Marine Benthic Communities

Coral Reef Community Monitoring

Coral reefs and associated seagrass communities are under threat worldwide from unprecedented natural and anthropogenic sources of impact, as we also have come to realize their value and role in supporting high biological diversity and human society.  Marine Benthic Communities can be split into coral reef communities and seagrass and other submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV).

1) Coral reef communities within the SFCN represent some of the best Caribbean and Western Atlantic Coral reefs within the National Park Service. The enabling legislation and/or presidential proclamations for VIIS, BUIS and DRTO specifically mention coral reefs within these park units as significant environmental communities. These communities consist of stony corals, octocorals, sponges, algae, and gorgonians, among others. These reefs support incredible diversity, including endangered sea turtles, conchs and lobsters.  Reefs also play a vital role for humans by supporting fisheries, nursery areas, tourism, pharmaceutical bio-prospecting and shoreline protection to name a few. Monitoring coral reefs was identified as a national priority in President Clinton's Executive Order 13089, establishing the Coral Reef Initiative. These coral reefs are negatively impacted by unusually high water temperatures that cause "bleaching", coral disease, vessel scarring, major storms, and in some cases by sedimentation and nutrient enrichment.

2) Communities of seagrass and other sub-merged aquatic vegetation (SAV) cover large portions of seven SFCN parks and consist of various seagrass and algae species. These habitats serve as nursery areas for many marine species, support a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate life, and provide connectivity pathways between nearshore and offshore habitats. Community composition is related to salinity levels, light extinction, the distribution of soft and hard-bottom sediments, nutrient enrichment, water quality (e.g. sulfides, redox), disease, level of disturbance, and succession. The 1987 seagrass die-off in Florida Bay had cascading effects on the entire ecosystem.

Protocol Development Summary (PDF)