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Research Theme 4: Fish Ecology 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth Meet The Team Research Collaborators Dr. Chelsea Harmes-Tuohy Dr. Nicolas Schizas Dr. Evan Tuohy Research Technicians Shaun Kadison, MSc* Sarah Heidmann, MSc* Jenna Cheramie, MSc* *current lab members Virgin Islanders Dr. Rick Nemeth Research Professor Dr. Kayla Blincow-Israel, Post-Doc / Assistant Professor 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Undergraduate Students Arbelson Mora* Jonicia Cardin* Ver Néle Callwood Chloe Camacho Samuel Gittens Keedencia Harris MMES Graduate Students Stefanie Maxin* Madison Miele* Sierrah Mueller* Taylor Hobbs* Greg O’Neill* Jenna Cheramie* Kayla Budd* Danielle Olive Sophie Costa 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Collaborations How does terrestrial sedimentation affect the feeding & reproduction of parrotfishes? Introduction – Fish Ecology 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Terrestrial sediments in marine environment Changes in parrotfish species composition and foraging rates How will these changes affect parrotfish spawning frequency & fecundity? Benthic impacts Decreased coral Increased algae Hypothesis: Parrotfish populations change with ecosystem state Goal FE1 ANALYZE HISTORICAL DATA TO DETERMINE HOW NATURAL AND HUMAN STRESSORS ON CORAL REEFS AFFECT PARROTFISH ASSEMBLAGES. Goal FE2 DETERMINE IF SEDIMENTATION AND BENTHIC CHARACTERISTICS AFFECT FEEDING AND REPRODUCTION OF PARROTFISHES. Goal FE3 INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF OCEANOGRAPHIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES THAT INFLUENCE REPRODUCTIVE RATES OF PARROTFISHES Research Goals and Objectives 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology GOAL 1: ANALYZE HISTORICAL DATA TO DETERMINE HOW NATURAL AND HUMAN STRESSORS ON CORAL REEFS AFFECT PARROTFISH ASSEMBLAGES 1.2. Effect of terrestrial sedimentation on composition of parrotfish communities 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Historical Data: 1999 – 2020 • Sediment collection sites (n=14) mostly associated with coral health assessments • Fish surveys sites: 10 of 21 sites associated with sediment data • Differences in parrotfish assemblages tested across all sediment monitoring sites Sparisoma spp. Scarus spp. Research, Outcomes & Accomplishments Scarus spp. biomass declined Sparisoma spp. biomass increased initially then declined at higher sediment flux Major Findings 1.2 GOAL 1: ANALYZE HISTORICAL DATA TO DETERMINE HOW NATURAL AND HUMAN STRESSORS ON CORAL REEFS AFFECT PARROTFISH ASSEMBLAGES 1.1. Effect of 2005/2006 and 2010 coral bleaching / mortality events on parrotfish communities. 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Historical Data: Territorial Coral Reef Monitoring Program (TCRMP 21 sites) • 2003-2005 (pre-bleaching) • 2006-2010 (post 2005 bleaching) • 2011-2014 (post 2010 bleaching) • Rapid increase in macroalgae & decrease in coral cover following bleaching events Rapid increase in Scarus spp. & Sparisoma spp. density post- disturbance Increase in biomass of Sparisoma spp. but not Scarus spp. Major Findings 1.1 Research, Outcomes & Accomplishments Changes In Macroalgae & Coral Cover 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Mean % Benthic Cover Across Sites Each Year Coral Cover Macroalgae Cover 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Sediment: 195 tiles analyzed Algae: 432 benthic transects Foraging: 169 fish follows Acoustic Array: 55 receivers Fish tracking: 60 fish for 374 days = 2,532,749 detections Map Credit: Jenna Cheramie M.S. Thesis West FSA East FSA GOAL 2: DETERMINE IF SEDIMENTATION AND BENTHIC CHARACTERISTICS AFFECT FEEDING AND REPRODUCTION OF PARROTFISHES 2.1. Determine how sediment load differs between high and low development areas 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Sedimentation Stations • 5 x 3 tile matrices (n = 18) deployed across study area • Terracotta tiles mimicked reef substrate • Loss-on-ignition procedure to calculate sediment composition Research, Outcomes & Accomplishments West has double the amount of sediment than the East Half of sediment is land-based Proportional composition of sediment is nearly identical between sides Major Findings 2.1 Mean Sediment Weight (g) West East * Total sediment: p < 0.001 Composition: p = 0.993 48.7% 51.3% 49.0% 51.0% Low Coastal Development High Coastal Development N = 99 N = 96 Cheramie et al. in prep GOAL 2: DETERMINE IF SEDIMENTATION AND BENTHIC CHARACTERISTICS AFFECT FEEDING AND REPRODUCTION OF PARROTFISHES 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Research, Outcomes & Accomplishments Algae Composition • 432 benthic transects conducted West has significantly higher % cover macroalgae than East East has significantly higher % turf algal cover than West Major Findings 2.2 Mean Percent Cover Macro Macro Turf Turf Cheramie et al. in prep GOAL 2: DETERMINE IF SEDIMENTATION AND BENTHIC CHARACTERISTICS AFFECT FEEDING AND REPRODUCTION OF PARROTFISHES 2.3. Determine how sediment load and algal composition affect Sparisoma rubripinne feeding 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Bites/min on turf p = 0.0001 Bites/min on macro p = 0.001 Parrotfish Feeding on Algae • 169 fish follows conducted • Classified food type & substrate Research, Outcomes & Accomplishments Fish in West consumed significantly more brown macroalgae Fish in East consumed significantly more turf algae Major Findings 2.3 West East West East Proportion of Bites Turf Macro Cheramie et al. in prep GOAL 2: DETERMINE IF SEDIMENTATION AND BENTHIC CHARACTERISTICS AFFECT FEEDING AND REPRODUCTION OF PARROTFISHES 2.4. Assess dietary differences in areas with higher sediment and macroalgae 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Drs. C. Harmes-Tuohy & N. Schizas University of Puerto Rico Parrotfish Diet • Metabarcoding of gut contents Research, Outcomes & Accomplishments 202 parrotfish collected from 4 sites, 150 analyzed for diet All samples have been processed and sequenced Preliminary data shows presence of seagrass, brown/green/red algae, and cyanobacteria Major Findings 2.4 GOAL 2: DETERMINE IF SEDIMENTATION AND BENTHIC CHARACTERISTICS AFFECT FEEDING AND REPRODUCTION OF PARROTFISHES 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Terrestrial sediment in parrotfish guts West East Sediment wt. (g) 0 1 2 3 4 5 2022 season April August Nov/Dec Sediment wt. (g) 0 1 2 3 4 5 p = 0.04 p = 0.006 Analysis of Sediment in Fish Guts • Same methods used for sediment analysis Fish fromEast sites hadsignificantly more terrestrial sediments in guts than West • Fish feeding on macroalgae bite off tips of algae whereas fish feeding on turf scrape the substrate • Fish that fed more on turf in the East may have ingested more sediments since turf tends to trap sediment April had significantlyhigher sediment in guts than August or Nov/Dec Major Findings 2.4 2.4. Assess dietary differences in areas with higher sediment and macro-algae Research, Outcomes & Accomplishments GOAL 2: DETERMINE IF SEDIMENTATION AND BENTHIC CHARACTERISTICS AFFECT FEEDING AND REPRODUCTION OF PARROTFISHES 2.5. Effects of sedimentation and benthic composition on frequency of spawning and fecundity 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Parrotfish Spawning Frequency • Tracked presence/absence of 60 fish at 2 spawning sites using array of 55 acoustic receivers • 2.5 million detections across 374 tracking days Research, Outcomes & Accomplishments Mean Visitation Frequency N = 372 N = 372 P < 0.001 Mean Duration (seconds) N = 2863 N = 3570 West FSA East FSA Fish visited East FSA significantly more often than West FSA Fish spent significantly more time at the East FSA No effect of monthly sediment or algae composition on spawning frequency or duration Major Findings 2.5 GOAL 3: INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF OCEANOGRAPHIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES THAT INFLUENCE REPRODUCTIVE RATES OF PARROTFISHES 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Oceanographic & Environmental Parameters Research, Outcomes & Accomplishments Deployed ADCP and collected oceanographic and echo-sounder data for over 12 months Working with Nortek to extract and interpret ADCP data Successfully identified sound associated with parrotfish spawning Major Findings 3.0 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Research Interdependencies Ammonium Total phosphate Total nitrogen Nitrates + nitrites Collaborating with team leads Marilyn Brandt, David Hensley and Doug Wilson to integrate oceanographic and environmental data among research areas. We are continuing to mentor and train graduate and undergraduate students. 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Broader Impacts, Intellectual Merits, & Sustainability SCHOLARSHIP OUTREACH TRAINING NEW INSIGHTS GAINED FUNDING SUSTAINED ➢2 Master’s theses completed ➢15 presentations at national & international conferences ➢9 peer-reviewed publications ➢350 people engaged at UVI’s Afternoon on the Green ➢Produced video documentary ➢70 citizen scientists reporting on watershed awareness ➢1 post-doc ➢3 research techs ➢24 MMES & 10 undergrads trained in research diving & fisheries techniques. ➢Research is guiding new insights into factors affecting parrotfish herbivory and reproduction ➢5 grants totaling $916,000 received to support fish ecology research (NOAA, NMFS, WRRI, Ocean Kind, VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources) 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Spawning parrotfish at Reef Bay Western aggregation site Year 4 Goals • Use hydrophone to estimate frequency of spawning events. • Collect parrotfish eggs from spawning rushes to calculate reproductive output. • Integrate oceanographic data to understand the influence of currents on spawning • Begin analysis of environmental data from water quality sampling • Synthesize benthic and sediment data and fish movement patterns for publication Thank you! Dr. Rick Nemeth rnemeth@uvi.edu 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Richard Nemeth – Fish Ecology Research Theme 5: Oceanography 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith & Doug Wilson Ocean Glider Deployment, St. Thomas Dan Mele Photo ➢Physical processesfrom the dee p ocean to the coastline impact regional ecosystems’ functionality, health, and resilience. ➢Functions include thermal stressresponse, recovery after disturbance, animal reproduction, and connectivity of organisms and materials, such as sediment, in the marine environment. ➢Oceanic, atmospheric, and terrestrial processes are coupled and interdependent, making OCEANOGRAPHY a critical research element. Oceanography 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith & Doug Wilson Meet The Team Dr. Rick Nemeth VI-EPSCoRco-P.I. Professor, UVI Ms. Vanessa McKague Oceanographic Technician Dr. Paul Jobsis Director, CMES Mr. Travis Hamlin Data Manager Glider Technician Dr. Dan Holstein Asst. Professor LSU Dr. Kayla Blincow Asst. Professor UVI Dr. Tyler Smith VI-EPSCoR co-P.I. Professor, UVI Mr. Doug Wilson Courtesy Professor, CMES 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith & Doug Wilson OCEANOGRAPHY ➢Our overall GOAL is to develop and perpetuate the human, physical, and cyber infrastructure to support oceanographic research that contributes to a deeper understanding of ocean processes and their influence on USVI ecosystems, coastlines, and population. 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith & Doug Wilson Initial Quantify the influence of oceanographic and environmental variables on significant R2R processes (fish behavior, larval dispersal) Years 1- 3 Reef Bay spawning studies Years 1 -3 USCROMS model studies (dispersal + new Sargassum award) Years 1 - 3 Share USVI Oceanography Research with Stakeholders & Provide Opportunities for New Partnerships Years 1-3 Goals & Activities 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith & Doug Wilson UVI Ocean Glider Lab (NSF MRI) Developing New Ocean Modeling Capabilities through partnerships Exploring new ocean research partnerships – Roxsi Year 4 Goals ➢Focus on new strategies and partnerships while continuing to address wider impacts and student opportunities. 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith & Doug Wilson UVI Ocean Glider Lab Glider Lab – NSF MRI • Supports multiple aspects of UVI R2R research • VI Marine Mammal studies with NOAA SEFSC • Opportunitiesfor new partnerships • Supports other unmannedassets • Attractive to diverse array of student interests 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith & Doug Wilson All these will provide new outreach opportunities to community, students, and UVI researchers – including STEM engagement from other disciplines – and will provide a long-term base capability for the Oceanography program and supporting researchers and faculty. 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith & Doug Wilson MMES Graduate Students 2023- Recent Papers and Presentations Mukherjee, S., D. Wilson, P. Jobsis, and S, Habtes, 2023. Numerical modeling of internal tides and submesoscale turbulence in the US Caribbean regional ocean. Sci Rep 13(1) DOI 10.1038/s41598- 023-27944-2 Gradone, J, W. Wilson, S. Glenn, T. Miles, 2023. Upper Ocean Transport in the Anegada Passage from Multi-Year Glider Surveys.J. Geophys Res, 128(7), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC019608 Wilson, D., 2022. Gliders, climatology, and ocean models – what we can learn about the NE Caribbean by increasing upper ocean observationdensity. Underwater Gliders Users Group Workshop Seattle ’22, https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ 1QFua98fWN6yAlyWmtnVS22kjX89t0Rg6 Impacts and Research Results 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith & Doug Wilson- Oceanography Cole Sheeley, Joshua Solls Jesse Joy Dishon Heyliger Undergraduates – Rutgers U. Glider Workshop, 2022 Zach Briggs Collaborations 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith & Doug Wilson- Oceanography Thank you! Dr. Tyler Smith tsmith@uvi.edu Doug Wilson Doug.WIlson@uvi.edu 2023 SITE VISIT Research Theme 6: Marine Disease and Restoration 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt Introduction Coral Disease and Restoration 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Meet The Team Dr. Marilyn Brandt Research Professor 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Sonora Meiling, M.Sc.* Sonora Meiling, M.Sc.* Kayla Budd* Samuel Gittens Jr.* Nicholas Durgadeen* Kathryn Cobleigh, M.Sc.* Jason Quetel Dan Mele, M.Sc.* Brad Arrington, M.Sc.* Chloe Camacho* Natasha Bestrom, M.Sc.* Rachel Ionata, M.Sc. Sarah Von Hoene *UVI graduate Ancestral Virgin Islander Faculty & Staff 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Odessa Matthew Kadejsha Tonge Kahlifah Powell Amanda Badai Dr. Becky Gibbel Shamoy Bideau Davis Strobel Avery Coble Veronica Williamson Ancestral Virgin Islander Meet The Team Students Meet The Team Dr. Robin Smith Research Assistant Professor 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Alexandra Cormack Casey Whalen Coral Larval Technician Coral Restoration Ecology Lab Makayda Gustave Undergraduate Researcher Ancestral Virgin Islander Coral Disease 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MD1 Determine how species biodiversity affects the spread and impact of coral disease MD2 Determine how local stressors (e.g., nutrients, turbidity) and global stressors (e.g., temperature stress) drive temporal and spatial distributions of disease. MD3 Predict the spread and impact of multi-species coral disease. MD4 Share disease research with stakeholders through participation in outreach and education activities ResearchGoals And Objectives Marine Disease 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MD1 Determine how species biodiversity affects the spread and impact of coral disease MD2 Determine how local stressors (e.g., nutrients, turbidity) and global stressors (e.g., temperature stress) drive temporal and spatial distributions of disease. MD3 Predict the spread and impact of multi-species coral disease. MD4 Share disease research with stakeholders through participation in outreach and education activities ResearchGoals And Objectives Marine Disease 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Quantify disease across species assemblages Test how variability in species assemblages affects disease prevalence across reef habitats MD1: Disease & Diversity Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MD1: Disease and Diversity Quantify disease across species assemblages ✓Brandt et al. 2021 – Species susceptibility ✓Costa et al. 2021 - Impact of diversity on disease 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MD1: Disease and Diversity Compare disease incidence among experimental species assemblages ✓Experimental transmission experiment accelerated due to emergence of SCTLD ✓Meiling et al. 2021 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration NSF Collaborative RAPID grant – analyze samples from a multi-species SCTLD transmission experiment 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MD1 Determine how species biodiversity affects the spread and impact of coral disease MD2 Determine how local stressors (e.g., nutrients, turbidity) and global stressors (e.g., temperature stress) drive temporal and spatial distributions of disease. MD3 Predict the spread and impact of multi-species coral disease. MD4 Share disease research with stakeholders through participation in outreach and education activities ResearchGoals And Objectives Marine Disease 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Test effect of water quality and temperature stress on disease prevalence Test effect of water quality and temperature stress on disease transmission MD2: Disease, Water Quality & Temperature Stress Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MD2: Disease, Water Quality & Temperature Stress Test effect of water quality and temperature stress on disease prevalence ✓Water quality sampling for two consecutive years (ongoing) ✓NASA EPSCoR grant for satellite comparison (C of C, KSU) ✓WRRI grant for microbial sampling and analysis (WHOI) 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MD2: Disease, Water Quality & Temperature Stress Test effect of water quality and temperature stress on disease transmission ✓Temperature stress disease transmission experiment completed in 2022 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MD1 Determine how species biodiversity affects the spread and impact of coral disease MD2 Determine how local stressors (e.g., nutrients, turbidity) and global stressors (e.g., temperature stress) drive temporal and spatial distributions of disease. MD3 Predict the spread and impact of multi-species coral disease. MD4 Share disease research with stakeholders through participation in outreach and education activities ResearchGoals And Objectives Marine Disease 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Use hydrodynamic model outputs to parameterize a connectivity model Produce coral species grid MD3: Predict the spread of disease Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MD3: Predict the spread of disease Use hydrodynamic model outputs to parameterize a connectivity model ✓Hydrodynamic model runs completed and used by D. Holstein's lab in initial testing. More work needed. 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MD3: Predict the spread of disease Produce coral species grid ✓Ph.D. student Benjamin Farmer dissertation work (M. Brandt a committee member) ✓As part of NSF Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease (EEID)- funded work, Ben working on SIRD model to increase accuracy of model predictions (presented at ICRS) 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MD1 Determine how species biodiversity affects the spread and impact of coral disease MD2 Determine how local stressors (e.g., nutrients, turbidity) and global stressors (e.g., temperature stress) drive temporal and spatial distributions of disease. MD3 Predict the spread and impact of multi-species coral disease. MD4 Share disease research with stakeholders through participation in outreach and education activities ResearchGoals And Objectives Marine Disease 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MD4: Share disease research (all years) Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MD4: Share disease research 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Vicoraldisease.org ✓Vicoraldisease.org hosted by Brandt lab and managed by VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) ✓M. Brandt, S. Meiling and other Brandt lab members are regular contributors to the Virgin Islands Coral Disease Advisory Committee (VI-CDAC) ✓Regular interviews with local news agencies Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MD4: Share disease research 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration TEDx Saint Thomas ✓1 poster and 9 oral presentations about USVI coral disease research at the 2022 International Coral Reef Symposium ✓2 posters and 1 oral presentation at the 2023 Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean meeting Coral Restoration 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MR1 Expand capacity for restoration ecology research in the U.S. Virgin Islands MR2 Determine how diversity affects success of coral outplanting MR3 Determine how gradients in water quality affect success of coral outplanting MR4 Share restoration research with stakeholders through participation in outreach and education activities ResearchGoals And Objectives Restoration 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MR1 Expand capacity for restoration ecology research in the U.S. Virgin Islands MR2 Determine how diversity affects success of coral outplanting MR 3 Determine how gradients in water quality affect success of coral outplanting MR4 Share restoration research with stakeholders through participation in outreach and education activities ResearchGoals And Objectives Restoration 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MR1: Expand capacity Hire Restoration Ecology Research faculty Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments Scalable Coral Restoration using Selective-Breeding and Assisted Evolution Technologies ✓Construction of large-scale Larval Rearing Units ✓Symbiont diversity surveys for parental selection. ✓Completed 12-month captive gametogenesis & spawning ✓Pre-trial fertilization and settlement onto RFID substrates. 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments Evaluating Micro-fragmentation as a Coral Restoration Technique ✓Created over 500 micro-fragments of coral and 15 large fragments ✓Monitored post-fragmenting mortality rates ✓Comparing: ✓Rate of instantaneous skeleton growth ✓Symbiont community shifts ✓Tissue Biomass ✓Tissue surface area ✓Buoyant weight ✓Symbiont density 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MR1 Expand capacity for restoration ecology research in the U.S. Virgin Islands MR2 Determine how diversity affects success of coral outplanting MR 3 Determine how gradients in water quality affect success of coral outplanting MR4 Share restoration research with stakeholders through participation in outreach and education activities ResearchGoals And Objectives Restoration 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MR2: Diversity and Outplanting Perform diversity outplanting experiment Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MR2: Diversity and Outplanting Perform diversity outplanting experiment ✓Experiment deployed in January 2022 ✓Preliminary results presented at ICRS July 2022 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MR1 Expand capacity for restoration ecology research in the U.S. Virgin Islands MR2 Determine how diversity affects success of coral outplanting MR 3 Determine how gradients in water quality affect success of coral outplanting MR4 Share restoration research with stakeholders through participation in outreach and education activities ResearchGoals And Objectives Restoration 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Perform water quality outplanting experiment MR3: Water quality and restoration Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MR3: Outplanting and Water Quality Perform water quality outplanting experiment ✓Adeline Shelby’s MMES thesis experiment deployed in January 2023 ✓Complemented with water quality sampling 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Nearshore Offshore MR1 Expand capacity for restoration ecology research in the U.S. Virgin Islands MR2 Determine how diversity affects success of coral outplanting MR 3 Determine how gradients in water quality affect success of coral outplanting MR4 Share restoration research with stakeholders through participation in outreach and education activities ResearchGoals And Objectives Restoration 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration MR4: Share restoration research Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MR4: Share restoration research ✓Reefresponse.org ✓Educational signage at Lovango Cay, in process for Hull Bay 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Reefresponse.org Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MR4: Share restoration research ✓Coral Chronicles booklet published ✓Reef Response video almost complete 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments – MR4: Share restoration research ✓1 poster and 2 oral presentations focused on coral restoration at the 2022 International Coral Reef Symposium ✓1 poster and 4 oral presentations at Reef Futures 2022 ✓3 posters at Association of the Marine Labs of the Caribbean meeting 2023 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Water quality Fish movement Watershed dynamics Research Interdependencies • Water quality data collected for Marine Disease and Restoration complementary to Watershed water quality data and is being used by the Fish Movement work 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Coral Disease Susceptibility Restoration transplant experiment outcomes Reef Resilience Research Interdependencies • Disease susceptibility and restoration success informing reef resilience 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Hydrodynamics (Oceanography) Coral reef connectivity and thermal resilience (Reef Resilience) Coral disease spread Research Interdependencies • Hydrodynamics from Oceanography and coral reef distribution and histories from Reef Resilience will inform Coral disease spread models 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Coral Restoration outcomes Mangrove Restoration outcomes Coastal and Community Resilience Research Interdependencies • Coral and Mangrove habitat restoration overlapping goals for coastal protection and community engagement 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Diversity 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration College Graduate Pre-college Reef Response undergraduate SEAS intern Kahlifah Powell, accepted into 2024 MMES cohort SEAS Graduate fellow Shamoy Bideau, past ECS SEAS workforce fellow Chloe Camacho, past undergrad researcher Workforce Coral Disease Treatment Specialist Sam Gittens Jr., past SEAS undergrad intern Coral Restoration Specialist Nicholas Durgadeen, past SEAS undergrad intern Broader Impacts 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration UVI faculty & staff MMES alumni Current MMES student Broader Impacts 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration UVI faculty & staff MMES alumni or past student Broader Impacts 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration ~41% of authors & contributors UVI/MMES associates and alumni Broader Impacts 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Collaborations 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Hire post-doc Advertise and hire post-doctoral associate in Disease and Restoration Integrate modeling Work with Oceanography theme and D. Holstein’s laboratory to integrate data and begin modeling Further transmission and restoration experiments Dependent on the Marine Science building completion Year 4 Goals 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Marilyn Brandt – Marine Disease and Restoration Thank you! Dr. Marilyn Brandt EMAIL: mbrandt@uvi.edu PHONE: 340-693-1376 2023 SITE VISIT Research Theme 7: Coral Reef Resilience The Virgin Islands Reef Resilience Study 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith Collaborations 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith - Coral Reef Resilience Collaborations Meet The Team - VIRRS Tyler B. Smith, Ph.D. Lauren K. Olinger, Ph.D. 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Marilyn E. Brandt, Ph.D. Peter J. Edmunds, Ph.D. And 38 more! Virgin Islands Reef Resilience Study Goal 1 Determine the internal and external drivers most critical to coral reef ecosystem resilience in the USVI and identify targets for restoration of resilience. Hypothesis I (H I): The resilience of USVI’s marine ecosystems is reduced through interacting stress drivers but may be modulated through increased genetic and species diversity. 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Sonora Meiling Approach Virgin Islands Reef Resilience Study 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Mennebeck Reef, St. John. Data courtesy of the National Park Service 2005 Bleaching 2017 Hurricane Irma 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Resistance 2005 Recovery 2007-2017 Study Sites Relative change in coral cover (%) Absolute change in coral cover (% per year) St. Croix St. Thomas and St. John Territorial Coral Reef Monitoring Program Virgin Islands National Park Service California State U. Northridge - Edmunds 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Resistance Community Susceptibility Realized environmental stress Smith et al. 2016 Genetic Susceptibility Acclimation Degree Heating Weeks Calculated from TCRMP sites in bleaching year 2019 + 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Recovery 2007-2017 Absolute change in coral cover (% per year) Satellite Chlorophyll a Modeled Wave Power Coral Competition Herbivory Some examples of potential drivers of recovery Internal External 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience T. Smith ✓Create a comprehensive database (50 long-term coral reef monitoring sites) and identify gaps ✓Develop metrics of resilience ✓Analyses of long-term coral reef data to uncover drivers of resilience Year 4 Goal 1 Determine the internal and external drivers most critical to coral reef ecosystem resilience in the USVI and identify targets for restoration of resilience. • Objectives → Objective 1: Database Development Objective 2: Metric Development Objective 3: Analyses 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience R. Ennis MacNeil et al. 2019 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Website homepage of core data repository website homepage of core data repository 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience 35 sites, 27 genera, 15 years (link) 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Completed Near Complete In Progress 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Results, Outcomes & Accomplishments The VIRRS workshop is scheduled ✓Up to 42 participants from within and outside the USVI ✓At UVI on November 3 & 4 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Virgin Islands Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research August 16, 2023 Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to invite you to the Virgin Islands Reef Resilience Study (VIRRS) Workshop on November 3-4, 2023! The VIRRS workshop is hosted by the Virgin Islands Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR) and will be held at the University of the Virgin Islands on the St. Thomas campus. Continue reading for more details about the workshop, and please RSVP to indicate your availability by Wednesday August 30 by replying to the invite email or by sending a separate email to lauren.olinger@uvi.edu. The primary goal of the workshop is to discuss the core VIRRS study. This study integrates benthic survey and biophysical data that comprise external (physical oceanography) and internal (coral reef health and biodiversity) drivers of reef resilience. Data sources include three long-term monitoring programs and recent models of oceanographic circulation, connectivity, and satellite-based water quality, spanning ~40 sites and two decades. The goal of this study is a unified analysis of these datasets to determine the internal and external drivers that are most critical to coral reef ecosystem resilience and identify targets for restoration in the region. Workshop discussion topics will include overview of the findings, validity of the analyses and underlying data, management implications, and timeline for publication. Participants may divide into working groups to (1) discuss follow-up research questions and approaches to answering those with either existing data or new experiments and (2) develop driver- or site-specific metrics for resistance and recovery after disturbances. This research is timely given the current unprecedented SST and likely bleaching in the next few months. We will host two zoom meetings, one before the workshop (mid-October) to orient everyone to the data and analyses, and the second after the workshop to share progress on the core study and any follow-up research. We may offer short virtual sessions during the in-person workshop for those who cannot travel, but we highly recommend attending in person to get the full experience. Travel and lodging costs for participants will be covered by VI-EPSCoR, and we will provide more details about coordinating travel plans in the coming weeks. Please let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing back and working with you all on this exciting project! Regards, Lauren Olinger Tyler Smith VIRRS Workshop Organizers 2 John Brewers Bay I St. Thomas, USVI 00802 I www.viepscor.org Meet The Team – Connectivity & Biodiversity Tyler B. Smith, Ph.D. Lauren K. Olinger, Ph.D. 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Daniel M. Holstein, Ph.D. Benjamin Farmer Sonaljit Mukherjee, Ph.D. Connectivity and Biodiversity Study Goal 2. Understand the impact of regional larval connectivity patterns on biodiversity patterns. Hypothesis: Stronger larval sink locations, or high centrality habitats, that receive coral larval input from diverse upstream habitats are areas of increased species diversity and, hence, resilience 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Develop regional connectivity model for coral reef organisms Determine network and habitat connectivity metrics and corresponding estimates of biodiversity Analyze the relationship between realized diversity and connectivity, stress, and past disturbances Year 4 Goal 1 Understand the impact of regional larval connectivity patterns on biodiversity patterns • Objectives → Objective 1: Database Development Objective 2: Metric Development Objective 3: Analyses 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience S. Heidmann 1272 surveys total 264 > 30 m depth 0 23 46% Coral Cover Legend Example biological data: The National Coral Reef Monitoring Program 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience ➢US Caribbean Regional Ocean Model allows the tracking of virtual particles with the Connectivity Modeling System Paris CB, Helgers J, van Sebille E, Srinivasan A (2013) Connectivity Modeling System: A probabilistic modeling tool for the multi-scale tracking of biotic and abiotic variability in the ocean. Environmental Modelling & Software 42:47-54 Connectivity 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Research, Outcomes & Accomplishments 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience 41:961–972 Resilience Disease Oceanography Restoration Education & Outreach Research Interdependencies The marine resilience theme is strongly dependent on past and current research investments and will feed directly into management (e.g., restoration) and education and outreach 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Data for the masses! Engagement Management & Restoration What is Possible with Investment Training Tomorrow’s Scientists A quality-controlled database of multiple coral reef and oceanographic data sets for the territory. Engagement of multiple professionals on a central project of high importance for understanding coral reef resilience Evidence-based directions for more effective resource management and restoration Highlights the utility of multiple investments in ecosystem data collection and will be an attractor for more funding Contributes to the training of students and post-doctoral researchers Broader Impacts, Intellectual Merit, & Diversity 2023 SITE VISIT Dr. Tyler Smith – Coral Reef Resilience Thank you! Dr. Tyler Smith EMAIL: tsmith@uvi.edu PHONE: 786-564-4090 2023 SITE VISIT