Don Hickey tightens a bolt on a coral calcification monitoring station. Corals are being monitored for growth and sampled for climate proxy indicators (isotopes, elemental ratios).
Ilsa B Kuffner, Ph.D.
Ilsa Kuffner is a Research Marine Biologist at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.
As a research marine biologist for the Coastal and Marine Geology Program, I investigate the causes and effects of coral reef degradation. I explore local- to global-scale stressors on reefs, and experimentally determine how environmental variables such as sea-surface temperature, water quality, seawater chemistry, nuisance macroalgae, and ocean acidification affect coral growth, the community structure of reefs, and the process of reef building. My work informs resource managers about the mechanisms causing reef degradation and how management efforts may be improved to protect and restore degraded reefs. Please visit the USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies (CREST) website for more information (see link below).
Professional Experience
Research Marine Biologist, US Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal & Marine Geology Science Center, 2002 to present
Faculty, School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies, Turks & Caicos Islands, 2001 to 2002
Director, Forfar Field Station, Andros Island, Bahamas, 2000 to 2001
Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Guam Marine Laboratory, Post-doc advisor: Valerie J. Paul, 1999 to 2000
Education and Certifications
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Zoology, Ph.D. Chair: Paul L. Jokiel, 1999
Bachelor of Arts, University of New Hampshire, Department of Zoology, Minor: Marine Biology, 1993
Science and Products
Experimental data comparing two coral grow-out methods in nursery-raised Acropora cervicornis
Data for evaluating the Sr/Ca temperature proxy with in-situ temperature in the western Atlantic coral Siderastrea siderea
Coral cores collected in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, U.S.A.: Photographs and X-rays
Don Hickey tightens a bolt on a coral calcification monitoring station. Corals are being monitored for growth and sampled for climate proxy indicators (isotopes, elemental ratios).
Here are shown a series of photographs of a rice coral (Montipora capitata) shaded with light filters during a natural “coral bleaching” event observed during anomalously high ocean temperatures in Autumn of 2004 on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.
Here are shown a series of photographs of a rice coral (Montipora capitata) shaded with light filters during a natural “coral bleaching” event observed during anomalously high ocean temperatures in Autumn of 2004 on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.
Shallow coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands are in jeopardy due to climate warming and ocean acidification.
Shallow coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands are in jeopardy due to climate warming and ocean acidification.
Improving estimates of coral reef construction and erosion with in-situ measurements
Quantifying uncertainty in Sr/Ca-based estimates of SST from the coral Orbicella faveolata
A 3,000‐year lag between the geological and ecological shutdown of Florida's coral reefs
A framework for identifying and characterising coral reef “oases” against a backdrop of degradation
Sea-level rise could overwhelm coral reefs
Plasticity in skeletal characteristics of nursery-raised staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis
Fidelity of the Sr/Ca proxy in recording ocean temperature in the western Atlantic coral Siderastrea siderea
Collection methods and descriptions of coral cores extracted from massive corals in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, U.S.A.
The structure and composition of Holocene coral reefs in the Middle Florida Keys
A geological perspective on the degradation and conservation of western Atlantic coral reefs
Coral calcification and ocean acidification
A new record of the late Pleistocene coral Pocillopora palmata from the Dry Tortugas, Florida reef tract, USA
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Experimental data comparing two coral grow-out methods in nursery-raised Acropora cervicornis
Data for evaluating the Sr/Ca temperature proxy with in-situ temperature in the western Atlantic coral Siderastrea siderea
Coral cores collected in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, U.S.A.: Photographs and X-rays
Don Hickey tightens a bolt on a coral calcification monitoring station. Corals are being monitored for growth and sampled for climate proxy indicators (isotopes, elemental ratios).
Don Hickey tightens a bolt on a coral calcification monitoring station. Corals are being monitored for growth and sampled for climate proxy indicators (isotopes, elemental ratios).
Here are shown a series of photographs of a rice coral (Montipora capitata) shaded with light filters during a natural “coral bleaching” event observed during anomalously high ocean temperatures in Autumn of 2004 on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.
Here are shown a series of photographs of a rice coral (Montipora capitata) shaded with light filters during a natural “coral bleaching” event observed during anomalously high ocean temperatures in Autumn of 2004 on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.
Shallow coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands are in jeopardy due to climate warming and ocean acidification.
Shallow coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands are in jeopardy due to climate warming and ocean acidification.
Improving estimates of coral reef construction and erosion with in-situ measurements
Quantifying uncertainty in Sr/Ca-based estimates of SST from the coral Orbicella faveolata
A 3,000‐year lag between the geological and ecological shutdown of Florida's coral reefs
A framework for identifying and characterising coral reef “oases” against a backdrop of degradation
Sea-level rise could overwhelm coral reefs
Plasticity in skeletal characteristics of nursery-raised staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis
Fidelity of the Sr/Ca proxy in recording ocean temperature in the western Atlantic coral Siderastrea siderea
Collection methods and descriptions of coral cores extracted from massive corals in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, U.S.A.
The structure and composition of Holocene coral reefs in the Middle Florida Keys
A geological perspective on the degradation and conservation of western Atlantic coral reefs
Coral calcification and ocean acidification
A new record of the late Pleistocene coral Pocillopora palmata from the Dry Tortugas, Florida reef tract, USA
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.