New Maps, New Information: Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys

Lidz, Barbara H.; Reich, Christopher D.; Peterson, Russell L.; Shinn, Eugene A.

doi:10.2112/05a-0023.1

Cited by 39 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Terrestrial influence of the Florida peninsula on water quality and basin-depth influence on annual temperature range of the waters delivered from the West Florida Shelf and Florida Bay through the Florida Keys tidal passes constitute the most parsimonious explanation for the pattern in reef accretion in the late Holocene; this is known as the ''inimical waters'' hypothesis (Hudson 1983;Lidz and Shinn 1991;Ginsburg and Shinn 1994). This hypothesis, along with antecedent Pleistocene topography (Lidz et al 2006), is used to explain the modern distribution of reefs along the FKRT, which correlates with the presence and width of tidal passes. As documented early on by aerial photography, the most developed reefs are found in areas where tidal exchange is minimal (Marszalek et al 1977).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1). Like many reefs around the world, the reefs of the Florida Keys have undergone major degradation since the 1960s (Lidz et al 2006;Palandro et al 2008), but debate continues with regards to why (Voss 1973;Pandolfi et al 2005) and what conservation management strategies to employ (Keller and Causey 2005). Detecting change in calcification rates and ascribing that change to ocean warming, ocean acidification, poor water quality, or any other variable will require a solid understanding of the natural range and variability in calcification rates that are apparent today.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Calcification rates of the massive coral Siderastrea siderea and crustose coralline algae along the Florida Keys (USA) outer-reef tract

2013

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Coral reefs are degrading on a global scale, and rates of reef-organism calcification are predicted to decline due to ocean warming and acidification. Systematic measurements of calcification over space and time are necessary to detect change resulting from environmental stressors. We established a network of calcification monitoring stations at four managed reefs along the outer Florida Keys Reef Tract (FKRT) from Miami to the Dry Tortugas. Eighty colonies (in two sequential sets of 40) of the reef-building coral, Siderastrea siderea, were transplanted to fixed apparatus that allowed repetitive detachment for buoyant weighing every 6 months. Algalrecruitment tiles were also deployed during each weighing interval to measure net calcification of the crustose coralline algal (CCA) community. Coral-calcification rates were an order of magnitude greater than those of CCA. Rates of coral calcification were seasonal (summer calcification was 53 % greater than winter), and corals in the Dry Tortugas calcified 48 % faster than those at the other three sites. Linear extension rates were also highest in the Dry Tortugas, whereas percent area of the coral skeletons excavated by bioeroding fauna was lowest. The spatial patterns in net coral calcification revealed here correlate well with Holocene reef thickness along the FKRT and, in part, support the ''inimical waters hypothesis'' proposed by Ginsburg, Hudson, and Shinn almost 50 yrs ago to explain reef development in this region. Due to the homogeneity in coral-calcification rates among the three main Keys sites, we recommend refinement of this hypothesis and suggest that water-quality variables (e.g., carbonate mineral saturation state, dissolved and particulate organic matter, light attenuation) be monitored alongside calcification in future studies. Our results demonstrate that our calcification monitoring network presents a feasible and worthwhile approach to quantifying potential impacts of ocean acidification, warming, and/or deteriorating water quality on the process of calcification.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calcification rates of the massive coral Siderastrea siderea and crustose coralline algae along the Florida Keys (USA) outer-reef tract

2013

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“…This coastal marine ecosystem consists of estuaries, lagoons, mangrove stands, coral islands, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. The cross-shelf formations of coral reefs consist of inner-shelf patch reefs that form discontinuous linear clusters or irregularly scattered clusters and outer-shelf fore reefs that occur along the edge of the reef tract (Hoffmeister 1974;Shinn et al 1977;Lidz et al 2006;Smith et al 2011b). Within reef formations, habitats are varied, with dramatic changes in topographic relief, substrate type, coral density, flow patterns, and wave action (Hoffmeister 1974;Geister 1977;Shinn et al 1977;Smith et al 2011b).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a marine fishery reserve and habitat characteristics in the abundance and demography of the red hind grouper,Epinephelus guttatus

Lopez-Rivera

Sabat

2009

Caribbean Journal of Science

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“…Also, bleaching during the 1997/1998 El Niño and cold stress events (Colella et al 2012) left the monitored reefs in the Keys with less than 5 % coral cover (Ruzicka et al 2013;Toth et al 2014). The outer-reef tract off the middle Keys, in particular, has shown degradation as documented by an increased abundance of coral-derived particles in reef sediments comparing surveys in 1989 with those from mid-century surveys (Lidz and Hallock 2000;Lidz et al 2006). Regardless of what combination of stressors caused this recent bout of degradation, anthropogenic climate change continuing on the trajectory set in the past few decades will likely prevent reef recovery in the near future.…”

Section: Prognosis For Florida Reefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Century of Ocean Warming on Florida Keys Coral Reefs: Historic In Situ Observations

Kuffner

Lidz

Hudson

et al. 2014

Estuaries and Coasts

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There is strong evidence that global climate change over the last several decades has caused shifts in species distributions, species extinctions, and alterations in the functioning of ecosystems. However, because of high variability on short (i.e., diurnal, seasonal, and annual) timescales as well as the recency of a comprehensive instrumental record, it is difficult to detect or provide evidence for long-term, sitespecific trends in ocean temperature. Here we analyze five in situ datasets from Florida Keys coral reef habitats, including historic measurements taken by lighthouse keepers, to provide three independent lines of evidence supporting approximately 0.8°C of warming in sea surface temperature (SST) over the last century. Results indicate that the warming observed in the records between 1878 and 2012 can be fully accounted for by the warming observed in recent decades (from 1975 to 2007), documented using in situ thermographs on a mid-shore patch reef. The magnitude of warming revealed here is similar to that found in other SST datasets from the region and to that observed in global mean surface temperature. The geologic context and significance of recent ocean warming to coral growth and population dynamics are discussed, as is the future prognosis for the Florida reef tract.

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New Maps, New Information: Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys

Cited by 39 publications

References 40 publications

Calcification rates of the massive coral Siderastrea siderea and crustose coralline algae along the Florida Keys (USA) outer-reef tract

Calcification rates of the massive coral Siderastrea siderea and crustose coralline algae along the Florida Keys (USA) outer-reef tract

Effects of a marine fishery reserve and habitat characteristics in the abundance and demography of the red hind grouper,Epinephelus guttatus

A Century of Ocean Warming on Florida Keys Coral Reefs: Historic In Situ Observations

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