Florida Keys reef destruction.
Coral Health and Monitoring Program
coral at coral.AOML.ERL.GOV
Sat Oct 7 22:34:40 EDT 1995
John Ogden of the Florida Institute of Oceanography has asked that we
forward this to the coral-list.
=============================
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 17, 1995
SCIENTISTS DISCOVER DAMAGE ON DEEP CORAL REEFS OF THE FLORIDA KEYS
A team of U.S. and Australian scientists have discovered extensive
sediment damage on the deep coral reefs off Long Key in the middle Florida
Keys. The Keyswide Coral Reef Expeditionary Team discovered large brain
and star corals at depths below 50 feet that had been growing luxuriantly
in the area of Tennessee Reef for at least 100 years. Many of these
corals were partially or completely dead, recently smothered by fine
sediments falling on the reef from the shallows. While the source of the
sediments has not been identified, it is suspected that the large plumes
of cloudy water from Florida Bay have increased sediment loads to lethal
levels. By contrast, the deep reefs of Alligator Reef, just a few miles
to the north and more isolated from Florida Bay water, still had
spectacular coral growth.
Local residents and scientists have long known that Florida Bay waters
move to the southeast through the major passes between the Keys and over
the reefs of the middle Keys. Yet large corals have obviously thrived
there in times past. What recent changes in Florida Bay are now killing
our reefs? Beginning in 1987, when large areas of seagrass died in
Florida Bay, scientists suspected that decades of water management changed
conditions in the Bay. Those changes have accelerated, and today water
inimical to coral growth regularly washes over offshore areas of the
Middle Keys. As part of the regional plan to restore the Everglades, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is planning a major effort to improve the
quantity and quality of water delivery to the ecosystems of the Everglades
and in Florida Bay.
Documenting recent changes along the Florida Reef Tract and developing
management priorities are major goals of the Management Plan of the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The Plan is currently under
public review. The Keyswide Coral Reef Expedition, which is part of the
ecological assessment program, is supported by the Sanctuary, the Munson
Foundation, the NOAA National Undersea Research Program at the University
of North Carolina at Wilmington, the Harbor Branch Oceanographic
Institution, and the Florida Institute of Oceanography. Dr. Richard
Aronson, of Alabama's Dauphin Island Sea Lab is Chief Scientist of the
Expeditionary Team. "Data from the Expedition will provide the first
ecological picture of the entire Reef Tract, from Fowey Rocks in the north
to the Dry Tortugas in the southwest. Our studies will allow us to
identify the conditions that foster healthy reefs and the influences that
degrade and destroy reefs," Aronson said.
Other participants include scientists from institutions in Florida, North
Carolina and Alabama, as well as the Reef Survey Team from the Australian
Institute of Marine Science. Dr. Terry Done Australian team leader said
that the Expedition "provides a unique opportunity to understand the
striking parallels between the Great Barrier Reef and the Florida Reef
Tract." A key issue for both countries is understanding the impact of
sewage and land use practices on the long-term health of coral reefs. The
participating scientists anticipate major international cooperative
efforts to share data and information in order to solve these problems.
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