Raw light data, coral host genotypic information and zooxanthellae type and relative abundance from coral reefs in the Florida Keys 2015-09-21 to 2016-05-26 (NCEI Accession 0175572)

Several parameters were used to assess coral bleaching in the Florida Keys as part of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). The data described in this package are light, seawater pH, and coral symbiont assemblage data collected from the upper and lower Florida Keys. Light data was collected using a PAR sensor which measures light as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, umol m-2 s-1). Seawater pH was collected using a SAMI pH sensor or a SeaBird SeaFET pH sensor. These sensors were located at the same sites as the PAR sensors and recorded pH hourly. During peak bleaching (22-25 September 2015), 20 colonies of O. faveolata were sampled with a hammer and chisel from 10 sites (n=200 total coral samples). All corals were sampled from the top of the colony given that symbiont types can change with colony orientation. A small subsample was immediately preserved in 95% ethanol for genetic analysis. Genomic DNA was extracted using the organic extraction protocol described in Rowan and Power (1991). Quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were used to understand patterns of algal symbiont community structure to detect the presence of background symbiont types. Zooxanthellae type and abundance data are described in this package to understand the relationship between O. faveolata and Symbiodinium to assess coral bleaching responses. Symbiont assemblages in the data set are described by clades A, B, C and D since O. faveolata has been shown to associate with members from all these clades.