Post on 23-Sep-2020
Population Assessments ofPopulation Assessments ofBenthic Coral Reef OrganismsBenthic Coral Reef Organisms
In the Florida Keys: 1999 In the Florida Keys: 1999 –– 20092009Steven Miller11, Mark Chiappone11, Leanne Rutten11
Jerry Ault22, Steve Smith22, Dione Swanson22
Brian Keller11Center for Marine Science, University of North CarolinaCenter for Marine Science, University of North Carolina--WilmingtonWilmington
22Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries, RSMASDivision of Marine Biology and Fisheries, RSMAS--University of MiamiUniversity of Miami
White Band Disease
Bleaching
Bleaching
Diadema Dieoff
Gardner et al. 2003
White Band Disease
White Band Disease
Gardner et al. 2003
Factors Affecting Coral Reefs in Florida
• Geography (winter cold fronts)
• Hurricanes
• Disease
• Bleaching
• Loss of herbivores (over-fishing, urchin die-off)
• Pollution (especially nutrients)
• Ocean Acidification
• Marine Zoning
What we measure• 15-m transects for benthic cover
– point-intercept– photo archives for general site descriptions
• 15-m x 0.5-m belt transects– Species richness (coral, sponge, gorgonian)– Gorgonian abundance and height (8m x 1m)– Juvenile coral abundance and size (10 x 0.312 m2)– Adult coral abundance, size and condition (10m x 1m)– Urchin density and size– Marine ornamental species density– Substratum topography (vertical relief, slope, depth)– Density, length and impacts of fishing gear (15m x 4m)
people.uncw.edu/millers
Rapid Assessment Methods
people.uncw.edu/millers
Management Relevance
• No Take Zone status and trends (performance)
• Program establishes baselines (5Ws + HM)
• Monitor status and trends of iconic species
• Debris surveys evaluate compliance
• Sample design statistics to estimate population abundances = stock assessment
Alina Szmant
1. A two-stage stratified random sampling design is used to allocate effort according to habitat type and depth, along-shelf position, geography and management zone
2. Sample Design Statistics – what’s important in not how intensely we sample individual sites, but how many sites we can sample while achieving CVs that are acceptable. From density numbers we calculate abundances at the population level.
Program Design
Sample Design Statistics
1999-2001 198 sites2005 133 sites2009 156 sites
Keyswide
Upper Keys Middle Keys Lower Keys
Ref Sites NTZs Ref Sites NTZs Ref Sites NTZs
Habitat Types Habitat Types Habitat Types
Ref Sites NTZ Ref Sites NTZ Ref Sites NTZ
Rubble
Location and Physical Setting
Hard-bottom
Inner shelf margin(inshore of Hawk Channel) Outer shelf margin
(reef tract)Mid-channel
(Hawk Channel)
Hard-bottom
Low-relief hard-bottom Inshorepatch reef
Rubble(back reef)
Hard-bottom
Patch reefsLow-reliefhard-bottom
Shallow (< 6 m)
Reef flat/crest Fore reef
Mid-depth (6-15 m) Deep (> 15-21 m)
Low-reliefhard-bottom
High ReliefSpur & groove
Low-reliefspur & groove
Low-reliefhard-bottom
Low-reliefspur & groove
HR/SG High-reliefspur & groove
Terrace &escarpment
Offshorepatch reef
Rubble(fore reef)
Coral DiseasesKeys-wide
• White plague
• Black band disease
• White band disease
• Yellow blotch
• Dark spot
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
Upper Ref Upper Zone Middle Ref Middle Zone Lower Ref Lower Zone
Per
cent
of O
bser
vatio
ns W
tih D
isea
se
Scleractinian Disease Prevalence1999 -2009 All Habitats 1999-2001 2005 2009
*
** *
**
Human Disease Prevalence Statistics
• Corals in the Keys: 0.2 - 1.9%– AIDS in North America: 0.45% (2006)
– Breast Cancer: 0.8% (2007) [12% will be diagnosed lifetime]
– Prostate Cancer: 0.8% (45-64) [16% will be diagnosed lifetime]
– Heart Disease: 6.5% woman, 8.2% men (2005)
– Bubonic Plague (Black Death): 1/3 of Europe’s population killed (25 million deaths) 1347-1352
Diadema Size and Density
Marine Debris: NTZs vs Reference SitesMarine Debris: NTZs vs Reference Sites
Marine Debris: NTZs vs Reference Sites
0200,000,000400,000,000600,000,000800,000,000
1,000,000,0001,200,000,0001,400,000,0001,600,000,0001,800,000,000
Florida Keys
Scleractinian Abundance 1999-2009
0100,000,000200,000,000300,000,000400,000,000500,000,000600,000,000700,000,000800,000,000900,000,000
Upper Middle Lower
Scleractinian Abundance 1999-2009
0100,000,000200,000,000300,000,000400,000,000500,000,000600,000,000
Scleractinian Abundance 1999-2009
*
*
*
*
02,000,0004,000,0006,000,0008,000,000
10,000,00012,000,00014,000,00016,000,000
Florida Keys
A. cervicornis Abundance 1999-2009
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
Florida Keys
A. palmata Abundance 1999-2009
0
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
Upper Middle Lower
A. cervicornis Abundance 1999-2009
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
Upper Middle Lower
A. palmata Abundance 1999-2009
*
0
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000A. cervicornis Abundance 1999-2009
050,000
100,000150,000200,000250,000300,000350,000400,000
A. palmata Abundance 1999-2009
33%
4%
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
HRSG LR<6 LR<15 MPR OPR
Col
onie
s pe
r sq
m ±
SE
Scleractinian Colony Density by Habitat 1999-2001 2005 2009
HRSG > LR6,LR15 MPR> HRSG, LR6,LR15 OPR > LR6,LR15
0.001.002.003.004.005.006.007.008.009.00
HRSG LR<6 LR<15 MPR OPR
Col
onie
s pe
r sq
m ±
SE
Scleractinian Juvenile Density by Habitat 1999-2001 2005 2009
*
HRSG<OPR
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
050,000,000
100,000,000150,000,000200,000,000250,000,000300,000,000350,000,000400,000,000450,000,000500,000,000
SSID PAST SMIC AAGR PPOR MCAV PFUR DSTK MFAV SRAD CNAT PDIV DSTR SBOU ODIF
Scleractinian Abundance: Top 15 speciesFlorida Keys 1999-2009 All Habitats
B B B B B B
050,000,000
100,000,000150,000,000200,000,000250,000,000300,000,000350,000,000400,000,000
SSID SRAD PAST AAGR SMIC PPOR MCAV DSTK PFUR FFRG SCOL DSTR MARE EFAS SBOU
Juvenile Scleractinian Abundance: Top 15 speciesFlorida Keys 1999-2009 All Habitats
85% 96% 98%
72% 88% 94%
What will reefs in the Florida Keys look like in the future?
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
HRSG LR<6 LR<15 MPR OPR
Col
onie
s pe
r sq
m ±
SE
Porites astreoides Colony Density by Habitat 1999-2001 2005 2009
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
HRSG LR<6 LR<15 MPR OPR
Col
onie
s pe
r sq
m ±
SE
Porites astreoides Juvenile Density by Habitat 1999-2001 2005 2009
LR15<HRSG
*
*
*
*
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
HRSG LR<6 LR<15 MPR OPR
Col
onie
s pe
r sq
m ±
SE
Montastraea faveolata Colony Density by Habitat 1999-2001 2005 2009
*
LR6<all MPR>HRSG,LR6,LR15
No Juvenile Observationsfor M faveolata
*
Mid-channel Patch Reefs
Cheeca Rocks SPA
Marker 49
South of Marathon
Sunshine Key
Future Plans
• Keyswide Acropora sampling in 2011 concurrent with same in USVI and PR
• Data analyses and publication
• Data rescue for an unpublished 1970s NSF-funded coral reef assessment program (presentation)