We are happy to announce that Pari Cribbins successfully defended her thesis entitled, “eDNA Surveys for the Critically Endangered Caribbean Staghorn Coral, Acropora cervicornis (Lamarck, 1816).” This represents our lab’s first full foray into eukaryotic environemental DNA work. Funded by the Brian Keller Foundation Pari has helped develop eDNA methods for rare species, and chose a target taxon, the staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, which is unfortunately becoming increasingly rare on our local S. Florida reefs. Many of heard of this year’s reef bleaching events, and also a follow up study to the 2023 marine heat wave showing that A. cervicornis appears to be functionally extinct in the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas. This realization makes methods such as eDNA even more important to potentially detect, measure and hopefully rescue and protect the rare colonies and individuals that remain. Conversely, eDNA could detect species that may be invading habitats. Thank you to her committee members Karen Neely and Steven Miller for their valuable time and support.
Lopez Lab @ NSU 