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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Mapping Coral Reef Habitats In Southeast Florida Using A Combined Technique Approach, Brian K. Walker, Bernhard Riegl, Richard E. Dodge Sep 2008

Mapping Coral Reef Habitats In Southeast Florida Using A Combined Technique Approach, Brian K. Walker, Bernhard Riegl, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

To create maps of nearshore benthic habitats of Broward County, Florida, from 0 to 35 m depth, we combined laser bathymetry, acoustic ground discrimination, subbottom profiling, and aerial photography data in a geographic information system (GIS). A mosaic of interpolated, sun-shaded, laser bathymetry data served as the foundation upon which acoustic ground discrimination, limited subbottom profiling and aerial photography, and groundtruthing data aided in interpretation of habitats. Mapping criteria similar to NOAA biogeographic Caribbean mapping were used to allow for a comparable output. Expert-driven visual interpretation outlined geomorphological features at a scale of 1 : 6000 with a minimum mapping …


A Model Framework For Predicting Reef Fish Distributions Across The Seascape Using Gis Topographic Metrics And Benthic Habitat Associations, Brian K. Walker Jul 2008

A Model Framework For Predicting Reef Fish Distributions Across The Seascape Using Gis Topographic Metrics And Benthic Habitat Associations, Brian K. Walker

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Increased topographic complexity has been linked to increased species diversity and/or abundance in many ecological communities, including coral reefs. Several topographic metrics can be measured remotely in GIS using high resolution bathymetry, including elevation, surface rugosity, and seafloor volume within specified areas. Statistical relationships between these data and organismal distributions within mapped habitats can be used to make predictions across the entire bathymetric dataset. In this study a model framework is presented which utilizes statistically significant relationships between reef fish abundance and species richness and GIS topographic complexity measurements for samples within similar benthic habitats to create GIS-based prediction maps …


Long-Term Monitoring Of A High-Latitude Coral Reef System Off Southeast Florida, Usa: A Partnership Between Academia And Resource Management, David S. Gilliam, Kenneth Banks, Michael Callahan, Chantal Collier, Richard E. Dodge, Louis E. Fisher, Jennifer Wheaton Jan 2008

Long-Term Monitoring Of A High-Latitude Coral Reef System Off Southeast Florida, Usa: A Partnership Between Academia And Resource Management, David S. Gilliam, Kenneth Banks, Michael Callahan, Chantal Collier, Richard E. Dodge, Louis E. Fisher, Jennifer Wheaton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Significant coral reef community development exists along the eastern shelf of the United States from the Dry Tortugas through the Florida Keys (Monroe County) and Southeast (SE) Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin Counties). State and county resource managers have partnered with academia to monitor the health of the SE Florida reef system. Since 2000, more than 20 sites have been monitored annually offshore Broward County. Quantitative data includes stony coral species cover, colony size, density, and condition (bleaching, disease, etc.) and gorgonian and sponge density. The SE Florida Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (SECREMP) was established in …


Seagrass Distribution In The Pensacola Bay System, Northwest Florida, Michael A. Lewis, Richard Devereux, Pete Bourgeois Jan 2008

Seagrass Distribution In The Pensacola Bay System, Northwest Florida, Michael A. Lewis, Richard Devereux, Pete Bourgeois

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Aerial surveys of seagrass coverage in the Pensacola Bay system (PBS) have been conducted during 1960, 1980, 1992 and 2003. This report summarizes the results for the 2003 survey and compares the results to those previously reported for other surveys. The estimated coverage of seagrass for the PBS during 2003 was 1,654 ha. Continuous and patchy coverages ranged from 0 to 684 ha and 11 to 543 ha, respectively, for five PBS subsystems. In 2003, the majority of seagrass coverage occurred in Santa Rosa Sound (76%). Declines in total coverage occurred for East Bay (93%) and Escambia Bay (75%) whereas …