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Comparative analysis of the functioning of disturbed and undisturbed coral reef and seagrass ecosystems in the Tortugas: Phase I- Establishing a baseline
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2001
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[PDF-10.17 MB]
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Alternative Title:Progress report #6 for NOAA ship Ferrel, cruises FE-01-10-BL and FE-01-10-BL [sic], 17 June 2001-01 July 2001, 08 July 2001-21 July 2001
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Description:Many reef fishes leave the structure of the reef at night to forage in the adjacent sand, algal and seagrass flats, thereby importing significant amounts of nutrients onto the reef environment, contributing to its high productivity. This mass transfer also ultimately contributes to energy requirements of small grazers that cannot themselves access the adjacent, non-coral reef resources. The adjacent seagrass beds are also significant settlement areas for post-larval reef fishes. Over-fishing of the diurnally migrating fishes and/or physical damage to the foraging/settlement environment could significantly alter the reserve’s productivity and biological diversity. Therefore, habitat characterization is critical to determine the distribution of sessile resources that are susceptible to injury and which may be poised to rebound once any injury activity is relaxed through implementation of the reserve. Habitat characterization is also crucial to ultimately determine an ecologically optimal size of the reserve complex (i.e., the reef and the adjacent areas upon which reef fauna are dependent) to yield optimum fishery production and maintain the ecological health of the reef ecosystem. Finally, conducting work in the TER provides a unique opportunity to compare the structure and function of a relatively undisturbed system with those elsewhere in the FKNMS and adjacent waters. This comparative approach has significant potential for translating the findings of these studies so as to apply them directly to management issues in other NOAA trust resources. In support of this research, the NOAA Ship Ferrel arrived in Key West, FL on 16 June 2001 to support research objectives of the CCFHR and collaborators (COMA, CSC, FMRI, NURC, USF) in the Dry Tortugas Ecological Reserve. This marked the first three legs of a four week excursion for the Ferrel. A total of twenty-seven scientists representing five federal and state institutions participated.
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Rights Information:CC0 Public Domain
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