Physiological Differences in Bleaching Response of the Coral Porites astreoides Along the Florida Keys Reef Tract During High-Temperature Stress

The Florida Keys reef tract (FKRT) has a unique geological history wherein Holocene sea-level rise and bathymetry interacted, resulting in a reef-building system with notable spatial differences in reef development. Overprinted on this geologic history, recent global and local stressors have led to degraded reefs dominated by fleshy algae, soft corals, and sponges. Here, we assessed how coral physiology (calcification rate, tissue thickness, reproduction, symbiosis, and bleaching) varies seasonally (winter vs. summer) and geographically using 40 colonies of the mustard hill coral Porites astreoides from four sites across 350 km along the FKRT from 2015 to 2017. The study coincided with a high-temperature event in late summer 2015 that caused heterogeneous levels of coral bleaching across sites. Bleaching severity differed by site, with bleaching response more aligned with heat stress retroactively calculated from local degree heating weeks than those predicted by satellites. Despite differences in temperature profiles and bleaching severity, all colonies hosted Symbiodiniaceae of the same genus (formerly Clade A and subtypes). Overall, P. astreoides at Dry Tortugas National Park, the consistently coolest site, had the highest calcification rates, symbiont cell densities, and reproductive potential (all colonies were reproductive, with most planula larvae per polyp). Corals at Dry Tortugas and Fowey Rocks Light demonstrated strong seasonality in net calcification (higher in summer) and did not express visual or partial-mortality responses from the bleaching event; in contrast, colonies in the middle and southern part of the upper keys, Sombrero Key and Crocker Reef, demonstrated similar reduced fitness from bleaching, but differential recovery trajectories following the heat stress. Identifying reefs, such as Dry Tortugas and possibly Fowey Rocks Light that may serve as heat-stress refugia, is important in selecting candidate sites for adaptive reef-management strategies, such as selective propagation and assisted gene flow, to increase coral-species adaptation to ocean warming.

Green turtle mitochondrial microsatellites indicate finer-scale natal homing to isolated islands than to continental nesting sites

In highly mobile philopatric species, defining the scale of natal homing is fundamental to characterizing population dynamics and effectively managing distinct populations. Genetic tools have provided evidence of regional natal philopatry in marine turtles, but extensive sharing of maternally inherited mitochondrial control region (CR) haplotypes within regions (<500 km) often impedes identification of population boundaries. Previous CR-based analyses of Florida (USA) green turtle Chelonia mydas nesting sites detected at least 2 populations, but the ubiquity of haplotype CM-A3.1 among southern rookeries decreased the power to detect differentiation. We reassessed population structure by sequencing the mitochondrial microsatellite (short tandem repeat, mtSTR) in 786 samples from 11 nesting sites spanning 700 km from Canaveral National Seashore through Dry Tortugas National Park. The mtSTR marker subdivided CM-A3.1 into 12 haplotypes that were structured among rookeries, demonstrating independent female recruitment into the Dry Tortugas and Marquesas Keys nesting populations. Combined haplotypes provided support for recognition of at least 4 management units in Florida: (1) central eastern Florida, (2) southeastern Florida, (3) Key West National Wildlife Refuge, and (4) Dry Tortugas National Park. Recapture data indicated female nesting dispersal between islands <15 km apart, but haplotype frequencies demonstrated discrete natal homing to island groups separated by 70 km. These isolated insular rookeries may be more vulnerable to climate change-mediated nesting habitat instability than those along continental coasts and should be monitored more consistently to characterize population status. Broader application of the mtSTR markers holds great promise in improving resolution of stock structure and migratory connectivity for green turtles globally.

Regional differences in an established population of invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles) in south Florida

About nine years ago (circa 2009), Indo-Pacific lionfishes (Pterois volitans and P. miles) invaded the south Florida coral reef ecosystem. During the intervening period of time, there has been substantial research on their biology, life history, demography, and habitat preferences; however, little is known concerning their regional population status and trends in the region. Here, we use a large-scale fisheries independent reef fish visual survey to investigate lionfish population status among three south Florida regions: Dry Tortugas, Florida Keys, and southeast Florida. Density estimates (ind ha−1) have been relatively stable since 2012, and are lower than other areas reported in the western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. Low, stable population densities in south Florida suggest there may be a natural mechanism for lionfish population control. In the Dry Tortugas, lionfish density in 2016 was significantly lower (0.6 ind ha−1 ± 0.15 SE) than the two other south Florida regions. The Dry Tortugas region has the highest percentage of marine protected areas, the lowest level of exploitation, and thus the highest densities of potential lionfish predators and competitors. In the Florida Keys and southeast Florida in 2016, lionfish densities were greater (5.4 ind ha−1 ± 1.0 SE and 9.0 ± 2.7 SE, respectively) than the Dry Tortugas. Fishing pressure on lionfish was higher in these two regions, but densities of several potential predators and competitors were substantially lower. Despite relatively low regional lionfish densities that can be attributed to some combination of fishing mortality and natural biocontrol, lionfish are still well established in the south Florida coral reef ecosystem, warranting continued concern.

A new species of shrimp of the genus Periclimenaeus Borradaile, 1915 (Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae) from the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, including a key to the western Atlantic species of the genus

A new species of symbiotic palaemonid shrimp, Periclimenaeus mcmichaeli sp. nov., is described based on a single male specimen collected near Dry Tortugas, Florida, in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. This new species, the 14th now known for the genus Periclimenaeus Borradaile 1915 from the western Atlantic, is morphologically most similar to P. wilsoni (Hay, 1917), from which it can be separated by the presence in the new species of two small subdistal teeth on the ventral margin of the rostrum, absence of small spinules or tubercles on ventral margin of the meri of the major and minor chelipeds, presence of three teeth on the cutting edge of the dactylus of the minor chela, and position of dorsal spines on the telson. The presence in this new species of a prominent acute projection on each pleurae of the third and fourth somite is documented, and appears to be a character previously overlooked in the taxonomic literature of species of the genus. This new species is compared with other similar congeners from the western Atlantic as well as other oceanic regions. An updated diagnosis for P. wilsoni, and a key to identify the western Atlantic species of the genus, are also presented.