One of the most significant questions facing marine ecology today is to understand the spatial structure of populations and how changes in the environment may affect population connectivity, persistence and biodiversity in general. Pulley Ridge, a relatively healthy mesophotic (mid-light) coral ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico, is home to groupers and snappers, important species in commercial and recreational fisheries. With the well-documented decline of Florida’s reefs, places like Pulley Ridge may serve as sources of larvae that can help sustain the Florida Keys’ reef ecosystem and the tourism economy that is dependent on it.
