Geomorphology of the Southeast Florida continental reef tract (Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties, USA)

Species composition, habitat, and water quality influence coral bleaching in southern Florida

“…This ~500 km expanse represents a vast array of environmental conditions, from extreme wave exposure in the north to more sheltered conditions in the Lower Florida Keys (Murdoch & Aronson 1999, Precht & Miller 2007. The northern reefs support few corals, and reef growth appears to have ceased approximately 4000 yr ago (Banks et al 2007). The Florida Keys reef tract is made up of bank-barrier reefs interspersed with seagrass beds, barren carbonate (hard-bottom) habitats, and patch reefs.…”

A Tale of Germs, Storms, and Bombs: Geomorphology and Coral Assemblage Structure at Vieques (Puerto Rico) Compared to St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands)

“…The final map showed three linear reef complexes (outer, middle, and inner), a series of deep and shallow ridges thought to be antecedent shorelines (BANKS et al, 2007;DA-VIS, 1997;FINKL, 2005;STAUBLE and MCNEIL, 1985), a large sand area between the middle and outer reefs, and a considerable amount of colonized pavement ( Figure 9). The outer linear reef was divided into four habitats: aggregated patch reef, spur and groove, linear reef, and deep colonized pavement.…”

“…Among these devices are high-resolution bathymetry and acoustic ground discrimination (HAMILTON, MULHEARN, and POECKERT, 1999;. High-resolution bathymetric information is usually acquired by multibeam sonar or laser bathymetry (LADS, laser air- borne depth sounder); (BANKS et al, 2007;FINKL, BENEDET, and ANDREWS, 2005;LILLICROP, 1996;WELLS, 1996), providing detailed seafloor topography that facilitates the mapping of submarine geomorphology (DODGE et al, 2002;FINKL, 2005;FINKL, BENEDET, and ANDREWS, 2005;RIEGL et al, 2008;STORLAZZI, LOGAN, and FIELD, 2003) and the analysis of topographic complexity (BLASZCZYNSKI, 1997;BROCK et al, 2004;RILEY, DEGLORIA, and ELLIOT, 1999;WALKER, 2007). The information provided about the benthic community occurring on the surface of the visualized geomorphological structures, however, is still limited.…”

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“…These tracts are locally called the Inshore, Middle, and Outer reefs (also called the First, Second, and Third reef, respectively [13,14]). The tire reef lies on sandy substrate between the Middle and Outer reefs (Figure 3).…”