As we head back to Harbor Branch to process samples and begin data analysis on the ROV videos and photos, we reflect back on yet another successful research cruise to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. We exceeded all of our objectives with the diligent help of the sanctuary staff and members of the R/V Manta crew and hope to be releasing some novel and interesting data in the near future!
Technological developments in marine science and underwater imaging have advanced rapidly in the past few decades. . While we still rely on traditional SCUBA to collect coral samples, the ROV equipped with HD still and video cameras allows us to dive much deeper, stay down longer, and see more details. With three team members focused on habitat description and species IDs and one database annotator, we attempt to generate comprehensive records of the geological and biological characteristics of the banks. Josh, Michael, and Jennifer tried their hand at piloting the ROV and found that their experience with the quadcopter prepared them well. In addition to the suite of underwater cameras at the team’s disposal, we used the quadcopter to document on-deck activity, such as diver entries, ROV deployment and recovery, and even conducted aerial reef mapping at East Bank. Our GoPro is also an easy data collector that clips on to dive gear with minimal bulk and user effort, giving us more high definition footage of the reefs. Tools that are marketed for recreational fields have proven to be invaluable for science and continue to expand our lab’s research capabilities.
As we head back to Harbor Branch to process samples and begin data analysis on the ROV videos and photos, we reflect back on yet another successful research cruise to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. We exceeded all of our objectives with the diligent help of the sanctuary staff and members of the R/V Manta crew and hope to be releasing some novel and interesting data in the near future! This post written by Jennifer Polinski.
In addition to collecting samples and scouting for mesophotic transplant sites, the Voss Lab also utilized the ROV’s capabilities to explore deep habitats by surveying the nearby McGrail Bank. McGrail Bank is located just outside of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary boundaries and also contains potentially important deep reef communities. All members of the team rotated through various jobs associated with ROV ops, including identifying species, annotating bottom characteristics and species in Harbor Branch’s database, taking photos for the 30 randomly selected photo transects, and assisting with ROV deployment and recovery. Jobs rotated every two hours so that each team member had the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the ROV exploration. Doing the first two jobs required a keen eye and quick typing, as some areas had extremely dense patches of corals and fish. Using the database allows us to easily group all of the ROV data into one repository and makes data analysis downstream much easier. For instance, the instant we walked off the ship at the end of the cruise, the database could generate a report of ROV sites, transect coordinates and times, species tallies, and even lionfish sightings, all of which are to be submitted to NOAA. After exploring McGrail Bank, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to explore Bright Bank for the last half working day of the cruise. An additional 9 random photo transects were completed here, east of the East Flower Garden Bank. Photos from the transects, which were taken every 30 seconds, will be used to analyze the communities’ composition and percent cover in the coming months. After patiently waiting for nearly a year, the Voss Lab was thrilled to finally explore mesophotic depths with the new Mohawk ROV. This exciting new tool is owned by the National Marine Sanctuary foundation and operated by CIOERT. During the latter half of the first two cruise days, the team used the Mohawk ROV to scout for specific corals species along the edges of the coral caps at 150ft. To assess the direct effects of mesophotic depths on coral biology and physiology, Michael will be conducting a reciprocal transplant experiment. Using the ROV, we were looking for potential sites with M. cavernosa at 140-160 ft. The teams were pleased to find geologically and biologically diverse ledges surrounding parts of both Flower Garden Banks, including numerous M. cavernosa that are perfectly sized for transplants. In most areas, coral cover exceeded 60% and was dominated by large plating sheets of Orbicella franski, encrusting and mountainous M. cavernosa, and boulder-like Stephanocoenia intercepta. Some of the colonies were over 9ft in diameter, meaning they are hundreds of years old. Of course, the extremely rugose structure provided by the corals hosted a diverse array of sponges, fish, and invertebrates.
In May 2015, the Voss lab hopes to return to FGB and conduct technical dives to set up the experiment. The objective is to move shallow colonies to mesophotic conditions and mesophotic colonies to shallow conditions (with spatial and procedural controls) and repeatedly sample them over the next three years. This experiment will help to uncover some of the mechanisms that allow the same coral species to survive at both shallow and mesophotic depths. Michael will analyze these samples with a variety of metrics including microsatellites, gene expression profiling, and skeletal morphometrics. From what we have seen on this cruise and previous cruises in 2010-2012, FGB appears to be an ideal location to conduct the experiment and establish monitoring of transplanted corals. This post written by Michael Studivan.
On the first two days of the cruise, Josh and Michael spent their mornings SCUBA diving on both the East and West Flower Garden Banks with divers Emma Hickerson, John Embesi, and Ryan Eckert from the National Marine Sanctuary office. We dove on the relatively shallow coral cap at 70ft to collect additional Montastraea cavernosa and Agaricia sp. to characterize skeletal morphology, zooxanthellae assemblages, and population genetics of the corals. Josh described the coral caps accurately as epic. Coral cover is 50-90%, comprised mostly of massive Orbicella, Montastraea, Siderastrea, Colpophyllia, Pseudodiploria, and Stephanocoenia species. Some colonies are encrusting and flattened on the reef substrate, but most form huge mounds and boulders between 4-10ft in height. This extensive ecosystem provides habitat for commercially important snapper and grouper as well as large pelagic species like whale sharks, turtles, and sharks. The Flower Gardens are truly a phenomenal reef system, and certainly worth the long haul more than 100 miles offshore. With a total of 30 or more samples from each bank, Michael will be able to resolve population genetic structure within FGB and areas of the Caribbean. He and Samantha Johnston will also use these samples to analyze differences in the corals’ skeletal structure. Jennifer aided in sample collection and processing. She will use the zooxanthellae isolated from these samples to characterize and compare algal symbiont communities vertically within mesophotic communities and horizontally with samples collected at various locations throughout the Caribbean. Dr. Voss, PhD Candidate Michael Studivan, Masters Student Jennifer Polinski, and HBOI CIOERT colleague John Reed (HBOI) depart today for a six-day research cruise in the Gulf of Mexico at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Our team will include FGBNMS researchers and UNCW ROV pilots, building on our previous projects and collaborations in the Flower Gardens. We look forward to working once again with the very capable crew aboard the R/V Manta, an aluminum catamaran capable of 40+ knots.
Our mission goals are threefold: (1) to collect shallow Montastraea cavernosa and Agaricia spp. for population genetics, skeletal morphology, and symbiont analyses at East and West Flower Garden Banks, (2) to map, survey, and characterize benthic communities at McGrail Bank, and (3) to look for suitable sites for Michael’s mesophotic reciprocal transplant experiment. To accomplish these goals, we will be conducting SCUBA ops and using the Mohawk ROV. There will be no internet once at sea, but check back for blog updates once we get back next Thursday! |
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