11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

24.1120
Coral Resistance To Hurricane Impacts On The Erojacks Artificial Reef, Dania
Beach, Florida
Deron BAUER* 1 , Joshua FEINGOLD 1
1 National Coral Reef Institute, Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center,
Dania Beach, FL
In 1967 thousands of concrete hexapods (each 1.4m tall) were deployed in a linear pile
perpendicular to the Dania Beach, Florida shoreline forming the Erojacks artificial reef.
This structure begins approximately 50m from shore in 3m depth and extends 380m out
to a natural coral community (7m maximum depth). On 25 August 2005 Hurricane
Katrina made landfall 6.5km south of the study site as a Category 1 storm, and two
months later (23 October) Hurricane Wilma passed 60km north of the study site as a
Category 2 storm. Prior to their passage, the shallow (3-4m depth) near-shore segment
(first 90m) of the Erojacks artificial reef had been surveyed for the abundance and size of
scleractinian coral using 21 randomly located 2m wide belt transects oriented
perpendicular to the main axis of the reef. Sampling was repeated following the passage
of the hurricanes and results were compared using a paired, 2-sample for means t-Test.
There was a significant difference in coral colony number (p < 0.001, n=21) and surface
area (p = 0.003, n=21). The initial survey documented 771 coral colonies with a
combined surface area of 17.9m2. After the hurricanes, 818 colonies were observed with
a combined surface area of 18.0m2. The predominant corals on the artificial reef were
small (~5cm2), encrusting colonies of Siderastrea siderea and Siderastrea radians, with
9 other scleractinian coral species present. Thus, despite exposure to waves,
sedimentation and turbidity generated by wind speeds up to 177km/hr, the coral
community on the shallow portion of the Erojacks artificial reef experienced a significant
increase in colony counts and surface area. However, since the post-hurricane survey was
performed by the same but more experienced observers than the one prior to the storms, it
is possible that these increases could have been due to technique improvement.
24.1121
Recruitment Of Corals On Standardized Artificial Substrata At Two Indo-West
Pacific Locations
Iris Salud BOLLOZOS* 1 , Ronald VILLANUEVA 1 , Alasdair EDWARDS 2
1 University of the Philippines - Marine Science Institute, Quezon City, Philippines,
2 School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
A study on the long-term efficacy and cost-effectiveness of restoration interventions is
being conducted simultaneously at an anthropogenically disturbed site (Malilnep) near
Bolinao, Philippines and a relatively undisturbed site (Lukes) near Koror, Palau. To
facilitate long-term comparisons between the outcomes of various restoration
interventions against natural recovery, without the confounding effects of highly variable
reef substrates, “pallet balls” were used to provide a standardized substratum. One of the
main objectives is to study natural recovery processes at locations with markedly
differing recovery potential (reef resilience), and compare the long–term efficacy of
restoration interventions against natural recovery using a suite of key indicator processes
and standardized substrata. Pallet balls were deployed in 3-7 m deep sandy areas at the
two study sites, 42 in the Philippines and 24 in Palau. Coral recruitment to both 10 x 10
cm settlement tiles and to the surface of the pallet balls is being monitored at both sites.
Initial results showed 4.5 recruits per tile at Malilnep with 53% pocilloporids, 31%
poritids and 9% acroporids, and 29 recruits per tile at Lukes with 49% acroporids, 9%
pocilloporids and 1% poritids. By contrast, at Malilnep there were 12-279 (mean = 49.0,
SE = 8.9) ’visible’ recruits per pallet ball about 6 months after deployment, whereas at
Lukes there were only 26-55 (mean = 37.9, SE = 2.1) ‘visible’ recruits per pallet ball
about 11 months after deployment. A range of indicators such as coral growth and
survival, fish abundance and species composition, fish grazing rates, and algal growth are
being monitored on both the pallet balls and adjacent reef.
Poster Mini-Symposium 24: Reef Restoration
24.1122
Coral Recruitment And Community Development: The Broward County Artificial Reef
Compared To Adjacent Hardbottom Areas, Four Years Post-Deployment.
Andrew HANNES* 1,2 , Lauren FLOYD* 1
1 Marine Science and Biological Research, Coastal Planning and Engineering, Boca Raton, FL,
2 Marine Science and Biological Research, Coastal Planning and Engineering, Boca Raton
Artificial reefs have been utilized as a tool for reef conservation, rehabilitation and mitigation.
The success of artificial reefs is measured by their ability to mimic the natural hardbottom
environments which they are intended to replace. Despite the numerous artificial reef studies,
there are few comparative studies between artificial and natural reefs. This study examines
recruitment and subsequent development of coral communities on an artificial reef, and
compares them to adjacent natural hardbottom in Broward County, Florida, USA. Mitigation
reefs constructed of limestone boulders were deployed in 2003 to mitigate for potential impacts
resulting from the Broward County Beach Nourishment Project. The artificial reefs and
adjacent natural hardbottom were evaluated using Benthic Environmental Assessment for
Marginal Reef (BEAMR) method. We compare artificial to natural hardbottom coral
communities by examining abundance, diversity and size distribution over time. After four
years of monitoring, the octocoral abundance and average size increased on the artificial reef,
but are still less than those found on natural hardbottom. Octocoral diversity was similar in
both habitats, but genera were more evenly distributed on the natural hardbottom. Scleractinian
abundance, diversity and average size on the artificial reef was nearly equal to those on the
nearshore hardbottom four years post-deployment. The natural hardbottom community was
dominated by Siderastrea siderea, while the species on the artificial reef were more evenly
distributed. This study presents the data from each of the seven monitoring events and
discusses the variables contributing to coral recruitment and community composition on
artificial reefs.
24.1123
Macrobenthic Epifauna Related To Some Artificial Reef Environments From The
Pernambuco Littoral, Brazil
Simone LIRA 1 , Fernanda AMARAL* 1 , Cristiane FARRAPEIRA 1 , Carla RAMOS 1 , Kyllderes
LIMA 1
1 Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
The state of Pernambuco, Brazil, has approximately 100 shipwrecks, highly diverse artificial
reef environments that are frequently visited by tourists from all over the world. The study area
consisted of four of these wreckages: Servemar X located 7.5 mi from Boa Viagem Beach,
Recife; Pirapama, Taurus and Vapor de Baixo, all 5 mi from the Port of Recife; all of them at
approximately 23 deep. Organisms were observed, photographed, and collected with the aim of
surveying the macrobenthic epifauna of the localities cited, in a total of 32 scuba dives carried
out between December 2005 and October 2007. The organisms were collected with the aid of a
hammer, chisel, and diving knife, and conditioned in plastic vessels and bags, fixed in 4%
formaldehyde or 70% alcohol, and selected and separated into functional groups and
morphospecies with the aid of a stereomicroscope; subaquatic observations were recorded on
PVC plaques. Organisms were classified into the lowest taxonomic level possible. The epifauna
distributed around the shipwrecks comprised 123 species from the following phyla: Porifera,
Cnidaria, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Bryozoa, Echinodermata, and Protochordata. A high
species richness was found, especially in Pirapama, which had the largest number of species.
The nature of the artificial substrates was not correlated with the species richness found in the
wreckages and a clear spatial distribution was verified for the fauna, which was related with
several abiotic (luminosity, sedimentation, and marine currents) and biotic (competition,
symbiosis) factors. Three new occurrences were recorded for Brazil (Patinella radiata,
Watersipora subtorquata, and Zoobotryon verticillatum) and 18 for Pernambuco State (11
species of Bryozoa, six of Ascidiacea, and one of Cirripedia).
543