
study found that they reduced the recruitment of native
juvenile fish to coral reefs by 79% . Lionfish also have
venomous spines that can inflict painful wounds which
makes them a threat to public health, particularly in the
fishing and tourism industries. Their venomous spines
also deter most predators, which may limit predatory
controls of introduced populations, however they have
been found in gut contents of native grouper. There is
only scarce information on parasites of lionfish in its
native and introduced range. Our preliminary findings
show that lionfish have accumulated native parasites in
Panama but further widespread sampling is necessary
to evaluate this more fully. Initial reports suggest that
lionfish consume large quantities of crustaceans (as juveniles) and reef fishes (as adults). If in fact these fish
have few consumers (predators and parasites) in the
Caribbean, not only are they reducing the populations
of native invertebrates and fish through predation, but
they are also converting resources into lionfish biomass
which is not utilized by larger native predators.
Can we assume that lionfish will have similar demographic success and impacts across the entire
introduced range? A central assumption underlying exotic species risk analysis models is the notion that biological and ecological information gathered in a species’ native region can be applied directly to predict the
response of that species throughout its invaded range.
However there are few or no data from their native
or introduced range to verify this assumption. While
emerging reports are beginning to provide data on lionfish diet and abundance these are generally localized
studies and provide no broad latitudinal framework for
comparison.
In order to do an initial evaluation of the demography,
predatory impacts and potential parasite transmission
of the invasive lionfish across their introduced range we
compared (1) demographic performance, (2) gut contents (to begin to evaluate potential impacts), and (3)
parasitism across latitudes.
33
To date, we have collected and examined lionfish in
Florida, Mexico, Belize, and Panama. In Belize we collected lionfish in four sites between November and December, 2012. Our sites included Tobacco Caye, Carrie Bow Caye, Curlew Bank, and South Cut Reef (see
map). Once in the lab we examined the mouth, skin,
fins, muscle tissue, and internal organs of each lionfish.
The parasites that we encountered were identified to the
lowest taxonomic level possible. We also analyzed the
stomach contents in order to study the relationships between prey and parasite diversity. In order to determine
whether parasitism has an effect on lionfish fitness we
recorded the condition of each individual based on its
weight and length. Finally, we estimated lionfish abundance at each site using transects and by counting all
lionfish encountered per unit time.
Holocene Sea-Level Change in the
Caribbean: Implications for Geophysical
Modeling and Ocean-Climate Interactions
– 2012 Activities
Marguerite A. Toscano
Geologists and Holocene sea-level researchers Marguerite Toscano (SI Paleobiology), Juan L. Gonzalez
(Department of Physics and geology, The University of
Texas – Pan-American), along with marine biologists
Patricia Tester and Chris Holland (NOAA National
Ocean Service) spent the second half of January taking a new series of deep mangrove peat cores at North
Point, West island, Twin Cays. Our NOAA colleagues
also took the opportunity to conduct a winter/dry season
Gambierdiscus population study in the Carrie Bow Cay
back-reef lagoon, at several sites around Twin Cays and
at Douglas Cay (see report by Tester and Holland).
Maggie Toscano is assembling a new, high precision
database of sea-level index points spanning approximately 8,000 years of peat accumulation in response
to the Holocene transgression over the Belize from the
extensive mangrove environments and the unique deep
peat deposits along the Belize Barrier Reef. This work
builds upon a long-term Smithsonian-based effort to
reconstruct the Belize sea-level record from mangrove
peat, starting with the 1995 work of Macintyre, Littler and Littler at Tobacco Range (ARB 430), the 2003
Caribbean sea-level compilation of Toscano and Macintyre (Coral Reefs), and the 2004 work of Macintyre,
Toscano, Lighty and Bond (ARB 510) on Twin Cays.
Complementary work by Feller and McKee is increasing our understanding of the mechanisms of peat accumulation in response to sea-level change.
The author, Andrew Sellers dissecting Lionfish in the lab at
Carrie Bow Cay Field Station.
34
Our current NSF-funded study follows on our CCREfunded 2007 fieldwork (Toscano, Horton, McKee,
Macintyre) which allowed us to explore the range of
environments on West Island, Twin Cays, and to collect two side-by-side 10-m continuous peat cores on
which we completed full-core stable isotope analyses,
10 AMS radiocarbon dates and preliminary foraminiferal assessments. In 2011 Toscano and two students
took a 10-meter peat core and over 300 surface and infaunal modern mangrove foraminiferal samples along
three transects to delineate their distribution relative to
elevation and tide level changes, from the mangrove
fringe to the interior. Foraminiferal assemblages were
to define a site-specific transfer function allowing us
to interpret paleo-depth ranges of foraminiferal assem-
visited the Pelican Cays where we were
able to obtain basal peats at shallow
depths for the sea level reconstruction.
In the process of taking these cores we
refined our hand-coring technique to include reconnaissance auguring , which
allowed us to revisit numerous sites
previously vibracored by Macintyre
in 1985 (Macintyre, Toscano, Lighty,
Bond 2004, ARB) to confirm the stratigraphy and the bedrock depths all over
Twin Cays. We also made some interesting discoveries about the nature of
the peat at depth which defy widespread
assumptions of compaction, the nature
of the basal carbonate surface (and its
modern analog), and the marine carbonate muds that precede peat formation.
We have also introduced innovative lab
techniques to quantify peat densities to
assess compaction, and have sufficient
data to evaluate the lag times of basal
peat over carbonate muds vs. continuous peat formation in long sections.
Juan Gonzalez, Maggie Toscano and Chris Holland at North Point, Twin Cays.
blages sampled in long peat cores. Although we immediately sectioned the long core and mixed the peat samples with ethanol to inhibit dissolution of forams as the
peat was exposed to air, we found
that forams were not preserved at
depth, so the transfer function approach was not viable. Therefore
we returned to Belize in 2012 to
obtain a series of basal peats over
the known depth range of the
bedrock on Twin Cays, as well as
longer cores, to determine the sea
level record using a stratigraphic
approach.
We had great success coring at
North Point, where we obtained
10 cores and basal peats over a
5 meter elevation range. We also
obtained a long core to make
comparisons between the ages of
individual basal peats and the intermediate peats in the long section at the same elevations. We
Core showing transition at ~-10 meters from basal carbonate mud to peat deposition.
35
Biodiversity and Species
Conservation
Establishing a Captive Population of
Caribbean Acroporids:
Toward Ex Situ Conservation Techniques
Mike Henley and Abby Wood
As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, it
is clear that we are in the midst of an extinction crisis,
and the world’s zoos and aquariums are in a unique
position to serve as repositories for threatened and endangered species around the world. In addition to serving as stewards for these “live genetic banks,” the animals and plants maintained in these populations serve
as education ambassadors to their wild counterparts.
With the well-documented decline in Caribbean coral
populations and the subsequent addition of Acropora
palmata and Acropora cervicornis to the Endangered
Species List, it is imperative that zoos and aquariums
maintain these struggling coral communities in much
the same way that they maintain declining mammal,
bird, reptile, amphibian, etc. populations.
Prior to 2006, a captive population of Elkhorn coral,
Figure 2 – “Kreisel” system used to hold coral larvae during
Acropora palmata, did not exist, and captive populadevelopment.
tions of Staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, were
minimal. Founded by Dirk Petersen, the SECORE (Sexual Coral Reproduction) project has been working to establish the beginnings of the captive populations of these Caribbean acroporids. The first few
SECORE workshops were held in Puerto Rico, and
today zoos and aquariums throughout the US and Europe house Puerto Rican Elkhorn corals. However,
we need to diversify the genetics of our captive populations, ideally one day having a captive population
representing various Caribbean lineages. The reliably
spawning Acropora population at Carrie Bow and its
marine station provide a fantastic location to continue
this pursuit.
Figure 1 – Collection vial with thousands of egg/sperm bundles.
36
During last year’s coral spawn, our team of eight was
in the midst of rearing approximately three hundred
thousand larvae (total) from both Acroporid species,
and even a few thousand of the hybrid, Acropora prolifera. Tragically, we were forced to evacuate for two
days while Hurricane Harvey made its way across Belize, leaving the larvae to perish on the island. No
settled corals remain alive from the 2011 spawning
we were to evacuate, and we were
spared having to again leave our
larvae to perish. However, rough
seas prevented us from entering the
water on night six, and we were unable to collect any A. cervicornis,
which likely spawned that evening.
After five days of rearing the A. palmata larvae, we placed them in settlement bins with our tiles that had
been in the seawater system since
May. However, it was suggested to
us that we try to settle our larvae
directly on the crustose coralline
alga (CCA) Hydrolithon boergesenii. Once more, many thanks go
out to Raphael for showing us how
to identify Hydrolithon, and many
thanks are also bestowed upon JenFigure 3 – Two day old Elkhorn coral (A. palmata) larvae.
nifer Sneed for our field trip out to
season; however, Dr. Mary Hagedorn was able to
the reef flat to teach us to not only
cryopreserve embryonic cells from A. cervicornis be- locate the proper CCA Hydrolithon in the field, but
fore our evacuation.
also for showing us what CCA not to collect!
This year, only Abby Wood (Invertebrate Exhibit vol- As was expected, our A. palmata larvae much preunteer) and I were able to return to Carrie Bow for the ferred settling directly on the collected Hydrolithon
August 2012 Acropora spawn, with our sights once (see photo 4), though some did settle on the settleagain set on A. cervicornis and A. palmata. The cor- ment tiles as well. In the end, we decided to glue the
als gave us a small scare when they didn’t spawn until
night five after the full moon (the A. palmata significantly spawned that night, while only a few branches
of the A. cervicornis minimally spawned). We set collection nets on branches of several of the A. palmata
colonies, and after about 45 minutes we removed the
collection cups (now full of egg/sperm bundles – see
figure 1) to head back to the marine station and perform our in vitro fertilizations. Despite two people
trying to do the work that our team of eight accomplished last year, Abby and I managed to collect and
rear several thousand A. palmata larvae (many thanks
go to Raphael Williams for helping us with our fertilization concentration that night). The fertilized eggs
were then placed into our larval rearing “kreisel system” where they stayed the next few days (see figure
2) while we monitored their developmental progress
(see figure 3).
Once again, we had to face a hurricane; fortunately,
this year “Ernesto” turned north only hours before
Figure 4 – Aggregate settlement of Elkhorn coral (A. palmata)
larvae on the CCA Hydrolithon boergesenii.
37
CCA pieces to aragonite discs for transport back to
the Invertebrate Exhibit in Washington, D.C. We have
counted our surviving settlers to date, and we have
over 350 primary A. palmata polyps that made the
transit back to the Invertebrate Exhibit. Now begins
the time to be a nervous parent…
adapted to most habitats on the planet and is among the
most abundant and geographically widespread group of
prokaryotes known. Historically, the taxonomic classification of cyanobacteria has been based primarily on
morphological characterizations tied to morphospecies
of terrestrial and freshwater specimens from temperate
regions. As a consequence, the biological diversity of
Funds for this project were generously donated by cyanobacteria from tropical marine environments has
WAMAS (Washington Area Marine Aquarist Society) been almost completely overlooked. A primary focus
and the Smithsonian Marine Science Network.
of our research has been to uncover this biodiversity
using molecular-phylogenetic methods and to enhance
Biological and chemical diversity of marine our understanding of systematics and evolutionary history of this important group of microbes.
cyanobacteria from Carrie Bow Cay, Belize
Niclas Engene, Sarath Gunasekera,
and Valerie J. Paul
Cyanobacteria (“blue-green algae”) are considered the
most ancient group of oxygenic photosynthetic organisms. Over 3 billion years, this bacterial phylum has
The marine habitats around Carrie Bow Cay have provided an excellent environment to survey and explore
this biodiversity. From our initial work we have detected several new genera and species of marine cyanobacteria and we are currently in the process of taxonomically describing these new taxa.
A cyanobacteria bloom forms immediately adjancent to Carrie Bow Cay Field Station.
38
Marine cyanobacteria are also known for their prolific
biosynthetic capacities to produce bioactive secondary metabolites. Many of these bioactive molecules are
potent environmental toxins, causing hazardous harmful algal blooms. Our research on cyanobacteria from
Carrie Bow Cay has resulted in the detection and isolation of several known and new bioactive secondary
metabolites. This work also includes the characterization of such molecules and their bioactive properties
in their natural environment. Our hope is that this
chemical screening in combination with our phylogenetic studies will provide a better understanding
of the taxonomic distribution of these molecules.
ing Carrie Bow Cay and founding our CCRE (originally, IMSWE—Investigations of Marine Shallow-Water
Ecosystems) field station there. In February 1972, our
postdoctoral Fellow Arnfried Antonius (University of
Vienna, Austria, and Instituto Oceanographico, Cumaná, Venezuela) and I visited Glover’s Reef, one of
three atolls outside the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef off
Belize. Using a charter boat from Belize City, we in-
Cave and other cryptic shallow-water
sponge communities at Carrie Bow Cay
Klaus Ruetzler
Our group was composed of Mike Carpenter (volunteer manager), Carla Piantoni (research collaborator), Mary Parrish (scientific illustrator), Molly Ryan
(scientific illustrator), and myself. Carla and Mary
were partners during scuba dives. Our main objective was to resample sponges from cryptic habitats,
Interior of framework cave, covered by crusts of sponges and
such as fore-reef framework caves, lower surfaces of
coralline algae; the fairy basslet is a typical cave dweller.
platy coral rubble, and the inside of discarded conch
shells, to obtain duplicates of rare sponge species col- tended to return dive and boat equipment, used by us
lected during previous trips and voucher specimens and other Smithsonian scientists during surveys of the
matched with underwater photographs and laboratory atoll, to a storage facility at a hotel in Dangriga, on the
photo-macrographs. Most species found are different mainland. The boat crew, unfamiliar with the waters in
from those flourishing in illuminated habitats and many southern Belize, missed the intended passage through
are part of a fauna seen outside caves only in much the barrier reef near Tobacco Cay, so we decided to get
deeper water than the 0.5 m to 25 m zone covered by oriented by going ashore at a tiny islet with a concrete
our dives. A paper on sponge diversity, new and poorly dock. There were shuttered buildings but no people, but
known taxa, and distributional data is in progress and a sign said “Welcome to Carrie Bow Cay.” When we
covers more than 100 species.
arrived in Dangriga, we inquired about ownership of
We also resampled what we call “mini-reefs,” small the island and learned that it was the father of our host
reef clusters found among seagrass in shallow water at Pelican Beach Motel, Henry T. A. Bowman, a sec(1-3 m) in the south entrance of the nearby Twin Cays ond generation Scottish citrus planter; the island was
main channel. Molly had started a drawing of this com- his vacation retreat. “Sir Henry,” as we soon called him,
munity, mainly composed of small corals (e.g. Porites), agreed to let us lease the southern half of Carrie Bow
Cay for our research. I few months hence, we estabsponges (Lissodendoryx, Clathria, Tedania, Hyrtios),
and algae (mainly Halimeda) and a wealth of inverte- lished the Carrie Bow Marine Field Station. Now, 40
brate associates, including eusocial Synalpheus (found years and two building renovations later, we still have
again after discoverer Emmett Duffy its disappearance a flourishing research program at this unique location
from host sponges, particularly, at this location, L. and we celebrated with three generations of Sir Henry’s
columbiensis). We noted that community composition descendents, over dinner at Pelican Beach, our longlasting association and friendship.
has stayed quite stable over at least the past 15 years.
Finally, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of discover39
Mike Carpenter driving Mary Parrish (left) and Carla Piantoni to Curlew Cay cave site.
40
CCRE Contributions FY2012
Arnold, S. N. and R.S. Steneck. 2011. Settling into an increasingly hostile world: the rapidly closing ‘recruitment window’
for corals. PloS One6(12):e28681. doi:10.1371/joural.pone.0028681.
Aronson, R.B., W.F. Precht, I.G. Macintyre, and L.T. Toth. 2012. Catastrophe and the lifespan of coral reefs. Ecology
93(2): 303-313.
Baldwin, C. C. and L. W. Weigt. 2012. A new species of Soapfish (Teleostei: Serranidae: Rypticus), with redescription of
R. subbifrenatus and comments on the use of DNA barcoding in systematic studies. Copeia: 2012(1): 23-36.
Baldwin, C.C., B.J. Brito, D.G. Smith, L.A. Weight, and E. Escobar-Briones. 2011. Identification of early life-history
stages of Caribbean Apogon (Perciformes: Apogonidae) through DNA Barcoding. Zootaxa 3133: 1-36.
Bucher, K. E., J.N. Norris, and J.R. Sears. 2012. Gloiotrichus vermiculatus sp. nov. (Liagoraceae, Rhodophyta) a new species from the Caribbean Sea. Caribbean Journal of Science 47(1): 36-48.
Cheeseman, J. 2012. How red mangrove seedlings stand up. Plant and Soil 355: 395-406.
DeGrave, S. and D.L. Felder. 2012. The genus Processa in the vacinity of Carrie Bow Cay (Belize) with description of a
new species (Crustacea: Decapoda: Processidae). Zootaxa 3436: 41-50.
Dirks, U., H.R. Gruber-Vodicka, B. Egger, and J.A. Ott. 2012. Proliferation pattern during rostrum regeneration of the
symbiotic flatworm Paracatenula galateia – a pulse-chase-pulse analysis. Cell and Tissue Research 349(2): 517-525.
Dirks, U., H.R. Guber-Vodicka, N. Leisch, S. Bulgheresi, B. Egger, P. Ladurner, and J.A. Ott. 2012. Bacterial Symbiosis
Maintenance in the Asexually Reproducing and Regenerating Flatworm Paracatenula galateia. PLoS ONE 7(4): e34709.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034709.
Dirks, U., H.R. Guber-Vodicka, N. Leisch, W. Sterrer, & J.A. Ott. 2011. A new species of symbiotic flatworms, Paracatenula galateia n. sp. (Platyhelminthes: Catenulida: Retronectidae) from Belize (Central America). Marine Biology
Research 7(8): 769-777.
Fogarty, N.D. 2012. Caribbean acroporid coral hybrids are viable across life history stages. Marine Ecology Progress
Series 446: 145-159.
Fogarty, N.D., S.V. Vollmer, and D.R. Levitan. 2012. Weak prezygotic isolating mechanisms in threatened Caribbean
Acropora corals. PLoS ONE 7(2): e30486. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030486.
Hultgren, K. and J.E. Duffy. 2012. Phylogenetic community ecology and the role of social dominance in sponge-dwelling
shrimp. Ecology Letters 15: 704–713.
Lemaitre, R. and D. L. Felder. 2012. A new species of the hermit crab genus Areopaguristes Rahayu & McLaughlin, 2010
(Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Diogenidae) discovered in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef of Belize, Caribbean Sea.
Zootaxa 3480: 67-79.
Morrow, K.M., R. Ritson-Williams, C. Ross, M.R. Liles, and V.J. Paul. 2012. Macroalgal extracts induce bacterial assemblage shifts and sublethal tissue stress in Caribbean corals. PLoS ONE 7(9): e44859. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0044859.
Pedersen, T. M., C. L. Gallegos, and S. L. Nielsen. 2012. Influence of near bottom re-suspended sediment on benthic light
availability. Estuarine and Coastal Shelf Science 106: 93-101.
41
Romero, I.C., M. Jacobson, J. A. Fuhrman, M. Fogel and D. G. Capone. 2012. Long-term nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization effects on N2 fixation rates and nifH gene community patterns in mangrove sediments. Marine Ecology 33(1):
117–127.
Rützler, K. 2012. The Role of Sponges in the Mesoamerican Barrier-Reef Ecosystem, Belize. Pages 211-271 in M. A.
Becerro, ed. Advances in Sponge Science: Phylogeny, Systematics, Ecology. Advances in Marine Biology 61. Academic,
Oxford.
Sharp K.H., D. Distel, and V. J. Paul. 2012. Diversity and Dynamics of Bacterial Communities in Early life Stages of the
Caribbean coral Porites astreoides. The IMSE Journal 6: 790-801.
Vaslet, A., D.L. Phillips, C. France, I.C. Feller, and C.C. Baldwin. 2012. The relative importance of mangroves and
seagrass beds as feeding areas for resident and transient fishes among different mangrove habitats in Florida and Belize:
evidence from dietary and stable-isotope analyses. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 434–435: 81-93.
Wulff, J. 2012. Ecological interactions and the distribution, abundance, and diversity of sponges. Pages 273-344 in M. A.
Becerro, ed. Advances in Sponge Science: Phylogeny, Systematics, Ecology. Advances in Marine Biology 61.Academic,
Oxford.
2012 Participants
* served as station manager
Alanko, Jerry & Sandy, Tilghman, MD*
Arnold, Susie, Island Institute, Rockland, ME
Aronson, Richard, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL
Baker, David, SI Marine Science Network & Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Benson, Sam, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd., Edgewater, MD
Bornbusch, Sally, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA
Brightwater, Franklin, USA
Bulgheresi, Silvia, University of Vienna, Austria
Burns Perez, Virginia, Wildlife Conservation Society, Belize, C.A.
Burrows, Damien, James Cook Univeristy, Australia
Buston, Peter, Boston University, Boston, MA
Campbell, Allan, Vero Beach, FL*
Carpenter, Michael, Ellijay, GA*
Coleman, Robin, Wildlife Conservation Society, Belize, C.A.
D’Aloia, Cassidy, Boston University, Boston, MA
Davidson, Timothy, Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst., Panama
Dimond, James, Western Washington University, Shannon Point Marine Center, Anacortes, WA
Dramer, Greg and Joann, Kalispell, MT*
Ducket, Lisa, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd., Edgewater, MD
Duenas, Juisa, University of the Andes, Columbia
Duffy, Emmett, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA
Easson, Cole, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS
Engene, Niclas, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL
Feller, Ilka, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD
Fogarty, Nicole, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL/Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL
Fogel, Marilyn, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Foltz, Zach, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL
Forde, Alex, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Franklin, Amanda, Tufts University, Medford, MA
42
Freeman, Chris, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
Gallegos, Charles, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD
Gawne, Peter, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA
Gochfeld, Deborah, University of Missippi, Oxford, MS
Gonzalez, Juan, University of Texas, Austin, TX
Gouge, Daniel, Williston, FL*
Hansen, Carl & Ginger, Springfield, VA
Henley, Michael, Smithsonian Institution National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C.
Holland, Chris, Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research,National Ocean Service, NOAA, Beaufort, NC
Hootman, Jonathon, Whitesburg, KY*
James, Edwin & Bonnie, Tilgman, MD*
Jones, Scott, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL
Kaiser, Kathy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
MacDonald, Kenneth, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA
Kenworthy, Jud, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD
Keuskamp, Joost, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
David, Kevin, Dangriga, Belize, C.A.
Koltes, Karen, Office of Insular Affairs, Dept. of Interior, Washington, D.C.
LaPlante, Monika, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL
Leisch, Niko, University of Vienna, Austria
Macintyre, Ian, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Majoris, John, Boston University, Boston, MA
McKeon, Seabird, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL
Melkun, Jessica, Florida State University, Talahassee, FL
Miranda, Ashbert, Wildlife Conservation Society, Belize, C.A.
Moore, Joel & Linda, Shingle Springs, CA*
Nathan, Mayda, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Norales, Charles, Wildlife Conservation Society, Belize, C.A.
Ochoa, Edgardo, Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst., Panama
Olson, Julie, University of Alabama
Opishinksi, Thomas, Interactive Oceanographics, East Greenwich, RI
Ott, Joerg, University of Vienna, Austria
Parrish, Mary, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Parsons, Keith & Shirley, Atlanta, GA*
Paul, Valerie, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL
Pende, Nika, University of Vienna, Austria
Peresta, Gary, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd., Edgewater, MD*
Piantoni, Carla, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Reijngoud, Annemieke, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
Rickborn, Alissa, Boston University, Boston, MA
Ruetzler, Klaus Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Rihl, Stephanie, California Department of Fish and Game, Ramona, CA
Ritson-Williams, Raphael, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL/University of Hawaii
Ross, Clifford, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL
Rotjan, Randi, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA
Rubenstein, Dustin, Columbia University, New York, NY
Ryan, Molly, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Sanchez Munoz, Juan, University of the Andes, Columbia
Scheff, George, 4092 Norris Rd., Bellville, OH*
Schloeder, Carmen, Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst., Panama
Sellers, Andrew, Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst., Panama
Sherwood, Craig, Deale, MD*
Smith, Derek, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Sneed, Jennifer, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL
43
Spathias, Hanae, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
Taylor, Jim & Tanya, Oxford, MS*
Teplitski, Max, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Tester, Patricia Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research,National Ocean Service, NOAA, Beaufort, NC
Tin Chi, Soloman Chak, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA
Torchin, Mark, Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst., Panama
Toscano, Marguerite, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Toth, Lauren, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL
Tschirky, John, Washington, D.C.
Weber, Michelle, University of California, Berkeley
Wesby, Danny, Wildlife Conservation Society, Belize, C.A.
Wood, Abby, Smithsonian Institution National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C.
Wulff, Colin, Talahassee, FL
Wulff, Janie, Florida State University, Tallahasee, FL
Photograph & Art Credits: Front Cover: Abby Wood, p.6 R. Coleman, p.7 A. Wood, p.8 Z. Foltz, p.9 K. Koltes, p.11 Z.
Foltz, p.12 R, Aronson, p.13 A. Wood, p. 14 R. Ritson-Williams, p. 15 R. Ritson-Williams, p. 16 P. Buston, p.17 P. Buston,
p. 18 A. Forde, p. 19 D. Gochfeld, p. 20 D. Gochfeld, p. 21. J. Wulff, p. 22 A. Arthur, E. Duffy, p.23 S. Bulgheresi, p.24 S.
Bulgheresi, p. 25 J. Ott, p. 26 M. Faust, p. 28 R. Ritson-Williams, p. 29 D. Baker, p. 30 I. Feller, p. 31 J. Keuskamp, p. 32
A. Sellers, p. 33 A. Wood, p.35 M. Toscano, p.36 A. Wood, p. 37 A. Wood, p.38 A. Wood, p.39 C. Piantoni, p.40 C. Piantoni, Back Cover: top: M.S. Jones, A. Wood, A. Wood; center: A. Wood; bottom: R. Ritson-Williams, Z. Foltz, A. Wood
We are extremely grateful to Abby Wood of Abois Photography and an associate of the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park for the use of her excellent photos. To see more of her work, visit http://abois.zenfolio.com/carriebow.
Smithsonian Marine Station
Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program
Fort Pierce, FL · Carrie Bow Cay, Belize
www.ccre.si.edu
www.sms.si.edu
CCRE Staff:
Valerie Paul, Director
Zach Foltz, Station Manager
Scott Jones, Program Coordinator
44
45