Kevin Lafferty

May 14, 2024 | pubs.usgs.gov | Sara D. Swaminathan |Kevin Lafferty |Andrew Altieri

Many Caribbean coral reefs are near collapse due to various threats. An emerging threat, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), is spreading across the Western Atlantic and Caribbean. Data from the U.S. Virgin Islands reveal how SCTLD spread has reduced the abundance of susceptible coral and crustose coralline algae and increased cyanobacteria, fire coral, and macroalgae.

May 3, 2024 | science.org | Bingjie Hao |Sicong He |Sara D. Swaminathan |Kevin Lafferty

Research ArticleOCEANOGRAPHYSara D. Swaminathan https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8631-3582 [email protected], Kevin D. Lafferty, [...] , Nicole S. Knight https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9256-242X, and Andrew H. Altieri https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7439-8742+1 authors fewerAuthors Info & AffiliationsAbstractMany Caribbean coral reefs are near collapse due to various threats. An emerging threat, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), is spreading across the Western Atlantic and Caribbean.

Mar 6, 2024 | pubs.usgs.gov | Kevin Lafferty

Many studies have shown that environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling can be more sensitive than traditional sampling. For instance, past studies found a specific qPCR probe of a water sample is better than a seine for detecting the endangered northern tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi. Furthermore, a metabarcoding sample often detects more fish species than a seine detects. Less consideration has been given to sampling costs.