Coral Reefs: Shifting in Alternative States?

Coral Reefs: Shifting in Alternative States? How much algae sucks and corals rock

Corals provide shelter and nutrients for many diverse organisms

Indicative of the health of the reef and ocean ecosystem

Highly competitive with macroalgal species: Dictyota and Halimeda

Dictyota—fast-growing & take up more space, less demanding for nutrients

Halimeda—slower-growing & take up less space, more demanding for nutrients

Pose unique challenges to coral development and larval recruitment

H0: The macroalgal species surrounding the coral does not affect the health and survival of the coral.

H1: The macroalgal species surrounding the coral does affect the health and survival of the coral.

If the coral is surrounded by Dictyota, it will show significantly more paling than a coral surrounded by Halimeda.

Survey current coral transplant sites in the Middle Florida Keys

Organize reefs in gradient distribution ranging from high Dictyota presence/low Halimeda presence to high Halimeda presence/low Dictyota

Take photographs quarterly from after Hurricane Irma's scouring and analyze algal succession over time

Visually determine coral health by degree of significant paling

Out Spa B: (Left to Right) October 2017, December 2017, March 2018

Use CPCe software to analyze species presence of the entire cage

Use JMP software to monitor coral growth rates

Literature Cited

Kuffner, I. B., Grober-Dunsmore, R., Brock, J. C., & Hickey, T. D. (2009). Biological community structure on patch reefs in Biscayne National Park, FL, USA. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment,164(1-4), 513-531. doi:10.1007/s10661-009-0910-0

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by YanCabrera - "florida keys usa tropical beach america ocean"