Title: HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF OCEANOGRAPHIC CONNECTIVITY IN THE PULLEY RIDGE

Abstract: Pulley Ridge is a mesophotic 60-m-deep reef system located 66-km west of the Dry Tortugas. Far from the coast and surface, it is not affected by coastal pollution and/or bleaching from water temperature fluctuations. Many of the species living at Pulley Ridge are also found in shallower water, and they may be connected. Studying the oceanographic conditions in the region can help determine the extent to which the corals, sponges, and reef fishes living at Pulley Ridge are related to the shallower coral reef ecosystems of the Dry Tortugas and the Florida Keys, and other regions in the west Florida shelf. Here we consider historical surface drifting buoy trajectory data. More than 150 drifters are found to visit the Pulley Ridge area since 1996. A statistics of arrival times to potential settlement sites is constructed. This is compared with that of settlement times of regional species reported in the literature. Potential mean connecting pathways are deduced and the implications of their spatiotemporal variability are discussed.

Authors: Olascoaga MJ, Vaz AC, Paris CB, Smith RH

Presentation: Oral

Session: 15

Date: 06/23/16

Time: 14:15

Location: 317 A/B

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