IN SEARCH OF JUVENILE CORALS

RESEARCH MISSION
Corals are the largest constructors on the face of the earth. They are natural architects in the shallow sea only productive when juvenile corals are recruiting. At every dive location in Little Cayman we see evidence of recruitment. This project will investigate the potential for these baby corals to survive and replenish the local reefs which have shown dramatic declines over the past decades. Results from this work will be used to determine whether the mature corals are reproducing at rates that can ultimately maintain this colossal structure. We are also examining how coral diversity is impacted by the level and species recruiting (macro-photographers are especially invited to join this mission).

THE RESEARCHER(S)
Oceanographer Carrie Manfrino is president and founder of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute. Her Ph.D. was granted by the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science in Marine Geology and Geophysics. She is an associate professor of oceanography and brings a lifetime of experience diving and researching both modern and ancient coral reefs. For fun, she teaches college courses in tropical ecology and conservation at the Little Cayman Research Center.

DIVING ACTIVITIES
Each research dive will involve several activities. Divers will be shown how to locate and identify baby corals. Some corals have already been tagged with small stainless steel tags. These tags will need to be cleaned and corals will be photographed. At some dive sites, divers will work with their dive buddy to locate and photograph untagged juvenile corals. Photographs will be archived and used to develop a complete species list of the coral community.