11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

18.666
Assessing Land Based Inputs To The Coastal Waters Of Broward County, Florida,
Usa
Nancy CRAIG* 1 , Nancy GASSMAN 1 , Kenneth BANKS 2 , Kevin CARTER 1
1 Broward County Environmental Protection Department, Davie, FL, 2 Broward County
Environmental Protection Department, Plantation, FL
In December 2005, Broward County’s Environmental Protection Department developed a
pilot monitoring network to determine ambient coastal water quality and to identify
potential land-based sources of pollution to the offshore coral reef ecosystem. Sample
sites, visited bimonthly, include an inshore station in the Port Everglades shipping
channel at 14 meters depth and three offshore sites at nine meters depth over the second
of three shore-parallel coral reef tracts. Two sites bracket the channel with the third site
further north to minimize influence from the Port outflow. Parameters measured include;
total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total dissolved nitrogen, total dissolved phosphorus,
dissolved inorganic nutrients, silicate, total organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon,
turbidity and traditional physical water column properties.
A surface lens of less saline water (31 to 36 ppt) exits the Port on outgoing tides. The
thickness of this lens ranges from a meter to several meters thick. Bottom salinities
ranged from 35 to 36 ppt. Port surface samples had higher inorganic and total nitrogen
values compared to bottom and offshore stations. Dissolved silicate values ranged from
100 ug/l to >400 ug/l in surface samples in the channel but were generally 20 cm) is in the order of 0.4corals.m -2 , the
mean density of coral recruits is 40,
whereas in the offshore reefs the average live coral cover is higher than 10 %, the average
density of larger corals is in the order of 1.7corals.m -2 , the men density of coral recruits is
>20recruits.m-2, and the average percentage of macroalgae is