Coral Reefs in US

8/8/2019 Coral Reefs in US

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Coral Reefs in U.S. Waters


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Outline

U.S. Virgin Islands

Puerto Rico

Florida Georgia

Texas

Hawaii

American Samoa

Guam

Northern Mariana Islands


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Caribbean Map


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U.S. Virgin Islands

Buck Island Reef National Monument was established by Presidential proclamationin 1961, and expanded in 2001, in order to preserve "one of the finest marine

gardens in the Caribbean Sea." The park is now one of only a few fullymarine protected areas in the National Park System.

The 176-acre island and surrounding coral reef ecosystem support a large varietyof native flora and fauna, including several endangered and threatened speciessuch as hawksbill turtles and brown pelicans. The elkhorn coral barrier reef thatsurrounds two-thirds of the island has extraordinary coral formations,

deep grottoes, abundant reef fishes, sea fans and gorgonians.


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Buck Island NM Map


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Virgin Islands NP

Virgin Islands National Park, renowned throughout the world for its

breathtaking beauty, covers approximately 3/5 of St. John, and nearlyall of Hassel Island in the Charlotte Amalie harbor on St. Thomas.


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Virgin Islands

National Park


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Trunk Bay

Trunk Bay is one ofthe Caribbean's mostphotographed

beaches, andfeatures anunderwater self-guiding snorkeling

trail.


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Puerto Rico Coral Reef

Locations


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CORALations, Culebra, PR

CORALations is a nonprofit coral reefconservation organization based in theCaribbean. Our mission is: ToCONSERVE, NURTURE, and EDUCATE.CORALations was founded in 1995 as anonprofit corporation in Puerto Rico.


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Reef BallsTM

CORALations is a distributor of ReefBall artificial reef systems for the islandof Puerto Rico. These artificial reefmodules provide habitat for fish andsettlement areas for corals. Reef Ballsare made from environmentally friendly

concrete designed to mimic natural reef inappearance and last for over 500 years.


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ReefBallTM Projects

Reef Ball project. Hollow concrete domes are produced to eventually

be towed and placed on the ocean floor to enhance coral and fish habitat

- Fajardo, Puerto Rico.


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An Aside..

Dear Departed Are Bringing Life to theSeashoreDeath: Ashes are mixed in concrete, forming a 'reef ball.' Restingon the seabed, structures attract marine species.

By JOHN-THOR DAHLBURG, Times Staff Writer

OFF LONGBOAT KEY, Fla.--Lynne Lamb Bryantconsigned her late husband to the warm, jade-colored waters of theGulf of Mexico last week, after electing to have his remains madeinto oceanfront property.None ofus, it has been said famously, is an island. But a man orwoman now can choose to spend the afterlife as part of an artificialreef, designed to be environmentally friendly and serve as a hometo fish and other marine life for at least 500 years.The deceased's cremated ashes are mixed into concrete. For$850 to $3,200, based on what the customer or survivors request,

the concrete is then molded into a "reef ball," looking much like anigloo with holes. Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times


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Florida Reef Locations


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Dry Tortugas NP

Almost 70 miles (112.9 km) west of Key West lies a cluster of seven islands,composed of coral reefs and sand, called the Dry Tortugas. Along with thesurrounding shoals and waters, they make up Dry Tortugas National Park.

The area is known for its famous bird and marine life, and its legends of piratesand sunken gold. Fort Jefferson, one of the largest coastal forts ever built,

is a central feature.


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John Pennekamp State Park

The first undersea park in the United States, John Pennekamp Coral ReefState Park, and the adjacent Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary,cover approximately 178 nautical square miles of coral reefs, seagrass bedsand mangrove swamps.

The park extends 3 miles into the Atlantic Ocean and is approximately 25 milesin length. These areas were established to protect and preserve a portion of theonly living coral reef in the continental United States.


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Why Is Seaweed Killing Florida's Coral Reefs?

By Bijal P. Trivedifor National Geographic Today

August 23, 2001

Scientists returned today from a ten-day underwatermission to find out more about a species of brownseaweed that is suffocating Florida's vibrant coral reefs.

Over the last 15 years, the seaweed, Dictyotamenstrualis, has grown particularly abundant in the reefsof Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. In someareas, it covers from 30 to 70 percent of the reefs andseafloor..


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Deep-Sea Coral Reef May Get ProtectionBrian Skoloff, Associated Press

A 23,000-square-mile area stretchingfrom North Carolina to Florida is just partof that entire reef tract now beingproposed for protection from potentialdamage by deep-sea commercial fishingand energy exploration.

Deep, But Vulnerable | Discovery NewsVideo


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Thirteen National Marine

Sanctu

aries In 1972, exactly one hundred years afterthe first national park was created, thenation made a similar commitment to

preserving its marine treasures byestablishing the National MarineSanctuary Program. Since then, thirteennational marine sanctuaries, representinga wide variety of ocean environments,have been designated.http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/oms/oms.html


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National Marine Sanctuaries


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Florida Keys National MarineSanctuary


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Looe Key

LOOE KEY NATIONAL MARINESANCTUARY is located approximately five

nautical miles south ofBig Pine Key. Popular forskin diving, snorkeling, fishing and boating, thesanctuary is considered by many to be the mostspectacular reef in the Lower Keys. The remains

of the H.M.S. Looe which sank in 1744, and forwhich the sanctuary is named, still remains onthe ocean floor within the sanctuary boundaries.


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Grays Reef

Not a true coral reef

Sandstone reef which supports many coralreef species

Locates 17.5 miles off the coast ofGeorgia (Sapelo Island)

17 sq. miles protected open ocean

60 70 feet depth National Marine Sanctuary


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Grays Reef Fauna

The outcroppings of Gray's Reef are known fortheir "live bottom habitat", abundantlypopulated with hard and soft corals,

sponges, and hydroids.

http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/oms/omsgrays/omsgrays.html

Gray's Reef Sanctuary is part of the onlyknown winter calving ground for the highlyendangered North Atlantic right whale.

150 species of fish including black seabass, snapper, grouper and mackerel.Larger fish like barracuda and nurse shark


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Flower Garden Bank NationalMarine Sanctuary

Flower Garden Banks National MarineSanctuary, located about 110 miles off thecoasts of Texas and Louisiana, harborsthe northernmost coral reefs in the UnitedStates and serves as a regional reservoirof shallow water Caribbean reef fishes and

invertebrates. The coral reefs rise to within66 feet of the surface.


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Flower Garden Bank NationalMarine Sanctuary

The Banks themselves are surfaceexpressions of salt domes whoseformation began 160 to 170 million yearsago in what was a shallow sea, subject toevaporation. Today it has become apremier diving destination and attracts

scientists from around the world.


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Mass Coral Spawning

The mass spawning of corals discoveredin 1990 at Flower Garden Banks ledscientists to further investigate the

phenomena worldwide.

Each year on the eighth day after anAugust full moon, the waters of theFlower Garden Banks National MarineSanctuary explode in a riot of incandescent

white as coral reefs begin spawning.

http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/oms/omsflower/omsflower.html


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Tropical Fish on Grays Reef

http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/pgallery/pggrays/habitats/habitats_5.html

Angel Fish

Trigger Fish

Wrasse


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South Pacific


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Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve


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About the Area

Dozens of tiny islands, atolls and shoals,spanning more than 1,200 miles of theworlds largest ocean, are slowly, quietly

slipping into the sea, destined to becomeseamounts. Hundreds of miles north ofKauai, places like Nihoa, Laysan, Pearland Hermes and Kure comprise the little

known, rarely visited NorthwesternHawaiian Islands (NWHI).http://www.hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/welcome.html


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NWHI Contains the Majority ofCoral Reefs in US

The living coral reef colonies of the NWHI are a spectacularunderwater landscapecovering thousands of square miles and composing the majority of coral reefs inthe United States. These reefs are some of the healthiest and most undisturbedcoral reefs remaining and comprise possibly the last large-scale,predator-dominated coral reef ecosystem on the planet.

http://www.hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/welcome.html


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Hanauma Bay Underwater State Park

Description - This site incorporates state,county and city parks to protect beach, cliffand reef areas. Hanauma Bay itself is a

designated marine life conservationdistrict. The park is very popular,consequently, features on land and inwater are highly impacted from use.

Nearly 1,000,000 visitors come to the siteannually.http://areas.wildernet.com/pages/area.cfm?areaID=HISPHB&CU_ID=1


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Hanauma Bay, Oahu, HI

Location - HanaumaBay lies on thesouthern shore of

Oahu, a shortdistance fromHonolulu.

Arial view


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Fauna

Moorish Idol

Sea Turtle


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US Pacific Coral Reefs


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COMMERCE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES $34 MILLION FUNDING FORCORAL REEF CONSERVATION

The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, established in1998, leads the U.S. response to conservingU.S. coral reefs, as well as U.S. government

efforts to promote coral reef conservationinternationally.

The task force includes the heads of 11 federalagencies and governors of seven states andterritories within their jurisdiction (Florida, U.S.Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guam,

American Samoa and Northern MarianaIslands). (NOAA Bulletin, December 5, 2001)


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Guams Reefs in Trouble

Guam's military, resort, and residentialdevelopment is degrading its reefs, largelythrough sedimentation that is smotheringpreviously healthy corals. Since 1975,Guam's rate of soil erosion has doubled;today erosion from road construction and

'badlands' created by range fires isestimated at 243 tons peracre per year.http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/coral_reef/guam.html


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Guam Educational Project

The goal of this project is to provide high schools in Guam and the Commonwealthof the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) with a set of CD-ROMs that focuses oncoral reefs. The set will consist of a locally produced CD-ROM that offers a regionalfocus and a commercially produced CD-ROM that offers a broad overview of coralreefs of the world.

A team of students and teachers from high schools in Guam and CNMI reviewed3 commercially produced coral reef CD-ROMs.

http://www.uog.edu/marinelab/cdrom/


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National Park of American Samoa

Two rain forest preserves and a coral reef are home to unique tropical animalsincluding the Flying Fox, Pacific Boa,sea turtles, and an array of birds and fish.The park contains paleotropical rain forests, pristine coral reefs, and magnificentwhite sand beaches.

The park was authorized on October 31, 1988. Park lands are on three separateislands; Tutuila, Ofu and Tau, and total 9,000 acres.


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Typical Reef Fish


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Fagatele Bay National MarineSanctuary

Fagatele Bay is an ecologically richand pristine pocket of coastlineformed by the crater of an extinctvolcano which has one wall opento the sea.

http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/oms/omsfagatele/omsfagatele.html

Fagatele is the only true tropicalcoral reef in the National MarineSanctuaries Program and is locatedonTutuila, the largest island of American Samoa.


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Threats to Fagatele Bay

One of the greatest threats currently facingFagatele Bay as well as much of Samoa'scoastal waters, is the rapid depletion of fishstocks by poaching through the use of gill

netting, spearfishing, poison and dynamite. Inaddition, the sanctuary staff is concerned withthe potential for algal blooms to occur withsubsequent incidents of hypoxia (extremely lowdissolved oxygen in the water) due to

unchecked sewage outflow upstream ofFagatele.


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Samoan Beach

C l R f H lth i th C t l P ifi


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Coral Reef Health in the Central Pacificby James E. Maragos

Program on EnvironmentEast-West Center, Honolulu

Urbanization and related impacts to coral reefsare expected to increase from sewage pollution,rubbish disposal, dredging and filling,sedimentation, freshwater discharge,overharvesting of reef resources, oil spills, etc.Ship grounding are also a serious problem.Continued rapid population growth and migrationfrom rural islands to urban centers (urban drift)

are the main causes for the increase.http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/SEAGRANT/coral3.html


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Bush Establishes 3 New Marine MonumentsDina Cappiello, Associated Press

The three areas -- totaling some 195,274square miles -- include the MarianaTrench and the waters and coralssurrounding three uninhabited islands inthe Northern Mariana Islands, Rose Atollin American Samoa and seven islands

strung along the equator in the centralPacific Ocean. Jan. 6, 2009


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Rose Atoll Marine National Monument

On January 6, 2009, President GeorgeW. Bush established Rose Atoll MarineNational Monument under the authority ofthe Antiquities Act of 1906. Themonument incorporates approximately13,451 square miles within its boundaries,

which extend 50 nautical miles from themean low water line of Rose Atoll.

http://www.fws.gov/roseatollmarinemonument/


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Growing Corals for Restoration

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN9oeu

784XM


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Loved to Death?

Coral Reefs in US

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