With the decline of reef-building corals on tropical reefs, sponges have emerged as an
important component of changing coral reef ecosystems. Seemingly simple, sponges are …

Most sponges produce skeletons formed by spicules, structural elements that develop in a
wide variety of sizes and tridimensional shapes. The morphologies of spicules are often …

Preexploitation shark baselines and the history of human impact on coral reef–associated
shark communities in the Caribbean are poorly understood. We recovered shark dermal …

Tropical coastal systems play a vital role in sustaining biodiversity, performing ecological
functions, and providing ecosystem services. They are also home to 75% of people in the …

Sponges (Porifera) are a key component of many coral reef ecosystems. In some
biogeographic regions, they are considered the dominant benthic fauna and they have the …

Many Caribbean coral reefs are heavily degraded, yet their pre-human, natural states are
often assumed or estimated using space-for-time substitution approaches. Here we use an …

Reef cores are a powerful tool for investigating temporal changes in reef communities.
Radiometric dating facilitates the determination of vertical accretion rates, which has allowed …

Little is known about long-term changes in coral reef fish communities. Here we present a
new technique that leverages fish otoliths in reef sediments to reconstruct coral reef fish …

Humans have utilized the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) for millennia but the effects of
prehistorical and historical fishing on this ecosystem remain understudied. To assess the …

The map turtles and sawbacks (Graptemys) sort by female head width into narrow-headed
(microcephalic) females of 5 species that eat few mollusks, moderately broad-headed …