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)