11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

18.718
Long-Term Benthic Monitoring in The Tortugas, Florida: Protected Vs. Open
Areas
Greg PINIAK* 1 , Shay VIEHMAN 1 , Christine ADDISON 1 , Nicole FOGARTY 2
1 NOAA, Beaufort, NC, 2 Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Energy flow across reef-sand boundaries is critical to understanding reef function, as
many fish species shelter on the reef but forage in adjacent soft-bottom habitats. As the
majority of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve (TER) is non-coral habitat, the structure and
composition of fish communities near the reef interface may be a likely area to detect a
reserve effect. To test this hypothesis, ten permanent monitoring sites were established
along the deep (15-32 m) reef-sand interface in each of three management strata—TER,
Dry Tortugas National Park (DTNP), and unprotected areas. Percent cover for benthic
taxa was determined from 2001-2007 via point-count techniques using digital imagery
collected along the same 30-m transects used for fish community surveys. Macroalgae
were the most common biological component, with an average cover of 25-33% in a
given year. Coral cover was 5-6% in each year but was highly variable among sites,
ranging from 0-24.5%. Coral cover in TER was typically twice that of the other strata,
but statistical tests for management effects and temporal trends were generally
insignificant due to variability associated with the random site selection techniques.
After re-analysis of data using multivariate techniques to compare sites independently of
management regime, soft substrate, macroalgae, and coral explained the majority of the
variability among sites in principal component analysis and were the major clustering
factors in Bray-Curtis similarities, although the relative roles of the major benthic
categories were inconsistent over time. Logistics and bottom time constraints required
that benthic and fish data be collected simultaneously; consequently this study
demonstrates the challenges created when field sampling approaches are driven primarily
by fish community surveys rather than optimized for benthic data collection.
18.719
Monitoring and Assessment - The Caribbean Coastal Data Centre
Marcia CREARY* 1
1 Centre for Marine Sciences, University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica
The Caribbean Coastal Data Centre (CCDC) is in its seventh year having evolved from
being the Data Management Centre (DMC), archiving data for the CARICOMP project,
to being the repository of data from a number of local and regional studies. With respect
to CARICOMP, the CCDC continues to process and archive data on the coastal
ecosystems (coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass and water quality) from institutions around
the region. The expanded portfolio of the CCDC includes the housing of data from other
local and regional sources such as AGRRA, CPACC, the Northern Caribbean and
Atlantic Node of the GCRMN among others. One of the important initiatives of the
CCDC is the establishment of the local arm of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring
Network (GCRMN, the Jamaica Coral Reef Monitoring Network (JCRMN), formed in
2003 in an effort to establish a comprehensive coral reef monitoring programme for
Jamaica. The composition of the network includes academic, governmental and nongovernmental
institutions involved in the management and monitoring of the islands
coastal resources. Volunteer divers, using the Reef Check methodology assessed 16 sites
around the island and five sites in Haiti.
Poster Mini-Symposium 18: Reef Status and Trends
18.720
Effects Of Benthic Cyanobacteria On Se Florida Coral Reef Gorgonian Populations
Vanessa BRINKHUIS* 1 , Jenna LUEG 1 , Lauren FLOYD 1 , David GILLIAM 1
1 National Coral Reef Institute, Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Dania
Beach, FL
In 2002, the presence of benthic cyanobacteria (genus Lyngbya) was observed within annual
coral reef monitoring sites off Broward County, southeast Florida. Thick filamentous mats
were observed entangled and growing upon gorgonians (sea whips, fans, plumes and rods) and
substratum within the permanent monitoring transects. The observed effects of Lyngbya on
gorgonians included smothering of tissues causing bleaching and/or necrosis, which appeared to
lead to partial mortality or complete mortality in severe instances when the entire colony was
covered. The annual coral reef monitoring protocol includes taking images along permanent 30
m2 belt transects. From 2000 to 2007 images from 20 monitoring sites were analyzed to
determine the percent of gorgonians present with Lyngbya, and NCRI developed CPCe software
was used to estimate Lyngbya percent cover. Gorgonian densities within the belt transects were
recoded in situ. From 2002-2007, Lyngbya was present in a least 6 monitoring sites. The height
of the Lyngbya bloom occurred in 2003, which had the highest yearly percent cover (15%) and
greatest occurrence within the monitoring sites (present at 16 of 20 sites). Two sites that
exhibited the highest percent cover of Lyngbya in 2003 (87% and 71%) experienced a decrease
in gorgonian density the following year. Most other sites with moderate Lyngbya percent cover
followed this trend as well. The ability to capture these types of events is an important part of
coral reef monitoring projects. This information will aid resource managers in making policy
decisions on issues such as water quality which affect the health of coral reef resources.
18.721
Monitoring, Reporting, And Conservation: A User’s Guide For Applying Results From
the State Of Coral Reef Ecosystems Of The United States And Pacific Freely Associated
States To Coral Reef Management
Jeannette WADDELL* 1 , Alicia CLARKE 1
1 Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, NOAA, Silver Spring, MD
NOAA’s publication of a series of reports that uses ecosystem monitoring data to describe the
current condition of U.S. coral reef ecosystems represents a significant contribution to the
conservation and management of the nation’s coral reefs. The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems
of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2005 and 2008 reports integrate the
key findings of coral reef ecosystem monitoring programs undertaken by Federal, State,
Territorial, Commonwealth, non-governmental, private, and academic partners. Data from the
various monitoring efforts are organized into jurisdictional chapters to characterize local
impacts of key threats, summarize the results of assessment and monitoring activities, and
describe local and national management actions to conserve coral reefs. Since publication of the
2005 report, monitoring data have been used to justify a number of conservation management
initiatives in U.S. jurisdictions, as illustrated through examples from Hawaii, American Samoa,
and other locations. Ongoing monitoring and assessment programs continue to provide data that
further support conservation efforts by helping to identify the scope and magnitude of key
threats and quantify ecosystem responses to them, delineate specific areas where negative
impacts have and have not occurred, share successful conservation approaches, and compare
costs and benefits of particular management strategies. In addition, the report educates
scientists, managers, decision makers, and the public about the deteriorating condition of U.S.
coral reefs while motivating them to take action to conserve these precious natural resources.
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