Download or read book Variation in Coral Recruitment and Juvenile Distribution Along the Southeast Florida Reef Tract written by Leah M. Harper and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coral recruitment in Southeast Florida is being outpaced by mortality, resulting in population declines in many species. Identifying the coral species most likely to recruit and survive on Southeast Florida reefs and evaluating spatial variation in recruitment and survivorship is crucial for managing decreasing coral populations. This study focuses on 12 sites in Broward and Miami-Dade counties that have served as long-term stations for monitoring adult coral cover and demographics. At each site, thirty-two 225cm2 grooved terracotta settlement tiles were attached to the substrate in winter of 2015 and retrieved in winter of 2016 to evaluate scleractinian and octocoral recruitment rates. Thirty-two corresponding 0.25 m2 quadrats were surveyed in situ for coralsconditions, such as Poritidae, Siderastreidae, and Octocorallia, exhibit signs of recruitment success and/or juvenile survivorship. Scleractinian recruitment was not variable spatially, but juvenile densities varied on site-level spatial scales, suggesting that differential survivorship structures adult scleractinian communities. This study will inform reef management and restoration efforts within Southeast Florida by identifying sites and species with potential to recover from disturbance through natural recruitment processes.
Download or read book Islands in the Sand written by Daniel A. McCarthy and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-10-22 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearshore hardbottom reefs of Florida’s east coast are used by over 1100 species of fishes, invertebrates, algae, and sea turtles. These rocky reefs support reproduction, settlement, and habitat use, and are energy sources and sinks. They are also buried by beach renourishment projects in which artificial reefs are used for mitigation. This comprehensive book is for research scientists and agency personnel, yet accessible to interested laypersons including beachfront residents and water-users. An unprecedented collection of research information and often stunning color photographs are assembled including over 1250 technical citations and 127 figures. These shallow reefs are part of a mosaic of coastal shelf habitats including estuarine seagrasses and mangroves, and offshore coral reefs. These hardbottom habitats are federally designated as Essential Fish Habitats - Habitats of Particular Concern and are important feeding areas for federally-protected sea turtles. Organismal and assemblage responses to natural and man-made disturbances, including climate change, are examined in the context of new research and management opportunities for east Florida’s islands in the sand.
Download or read book The Effects of Early Life History on Recruitment and Early Juvenile Survival of a Coral Reef Fish in the Florida Keys written by Tauna Leigh Rankin and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Processes that influence the early life stages of fishes can significantly impact population dynamics, yet they continue to be poorly understood. This dissertation examined relationships between the environment, early life history traits (ELHTs), behavior, and post-settlement survival for a coral reef fish, Stegastes partitus, in the upper Florida Keys, to elucidate how they influence juvenile demography. Otolith analysis of settlers and recruits coupled with environmental data revealed that S. partitus surviving the early juvenile period settled at larger sizes and grew slower post-settlement. Water temperature also influenced the ranges of these and other ELHTs as well as the intensity and direction of selective mortality processes acting on some of these traits (i.e., pelagic larval duration, mean larval growth). Otolith analysis was paired with behavioral observations of newly settled juvenile S. partitus in the field to reveal that the relationship between size-at-settlement, early juvenile growth and survival is behaviorally-mediated. Individuals that were larger at settlement were more active (i.e., spent less time sheltered, swam farther from shelters) and grew more slowly post-settlement. Likewise, slower juvenile growth was associated with greater activity, more conspecific aggression, and faster escape swimming speeds. A six-year time series of recruitment densities revealed substantial temporal (interannual, seasonal, lunar) and spatial (by microhabitat, conspecific density) variability in recruitment which influenced the composition of recruits. For instance, larvae settling during the darkest phases of the moon were larger at settlement, but selective mortality processes during brighter periods removed more of the smallest settlers, resulting in juveniles with similar sizes-at-settlement regardless of when they arrived to the reef. Because recruitment strength and composition varied temporally, genetic markers (6 microsatellite and 1 mitochondrial loci) were used to determine if the genetic composition of monthly cohorts of settling larvae and juveniles also varies interannually, monthly, or across life stages. A lack of genetic structure suggested that S. partitus has a large effective population size and variation in ELHTs is not likely the result of successful spawning of a disproportionately small group of adults. As a whole, these results reveal processes associated with larval supply and post-settlement life that collectively shape juvenile demography.
Download or read book A Characterization of a Southeast Florida Stony Coral Assemblage After a Disease Event written by Nicole K. Hayes and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coral reefs have declined globally due to anthropogenic stressors increasing the frequency and severity of bleaching and disease events. In 2014, a stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) outbreak occurred off the coast of southeast Florida and subsequently spread throughout the region. Data collected by the Southeast Florida Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (SECREMP) were used to examine the regional impacts of the disease event on the Southeast Florida stony coral assemblage. A long-term annual monitoring project, SECREMP samples permanent sites along the Southeast Florida Reef Tract (SEFRT) from Miami-Dade County north to Martin County. Analysis of stony coral demographic data from 21 sites revealed regional SCTLD prevalence increased significantly, and significant region-wide declines in stony coral diversity and density were observed. From 2014 to 2018, species-specific susceptibility to the disease were evident, with Meandrina meandritesand Dichocoenia stokesiboth losing > 90% of all live tissue by 2016. The reef building, complexity-contributing species Montastraea cavernosaand Orbicellaspp. lost significant tissue (55% and 70% respectively) as a result of this disease event. Overall, up to 64% of all live tissue was lost and at least 11 of 28 total species were impacted by SCTLD. Of the colonies that suffered complete mortality, many were among the largest individuals in the dataset. Loss of large, sexually mature colonies lowers reproductive capabilities and thus severely inhibits the potential for recovery. Juvenile surveys showed many of the large, structurally complex species had little to no juveniles within the sample sites, while eurytopic generalist species made up more than 76% of all juveniles. This disease event resulted in acute mortality and altered ecosystem function to the point where recovery is uncertain. To facilitate recovery, local resource managers need to understand the severity of the disease outbreak on the coral assemblage and mitigate local anthropogenic stressors.
Download or read book Proceedings of 31st Scientific Meeting of the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean AMLC written by Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean. Scientific Meeting and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dynamics of Stony Coral and Octocoral Juvenile Assemblages Following Disturbance on Patch Reefs of the Florida Reef Tract written by Lucy A. Bartlett and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In January 2010, reefs in the Upper and Middle Florida Keys experienced prolonged exposure to extremely cold water temperatures, below lethal thresholds for many reef organisms including corals. We examined post-disturbance juvenile assemblages of stony corals and octocorals on eight patch reefs, four of which were categorized as high impact and four as low impact, based on declines in stony-coral cover following disturbance. We established permanent quadrats to conduct field surveys in spring and fall of 2012 and 2013. Overall, juvenile abundances of both stony corals and octocorals were greater on low-impact sites, suggesting that those sites had higher recruitment and juvenile survival than high-impact sites. Juvenile assemblages also showed a regional pattern, with more stony corals on Middle Keys sites and more octocorals on Upper Keys sites. The stony-coral juvenile assemblage was dominated by Siderastrea siderea (46%) and Porites astreoides (19%), whereas previously abundant species such as Orbicella annularis were nearly absent (
Download or read book Water Quality Influences Variation in Coral Bleaching Species Distribution and Community Resilience Along the Florida Keys Reef Tract written by Daniel Edward Wagner and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dynamics and Survival of Coral and Octocoral Juveniles Following Disturbance on Patch Reefs of the Florida Reef Tract written by Lucy Bartlett and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The goal of this study was to examine post-disturbance recruitment and survival of juvenile stony corals and octocorals on patch reefs in the Middle and Upper Florida Reef Tract. Permanent quadrats were established at eight patch-reef sites. Stony-coral and octocoral juveniles, visible to the naked eye and having a maximum 4 cm diameter for stony corals or 4 cm height for octocorals, were identified, measured, and photographed to track each colony through spring and fall for two years. Juvenile densities increased significantly over that time; octocoral density increased with higher significance (p
Download or read book Spatial and Temporal Trends of Southeastern Florida s Octocoral Comunity written by Alexandra Hiley and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Caribbean, local and global stressors have driven significant declines in scleractinian coral cover up to 80% in only three decades. Following these declines, phase shifts in benthic community composition have been reported. Shifts towards macroalgal dominance has been the most widely observed case, however, shifts towards octocoral and sponge dominance have also been reported. In Florida, USA, the Florida Reef Tract is an extensive barrier reef system that contains diverse assemblages of corals, sponges, fish, and other taxa. The Southeast Florida Reef Tract (SEFRT) within the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Conservation Area is the northern portion of this system and lies adjacent to the highly urbanized and populated South Florida coastline. Long-term decreases in stony coral cover have been reported for this region, as well as more recent and drastic changes resulting from the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease outbreak. With this recent significant loss in stony corals, octocorals have become a more abundant constituent of the SEFRT. Although multiple studies highlight the community composition of local stony corals as well as spatial and temporal changes in their cover, the same has yet to be investigated for the octocoral community. This study investigates spatial and temporal trends in octocoral density, community composition, colony height, and colony condition (i.e. bleaching and disease) from 2013-2018 on the SEFRT. Analyses indicate an increase in density and a decrease in colony height throughout the study period. Both bleaching and disease prevalence remained very low, likely at background levels, during a time period when high levels of bleaching and disease were reported in the stony coral community. Finally, significant spatial variation of the community was observed throughout the SEFRT as density, colony height, and community composition of the outer reef was different from both the inner and middle reefs. These changes do not appear to correlate with events that resulted in the significant decline of stony corals (e.g. thermal anomalies, disease outbreak), suggesting that its drivers may not be similarly impacting the octocoral community. Evidence suggests that this high-latitude reef system can support a high-density octocoral community, but significant spatial variation in density and composition exists. With reefs experiencing dramatic phase shifts, it is imperative to understand the contribution of seemingly resistant organisms, like octocorals, to reef community dynamics.
Download or read book The Effects of Increased Sedimentation on the Recruitment and Population Dynamics of Juvenile Corals at Cape Tribulation North Queensland written by David A. Fisk and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Natural Recruitment and Recovery Process of Corals at Green Island written by Vicki J. Harriott and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reef Fisheries written by Polunin Nicholas V.C. and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-10-09 with total page 477 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reef ecosystems extend throughout the tropics. Exploited by small-scale fishers, reefs supply food for millions of people, but, worldwide, there are growing worries about the productivity and current state of these ecosystems. Reef fish stocks display many features of fisheries elsewhere. However, habitat spatial complexity, biological diversity within and among species, ecosystem intricacy and variable means of exploitation make it hard to predict sustainable modes and levels of fishing.
Download or read book Population Demographics and Sexual Reproduction Potential of the Pillar Coral Dendrogyra Cylindrus on the Florida Reef Tract written by Lystina Kabay and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, has been commonly described as widely distributed, but rare throughout its geographical range in the Caribbean. Having recently been listed as Threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, an understanding of population status is needed to promote species conservation and population recovery. Previous to this study the status of the pillar coral population in the state waters of Florida, U.S.A, was relatively unknown primarily due to few colonies being recorded and no comprehensive summary of population abundance, distribution or health being completed. Along with various environmental and anthropogenic factors affecting the pillar coral population on the Florida Reef Tract (FRT), it appears that reproductive limitations may also be contributing to species decline and limiting population recovery as evidenced by the lack of reported juvenile D. cylindrus colonies reported on the Florida Reef Tract (FRT) in the past 17 years. The factors contributing to this phenomenon are currently unknown, however are suspected to be derived from the pillar corals reproductive biology. Being described as a gonochoric, broadcast spawner, sexual reproduction relies on the synchronous release of gametes from colonies of separate sexes, and with low adult colony densities reported for the pillar coral on the FRT, gamete concentrations from both sexes may be too low for fertilization to occur. In 2014 submissions of pillar coral locations from the scientific and lay community were compiled and 610 D. cylindrus colonies along Florida Reef Tract were identified (Lunz et al. 2016). In my study, I describe the population structure of D. cylindrus for the southeast Florida region of the FRT which includes 65 of the total 610 colonies. For each of the 65 colonies, colony depth, demographic, and condition data were recorded including size (length, width, and height), percent of recent mortality, and presence and severity of disease and bleaching. Out of all locations identified in this region, about 50% contained only a single colony of D. cylindrus and the maximum number of colonies per site was 14. Throughout the duration of the study, devastating losses of live tissue were observed following the bleaching and disease events impacting the Florida Reef Tract in 2014, 2015, and 2016 and the status of the southeast Florida population of pillar coral is at serious risk of local extinction. To investigate the ability of colonies of D. cylindrus to sexually reproduce (referred to as sexual reproduction potential) tissue samples were collected from 95 colonies within 15 sites along the FRT and were prepared for histological analysis. The sex of each colony, sizes of gametes in mature developmental stages, the abundance of gametes per cm2 of tissue, and sex ratios for locations on the FRT were reported. All tissue samples from male and female colonies contained gametes that were 90% mature; however sex ratios were found to be skewed in all locations, deviating significantly from the 1:1 ratio expected for typical resource allocation in random mating. Hermaphroditic colonies of D. cylindrus are described for the first time throughout its geographical range in this study and comparisons to gonochoristic colonies confirmed that these hermaphrodites are sexually reproductive individuals. Results from this effort provide a more thorough understanding of the reproductive biology of D. cylindrus and essential data for the support of future conservation management and restoration strategies for this FRT population and comparative data for other Caribbean populations.
Download or read book Coral Reef Resilience to Climate Change in the Florida Reef Tract written by Jeffrey Maynard and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Climate change and a range of human activities threaten the natural resilience of coral reef ecosystems. Reef resilience is the ability to resist and recover from disturbances while retaining essentially the same function and structure. Managers can support the natural resilience of reefs by reducing their sensitivity to climate-related disturbances, such as coral bleaching, by reducing stress on reefs caused by human activities. The challenge for natural resource managers in Florida, as with everywhere else reefs occur, lies in deciding which actions to implement and where, to best support resilience. Understanding spatial variation in resilience to climate change in the Florida Reef Tract was the goal of this project, with the aim being to produce information that can inform management decisions. This project is a collaboration co-funded by NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and The Nature Conservancy’s Florida office. This study addresses this priority from Florida’s Climate Change Action Plan – Determine and map areas of high and low resilience to climate change in order to prioritize management efforts"--Executive Summary.
Download or read book Scale dependent Spatial Variability of Coral Assemblages Along the Florida Reef Tract written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Optimizing Restoration Site Selection Along the Florida Reef Tract for the Coral Species Acropora Cervicornis and Acropora Palmata written by Samantha King and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The decline of Acropora cervicornis and Acropora palmata populations and consequent listing as endangered species has prompted the need for restoration. Since financial resources are limited, optimal sites for restoration should not only be environmentally suitable for outplant survival, but also have a greater capacity to replenish surrounding reefs with larvae. However, in Florida coral larval dispersal patterns and reef connectivity remain poorly studied. Here, we measured long term larval survival and competency of A. cervicornis to calibrate a high resolution (100m) biophysical larval dispersal model of Acropora in the Florida Reef Tract (FRT). This model revealed that there is potential connectivity between reefs along the FRT, with most source reefs being located in the southern portion of the reef track, and most sinks in the northern part. The connectivity matrix was used then to develop a metapopulation model accounting for larval dispersal patterns, current and historic habitat for the species, growth, fecundity, and density-dependent post-settlement mortality for A. cervicornis and A. palmata, which allows comparing the capacity of suitable restoration sites to recolonize other reefs through sexual recruitment. Furthermore, it can determine optimal mesoscale spatial scaling and temporal planning of restoration project. We found that there was regional variation in the optimal spatial scaling, due to differences in intra-reginal connectivity and exiting coral cover. We also found that temporally staggering outplanting effort is important in poor environmental conditions. Considering ecological processes in restoration will enhance genetic diversity, hasten coral recovery, and boost resilience across the entire reef system.
Download or read book Juvenile Reef Fish Recruitment Processes in South Florida written by David S. Gilliam and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
