Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Real-Time Coral Stress Observations Before, During, And After Beach Nourishment Dredging Offshore Se Florida, L. Fisher, Kenneth Banks, David S. Gilliam, Richard E. Dodge, D. Stout, Bernardo Vargas-Ángel, Brian K. Walker
Real-Time Coral Stress Observations Before, During, And After Beach Nourishment Dredging Offshore Se Florida, L. Fisher, Kenneth Banks, David S. Gilliam, Richard E. Dodge, D. Stout, Bernardo Vargas-Ángel, Brian K. Walker
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures
Beach nourishment in Southeast Florida involves dredging sand source borrow areas located between offshore reefs. From May 2005 to February 2006 Broward County, FL. nourished 10.9 km of beach with 1.5 ×106 m3 of sand. As part of a program to monitor potential reef community impacts, a visual stress index was developed from laboratory experiments and histological analyses for three stony coral species (Montastrea cavernosa, Solenastrea bournoni, and Siderastrea siderea). Scoring involved healthy = 0; moderately stressed = 1 (polyp swelling, increased mucus); markedly stressed = 2 (coloration changes, increased mucus secretion, tissue thinning); and severely stressed = 3 (severe …