OCEAN LECTURE SERIES

"Fishes of Florida's Deep-Water Coral Reefs: Observation and Conservation"
• Tracey Sutton, Ph.D.

About the Lecture

Dr. Sutton will be presenting results of research on the fishes found in association with the deep-water corals of the Miami Terrace, located in 200 to 600 m of water, just 15 miles off the east coast of Florida. This research was conducted using the HBOI Johnson-Sea-Link research submersible and the ORCA Eye-In-The-Sea long-term observation platform.

Deep-sea habitats lying at the edge of FloridaÕs continental shelf are poorly known. Fragile habitats such as the deep-water corals found on the Miami Terrace are susceptible to damage from dredging and trawling activities, commercial and recreational fishing, and offshore construction to support FloridaÕs ever-expanding population. Deep-water coral ecosystems provide important habitat for fishes and invertebrates and are similar in function to shallow reefs. In this talk, Dr. Sutton will present observational data on the fishes of one such reef, including day/night behavior cycles, and we will discuss the importance of conserving these biodiversity hotspots.

About the Speaker

Dr. Tracey Sutton heads the Fish and Plankton Ecology lab within the Center for Ocean Exploration at Harbor Branch. Dr. Sutton is the recipient of research grants totaling in excess of $2 million and is the author of nearly 30 scientific publications. He has participated in 62 oceanographic research cruises, 25 of these as chief scientist, and served as consultant for the Discovery Channel/BBC filming of The Blue Planet series. He has served on the committees of students and postdocs at Florida Atlantic University, Florida State University, the University of WashingtonÕs School of Oceanography, the University of the Azores, and the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology in Moscow. TraceyÕs research interests focus on fish community and population ecology, zooplankton ecology and trophic interactions, and quantitative marine ecology with an emphasis on biophysical coupling across multiple trophic levels. His recent work has been conducted along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Iceland to the Azores), in the abyssal Sargasso Sea, as well as partnering with fellow HBOI and ORCA scientists to study the fishes off FloridaÕs Southeast coast.