Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

3d Visualization Of Coral Reef Habitat, Brian K. Walker, Richard E. Dodge

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

A bathymetric survey was recently conducted in Southeast Florida (Broward County) during April 2001 using the Laser Airborne Depth Sounder (LADS) system. This four-meter resolution survey encompassed from North Dade County, through the length of Broward County coastline, to south Palm Beach County (approximately 43 km) and from the shore eastward to depths of approximately 40 m (2.5-3.5 km offshore). This georeferenced data was sun shaded at various angles and azimuths and draped with a NOAA NAPP 1:24,000 georeferenced air photograph mosaic. The model was zoomed and tipped to the desired orientations and processed into three-dimensional perspectives. Two views, slightly …

Acoustic Remote-Sensing Of Reef Benthos In Broward County, Florida (Usa), Ryan P. Moyer, Bernhard Riegl, Richard E. Dodge, Brian K. Walker, David S. Gilliam

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

Benthic assemblages of variable density cover three progressively deeper ridges that parallel the Broward County, Florida, coast. An acoustic bottom classification survey using QTCView5 with a 50 kHz transducer showed different acoustic classes on the shallow reef-ridge and the two deeper reef-lines, which both showed the same acoustic signature. Ground-truthing showed that the differences in acoustic signature corresponded to different benthic assemblages: nearshore hardgrounds had low live cover and were dominated by algae covering substrate, the two deeper reef-ridges had the same acoustic signature and similar benthic assemblages (dominated by sponges and gorgonians). The QTCView5 was also able to differentiate …

Identification Of Species Composition In The Hong Kong Shark Fin Trade Using Genetic Techniques And Trader Records, Shelley C. Clarke, Mahmood S. Shivji, Murdoch K. Mcallister

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

Trade in shark fins represents one of the most serious threats to shark populations worldwide. Previous studies have indicated that certain types of fins are more valued than others, but due to the largely unregulated and often covert nature of the trade, information on actual species composition has been anecdotal and unverified. In order to examine the potential impacts of the shark fin trade on the abundance of various shark species, a study of the species composition in the world’s largest shark fin trading center, Hong Kong, was initiated. Several approaches for distinguishing the species identity of dried fins were …

Preface: Proceedings Of The National Coral Reef Institute's International Conference On Scientific Aspects Of Coral Reef Assessment, Monitoring And Restoration, James Darwin Thomas

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

No abstract provided.

Multiple Spatial Scale Assessment Of Coral Reef And Hard-Bottom Community Structure In The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Steven Miller, Dione W. Swanson, Mark Chiappone

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

The zoning plan for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) established 23 relatively small no-fishing zones distributed mostly along the offshore reef tract in 1997. In 1999, a two-stage, stratified random sampling design based on the proportion of coral reef and hard-bottom types within the FKNMS was conducted. Our study focused on differences in coverage, density, and condition of benthic organisms with respect to habitat type, regional variations, and differences between no-fishing zones and reference sites at 80 locations spanning 200 km. Most variables exhibited significant spatial differences by habitat type or between individual no-fishing zones and reference sites …

Success And Growth Of Corals Transplanted To Cement Armor Mat Tiles In Southeast Florida: Implications For Reef Restoration, S. L. Thornton, Richard E. Dodge, David S. Gilliam, R. Devictor, P. Cooke

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

In 1997, 271 scleractinian corals growing on a sewer outfall pipe were used in a transplantation study offshore from North Dade County, Florida, USA. Corals were removed from the outfall pipe and transplanted onto concrete armor mat tiles used to cover the pipe. Success (number of corals still attached and alive), mortality (number of dead corals), and growth rates of the transplants were assessed between December 1997 and December 1999. Colony surface area and radius length were measured on scanned photographs to estimate horizontal growth rate. After two years post-transplantation, success rate and overall mortality were 87% and 7.8% respectively. …

Skeletal Architecture And Density Banding In Diploria Strigosa By X-Ray Computed Tomography, Kevin P. Helmle, Richard E. Dodge, R. A. Ketcham

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

Density bands in corals have long been considered a valuable tool for reconstructing past environmental and climatic conditions. X-radiographs reveal density banding within a skeletal slab, but provide little information about the skeletal variability causing banding. The skeletal architecture of Diploria strigosa was analyzed by X-radiography, X-ray computed tomography, and image analysis to identify the specific skeletal elements responsible for density banding. Threedimensional skeletal reconstructions, density-band reconstructions, and skeletal animations were created to assess the apparent changes in skeletal structure associated with density banding. Measurements were made of the dissepiments, thecae, septa, and columellae to determine how element size related …

Reefs And Coral Carpets In The Miocene Paratethys (Badenian, Leitha Limestone, Austria), Bernhard Riegl, W. E. Piller

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

Biohermal (reefs) and biostromal (coral carpets) facies were studied in the Austrian Middle Miocene Leitha Limestone. In the Vienna Basin ("Fenk quarry") non-framebuilding and framebuilding biostromal coral communities were found. In the Styrian Basin, well developed patch reefs were observed besides coral carpets. In the Fenk quarry, 2 coral carpet types, four non-framework coral communities, and one bivalve/coral community were found. In "Retznei quarry" (Styrian Basin) patch reefs, basal corallinacean calcarenites were followed by a Ponies layer capped by marl, and the main reef-building higher diversity phase dominated by faviids ( Montastraea, Tarbellastraea). In the "Tittenbacher quarry" no internal …

The Coral Reef Fishes Of Broward County Florida, Species And Abundance: A Work In Progress, B. D. Ettinger, David S. Gilliam, L. K. B. Jordan, Robin L. Sherman, Richard E. Spieler

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

The inshore environment of Broward County, FL consists of three coral reef/hard bottom reef tracts, separated by sand substrate, running parallel to the coast in sequentially deeper water. At quarter nautical mile intervals, for a five mile coastline section, fishes were censused at western, eastern and crest sites of each of the three reef tracts. On SCUBA and using the Bohnsack/Bannerot point-count method, we recorded: fish abundance, species richness, size, and general habitat of an imaginary cylinder 15 m in diameter. The position of each site was recorded by DGPS after census. One hundred and eighty-one sites were censused during …

Skeletal Architecture And Density Banding Analysis Technique For Diploria Strigosa By X-Ray Computed Tomography, Kevin P. Helmle, Richard E. Dodge (Editor)

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

Coral skeletal density information is a useful growth parameter and may be coupled with extension rates to determine calcification rates. The conventional process for density determination is often cumbersome and requires some parameters which are difficult to precisely specify (e.g., Mass absorption coefficients). We have developed a technique and windows based computer program which enables the rapid collection of coral density data. The coral skeleton slab is xradiographed with an aluminum wedge. Thickness and density of the aluminum wedge, thickness of the coral slab, density of pure coral aragonite, and digitized images of the coral and wedge x-radiographs provide necessary …

Trophic Diversity Of A Mesopelagic Fish Community., Tracey Sutton, Thomas L. Hopkins, Thomas M. Lancraft

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

To understand the character of prey partitioning in a low latitude oligotrophic region, a composite picture of the trophic structure of a mesopelagic fish community was made from the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Two hundred and twenty three species were collected in the area of which I61 species were abundant enough for analyses. Fifteen major categories of prey biomass are identified for diet analyses: viz. copepods, ostracods, amphipods, euphausiids, decapods, larvaceans, salps, coelenterates (primarily siphonophores), unidentified gelatinous prey, polychaetes, gastropods, cephalopods, chaetognaths, fish, other food. Prey partitioning is minimal across major prey categories as the vast majority of mesopelagic fishes …

Use Of Fluorescence Microscopy In An Assay Of Sperm Density For The Gorgonian Coral, Plexaura Kuna, Timothy D. Swain, K. Kim, H. R. Lasker

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

The density of sperm in the water column during the broadcast spawning events of marine invertebrates is often undetermined or reported in terms of fertilization potential. The density of sperm during such events can be determined by directly counting numbers of spermatozoa using a modification of the acridine orange direct count (AODC) technique for enumerating bacteria. A number of variables in the handling and processing of samples may bias estimates. Sample collection in glass and rapid fixation and filtration are necessary for reproducible estimates. Once filtered, samples are stable for many months, and counts on filters that were poorly stained …

Effects Of Ghost Crab (Ocypode Quadrata) Invasion On Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) Nests At Hillsboro Beach, Florida, Terri S. Schmidt, Curtis M. Burney

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

No abstract provided.

Climate Records In Coral Skeletons, Peter K. Swart, Richard E. Dodge

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

No abstract provided.

Barium Chronologies From South Florida Reef Corals - Environmental Implications, D. Anderegg, Richard E. Dodge, Peter K. Swart, L. Fisher

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

Benthic algal blooms (e.g., Codium isthmocladum) have become increasingly common on reefs and hardgrounds of Southeast Florida. The contribution from possible responsible nutrient sources, including natural upwelling and local pollution, has not been quantified. In an attempt to differentiate each potential source, lattice-bound barium concentrations in the skeletons of two common Southeast Florida stony coral species (Montastraea faveolata and Solenastrea bournoni) were measured by isotope dilution inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP/MS). Specimens were collected offshore between 26˚01'-57'N at shallow (10m) and deep (20m) reefs. X-rays of skeletal slabs revealed annual density bands which guided annual and subannual …

Tissue Damage In Scleractinian And Alcyonacean Corals Due To Experimental Exposure To Sedimentation, Bernhard Riegl, Jonathan P. Bloomer

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

Four South African scleractinian corals (Favia favus, Favites pentagona, Platygyra daedalea and Gyrosmilia interrupta) and four alcyonacean corals (Lobophytum depressum, Lobophytum venustum, Sinularia dura and Sinularia leptoclados) were experimentally exposed to high sedimentation conditions in the laboratory during a period of six weeks. Experimental sedimentation corresponded to the highest measured sedimentation levels on South African coral reefs, being 200 mg cm-2h-l. Corals were monitored for tissue necroses and bleaching during the course of the experiment and histological sections were prepared after the termination of the experiment. During the experiment, tissue necroses appeared earlier and more frequently in alcyonacea than in …

Is Coral Community Structure Linked To Damage Susceptibility? A Case Study From South Africa, Bernhard Riegl, Peter A. Cook

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

Africa's southernmost coral communities are situated in northern Natal, South Africa (27°50' S), within the Maputaland and St. Lucia Marine Reserves. Growing concern about the possible impact of recreational acti vities on the health of the coral ecosystem prompted the present study on the structure and health of the reefs. Coral community studies by means of line transects identified three basic coral community types, which correlated with the geomorphology of the sandstone outcrops on which corals grew. 1) Fossil dunes were dominated by alcyonacea in depths between 8 and 24 m. 2) Flat outcrops between 18 and 24 m depth …

Emergence Periodicity Of Caretta Caretta In Broward County, Florida, 1990, William E. Margolis, Curtis M. Burney

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

No abstract provided.

Trends In The Spatial Distribution Of Sea Turtle Activity On An Urban Beach (1981-1992), Catherine A. Mattison, Curtis M. Burney, Louis Fisher

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

No abstract provided.

Skeletal Structural Basis Of Density Banding In The Reef Coral Montastrea Annularis, Richard E. Dodge, Alina Szmant-Froelich, R. Garcia, Peter K. Swart, A. Forester, J. J. Leder

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

Density banding in coral skeletons can provide for reconstruction of the coral's growth en- vironment over long periods. The physical differ- ences between low and high density portions of a skeletal band are not well understood. The skeletal architecture of M. annularis from Southeast Flor- ida, the Florida Keys, St. Croix, the Bahamas, and Mexico was compared in X-ray revealed high den- sity (HD), low density (LD), and stress HD bands. Density changes arose from differences in the size, but not spacing, of exothecal structural elements (horizontal dissepiments and vertical costae). En- dothecal architecture size (e.g., columella, dissepi- ments, septa) …

Sea Turtle Nesting And Hatching Success In Broward County, Florida, 1989, Catherine A. Mattison, Curtis M. Burney, Louis E. Fisher

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

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of Loggerhead Nesting Patterns And Moon Phase In Broward County, Florida, Curtis M. Burney, Catherine A. Mattison, Louis E. Fisher

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

No abstract provided.

The Physiological Implications Of Bleaching Of Corals Off Southeast Florida, C. J. Reese, G. S. Kleppel, Richard E. Dodge

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

As part of an ongoing study of coral bleaching, observations were made of corals on reefs (ca. 8m) off John U. Lloyd Beach, Dania, FL, in December, 1987. Bleaching was evident in approximately 50% of Montastrea annularis, the dominant scleractinian coral species. Quantitative pigment measurements by HPLC show that bleached corals contained

Decline Of Coral Growth Rates At Negril, Jamaica, T. J. Goreau, Richard E. Dodge, P. D. Goreau

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

Montastrea annularis heads were collected near Negril, Jamaica, along transects from open, normal reef conditions into the mouths of rivers draining the Negril Morass. Corals subject to turbidity (particulate peat and dissolved humic compouonds near rivers, re-suspended reef sediments away from them) were growing more slowly than those in normal circumstances. Surprisingly, corals growing fastest were slowing the most, and the slowest growers increasing growth rate. Linear regression analysis of growth trends over the past two decades revealed stable limit-cycle behavior: change of growth was inversely proportional to growth rate, with a very significant correlation coefficient of -0.92. We suggest …

The Effect Of Dispersed Oil On The Calcification Rate Of The Reef-Building Coral Diploria Strigosa, Richard E. Dodge, A. H. Knap, Sheila C. Wyers, H. R. Frith, T. D. Sleeter, S. R. Smith

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

Hermatypic corals represent environmentally and economically important components of the reef ecosystem. Oil spills and clean-up operations in reef areas are potential sources of pollution impact. This paper presents an evaluation of the calcification rate of specimens of the reef-building coral Diploria strigosa in response to 24 hour treatments of chemically dispersed oil at concentrations of 20 ppm. The concentrations and durations were chosen to represent a scenario of a short-term oil spill treated with dispersant passing over a coral reef.

Calcification rates were determined by the buoyant weight technique at several day intervals for up to 29 days following …

Growth Characteristics Of Reef-Building Corals Within And External To A Naval Ordinance Range: Vieques, Puerto Rico, Richard E. Dodge

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

The skeletal growth of reef·building corals is known to be sensitive to the environment. In particular, high levels of sedimentation and turbidity lead to decreased growth rate, suppressed growth variation, and, ultimately, coral death because of reduced illumination necessary to zooxanthellae and/or increased energy expenditure by the coral animal to remove impacted sediments.

To assess the effect of Naval Ordnance Range usage at Vieques, Puerto Rico, specimens of Montastrea annulariswere collected from reefs adjacent to and removed from the range area. Growth was measured from annual increments revealed by X-radiography of medial slabs of the coral skeletons. Mean growth …

Climatic Implications Of Barbados Coral Growth, Richard E. Dodge, Karl K. Turekian, J. Rimas Vaisnys

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

Results from a coral growth band analysis utilizing samples of M. annularis from the Recent Barbados reef and from three fossil raised reefs (Barbados I, II, and III dated at 82,000, 105,000, and 125,000 yrs. B.P.) indicate that in the Barbados II collection both average band width and variability were lower than in the other samples. We suggest the climate during formation of the 105,000 yrs. B.P. reef was significantly different than that of the present.