Transcript Coral Biology - OUR FLORIDA REEFS

OUR FLORIDA CORAL REEFS
James Byrne April 2014
Where are Florida’s Coral Reefs?
• Spans over 300 nautical miles from the
Dry Tortugas to Stuart.
• The only tropical coral reef system,
and one of the greatest natural
resources, in Florida and the
continental United States.
• Adjacent to one of the most densely
populated and urbanized coastal
communities in the U.S.
 1/3 of Florida ’ s population
(6 billion people)
 Coastal population has grown 64%
since 1990
 30 million visitors/year
Florida’s Coral Reefs are home
Benefits
Florida’s Reefs are essential to our way of life.
• Tourism, recreation and fishing are the basis of Florida’s
economy and the Floridian lifestyle.
• Reef-related tourism, diving and fishing annually
provide:
 $6.3 billion in sales and income
 71,000 jobs
 70% of sales attributed to visitors
• Florida’s reefs provide shelter, food and breeding sites
for many recreational and commercial fishery species.
• Reefs generate sand for our beaches and protect our
shorelines from tropical storms and erosion.
Florida’s Reefs are threatened.
1957
1980’
s
2007
Florida’s Reefs have been damaged.
Photo Series: Phil Dustin
Cumulative Impacts
Reefs at Risk Revisited (Burke et al, 201
Cumulative Impacts
Reefs at Risk Revisited (Burke et al, 201
State of the Reef System
Overfishing/LBSP/Climate Change
Reef condition
2014
1950
2000
2050
2100
State of the Reef System
Threat Abatement Alone
Overfishing/LBSP/Climate Change
Status Quo
Reef condition
2014
1950
2000
2050
2100
State of the Reef System
Ecosystem Restoration +
Threat Abatement
Overfishing/LBSP/Climate Change
Threat Abatement Alone
2013
Reef condition
Status Quo
1950
2000
2050
2100
Florida Reef Resilience Program (FRRP)
Origin: Discussions between NOAA, GBRMPA,
State of Florida, TNC
• Resilience based management concept
• Monitoring of entire reef tract
• Goals
– Identify reefs that are likely to resist or recover from bleaching
– Guide the protection & management of those reef areas
A Public and Private Partnership
Coral Bleaching
Healthy vs. Bleached
Impacts of Coral Bleaching
Bleaching can lead to disease
and sometimes death.
Death due to bleaching reduces
coral reef biodiversity by
decreasing coral species and
coral cover.
Declines in coral cover can
cause a decrease in
abundance of reef fish and a
large decline in the number of
reef species.*
* Jones, G. P. et. al. 2004. Coral decline
threatens fish biodiversity in marine reserves.
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America 101:
8251-8253.
Bleaching, disease, and death of
inshore patch reefs in the Florida Keys
(Marilyn E. Brandt, University of Miami)
Disturbance Response Monitoring (DRM)
• Monitor coral reef health after
disturbances
• 2005-12 focused on coral bleaching
• Trained experts survey stony corals
on FL reef tract during peak annual
temperatures (6-8 weeks)
• Follow-up surveys after
moderate/severe bleaching years
(e.g. 2005)
• Can be used for other disturbances
(e.g. hurricanes, cold water)
DRM Field Methods
• Random sites generated and
assigned to teams
• 1 x 10m belt transects
(2/site)
• Measure/assess all corals
(>=4 cm)
• Species level identification
• Degree of bleaching and
presence of disease
• Data entered online
• Database queried for results
FRRP Survey Sites
2005–2013
1758 Surveyed Sites
2013 Bleaching Extent By Zone
•100 surveyed sites
•Mild to moderate bleaching (0-50%)
•Moderate bleaching occurring in Upper Keys,
Biscayne and Broward sub-regions due to paling.
2005-2010 Data Analysis
Inverse distance
weight interpolations
of FRRP data
FRRP Website
www.frrp.org
Bleaching Response Plan
Chapter 1: Early Warning System
Chapter 2: Impact Assessment
Chapter 3: Communications
Chapter 4: Management Actions
Enhancing Coastal Protection
Coastalresilience.org
EXAMPLE: REEF WAVE ATTENUATION
Wave heights during storm
No live coral on reef
Role of Coral
What we need to do
Mitigation: Reduce
rate & magnitude of
sea temperature
change
Reef condition
Increase
resilience:
• Refugia
“Resilience
threshold”
• Water quality
• Biodiversity
• Connectivity
1900
2000
2100
Year
2200
THANK YOU
James Byrne
[email protected]