Coral connectivity between deep and shallow sites in the Upper Florida Keys : identifying deep water refugia and assessing their importance as sources of coral replenishment following bleaching.

Abstract

This report describes year 3 of a project aimed at developing new genetic markers (DNA microsatellites) from focal coral species Porites astreoides, Montastraea cavernosa, Agaricia agaricites and Siderastrea siderea. The markers would be used to assess and compare patterns of connectivity between 3 depth zones in reefs in the Upper Florida Keys. In addition, the project aimed to compare the results from M. cavernosa and P. astreoides with those obtained from these species in Bermuda and U.S. Virgin Islands.