However, scientists have limited knowledge of the food sources and the processes that sustain them on the West Florida Shelf, particularly on the southern portion of the shelf, which lies largely beyond the influence of river plumes.
Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has received a $999,664 grant from the Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Program (FLRACEP) for a three-year project titled, “Influences of Upwelling and Riverine Nutrient Plumes on the Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems of the West Florida Shelf.”
FLRACEP is a state-led initiative that funds research to support the long-term health and sustainability of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Created in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and funded by the RESTORE Act, the program is managed by the Florida Institute of Oceanography. It supports collaborative projects among top scientists and institutions, focusing on ecosystem restoration, fisheries, coastal resilience and offshore energy safety. The goal is to provide science-based solutions that guide environmental protection and sustainable growth in the gulf region.
The FAU project seeks to understand how ocean currents and nutrients from land influence the health and productivity of MCEs along the edge of the West Florida Shelf, which is home to one of the largest MCEs in the gulf. These deep coral habitats are built on exposed rocky seafloor and support vibrant communities of corals, sponges and fish – many of which are economically important and rely on these areas for spawning. While a few protected areas have been established to safeguard these fish populations, much of the West Florida Shelf remains open to fishing, and large areas have yet to be fully explored or mapped.
The project team, spearheaded by Mingshun Jiang, Ph.D., principal investigator and an associate research professor at FAU Harbor Branch, includes researchers from Florida State University and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. The team will identify areas of high ecological value and describe the benthic communities.
Through four research cruises, scientists will study both nutrient-rich sites in the north and nutrient-poor areas in the south. The team will use underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles to capture images and collect samples of corals, plankton and sediments. A suite of instruments will be deployed to measure currents, nutrients and sediment parameters including nutrient supplies from the sediment. At the same time, a novel imaging system called AUTOHOLO, developed by FAU Harbor Branch researchers, will be deployed to document plankton communities over the MCEs.
Researchers also will place instruments on the seafloor to document seasonal environmental conditions including temperature, currents, nutrients, dissolved oxygen and pH. All this information will be used to develop a computer model at FAU Harbor Branch that provides a broad picture of environmental conditions and fish larval transport.
“The mesophotic coral ecosystems along the West Florida Shelf are some of the gulf’s most valuable yet least understood habitats,” said Jiang. “Our goal is to uncover how ocean currents and nutrient flows sustain these valuable ecosystems and the marine life they support. These systems are influenced by complex physical and biological processes, and many questions remain about how food reaches these depths and how it varies across the shelf. By filling these critical knowledge gaps, our research will contribute to science-based management – helping protect these ecosystems and the fisheries that depend on them, especially in the face of environmental change.”
This project will generate a detailed dataset on ocean conditions, water movement, and marine life across key mesophotic coral sites, including areas near features like De Soto Canyon. Researchers will map seafloor habitats and compare reef health in areas with different levels of nutrient availability. The study will also shed light on what drives upwelling, where nutrients and organic matter come from and how they reach the reefs. By examining specific water layers above the MCEs, the team will better understand the conditions that shape these ecosystems.
The project team will work closely with NOAA scientists to study how fish larvae disperse, including economically important species like gag (Mycteroperca microlepis) and red grouper (Epinephelus morio), which are heavily fished and vulnerable to environmental problems like red tides. Data will also be collected on the distribution of other less-studied fish associated with the MCEs that are caught as fisheries bycatch. Data collected from this project will be shared with NOAA scientists who also study MCEs in the gulf.
“By delivering the kind of high-quality, interdisciplinary science that’s been missing for these coral ecosystems, this project will directly support enhanced management and stronger protection of mesophotic habitats in the gulf,” said James M. Sullivan, Ph.D., executive director of FAU Harbor Branch. “The data gathered will not only fill major knowledge gaps but also give managers the tools they need to make informed decisions – from designing conservation strategies to identifying new marine protected areas. These ecosystems support valuable fisheries and biodiversity, and outcomes from this project will help ensure their resilience for the future.”
Co-principal investigators of the project are Jordon Beckler, Ph.D., an associate research professor at FAU Harbor Branch; Aditya R. Nayak, Ph.D., an associate professor, Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering within FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and a research scientist at FAU Harbor Branch; Sandra Brooke, Ph.D., research faculty, Coastal and Marine Laboratory, FSU; and Steven Morey, Ph.D., a professor of environmental sciences at FAMU.
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About Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute:
Founded in 1971, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University is a research community of marine scientists, engineers, educators, and other professionals focused on Ocean Science for a Better World. The institute drives innovation in ocean engineering, at-sea operations, drug discovery and biotechnology from the oceans, coastal ecology and conservation, marine mammal research and conservation, aquaculture, ocean observing systems and marine education. For more information, visit www.fau.edu/hboi.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, Florida Atlantic serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across six campuses located along the Southeast Florida coast. In recent years, the University has doubled its research expenditures and outpaced its peers in student achievement rates. Through the coexistence of access and excellence, Florida Atlantic embodies an innovative model where traditional achievement gaps vanish. Florida Atlantic is designated as a Hispanic-serving institution, ranked as a top public university by U.S. News & World Report, and holds the designation of “R1: Very High Research Spending and Doctorate Production” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Florida Atlantic shares this status with less than 5% of the nearly 4,000 universities in the United States. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
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