Cyanobacterial blooms on coral reefs and algal epizoic growth on corals in Southwest Puerto Rico

Benthic, Bloom, Conservation, Coral, Disease, Ecology, Microbiology, Monitoring, Water quality

Author: David L. Ballantine, Ph.D. Institution: University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Year: 2006 One of the recently recognized threats to coral reef health is overgrowth by macroscopic algae. Algal blooms are becoming increasingly widespread on a worldwide scale with the phenomenon involving both geographical expansion and increased biomass. Virtually all macroalgal blooms appear to be initiated by nutrient…

Reef fish spawning aggregations of the Puerto Rican shelf

Conservation, Ecology, Fish, Habitat, Management, Reef, Snapper, Spawning

Author: Edgardo Ojeda, Ph.D. Institution: University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Year: 2007 Known spawning aggregation sites (SPAG’s) for reef fishes from Puerto Rico consisted only of several red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) sites and one each for tiger grouper (Mycteroperca tigris) and mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis). This project initiated an interview-based survey as a first step to identify additional…

Mapping red hind groupers at spawning aggregation sites with an AUV and long-term acoustic recorders in Puerto Rico

Acoustic, Ecology, Fish, Grouper, Habitat, Management, Mapping, Remote sensing, Spawning

Author: David Mann, Ph.D. Institution: University of South Florida Year: 2008 Field trips to Mona Island and the West Coast of Puerto Rico and subsequent data analysis have revealed a unique sound associated with male red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) territoriality, which has been identified and characterized. Data corresponds to two months of recordings from long-term acoustic recorders (LARS)…