Observing the Model Organism in the Florida Keys: Coral Reefs, Urchins and more.

Abstract:

The way to identify biodiversity and ecological health is through identifying patterns. One way to observe different patterns is through population growth, vulnerabilities and human impact. According to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) the coral reefs are losing healthy coral reefs in the range of “50% to 90% over the last 30 years in most areas,” (Moe 2016). In this essay I will confer the aims of understanding population distribution through geographical range. The purpose is to discover underlying diversity patterns, interactions and movement of the marine organisms (Smith and Smith 2000).For accurate understanding of spatial extent of the coral reef specifically, I will aim to identify the local subpopulations in watersheds, as well as the collective local subpopulations of urchins known as metapopulations in the coral reef. This information tells ecologists the birth and death rate, in order to retrieve accurate measurement of health in coral reefs. The first topic covered will be dispersal of coral reef and species range. Next, the coral reef natural history characteristics will be explained as well as the population growth of the Diadema Urchin. Then population regulation and vulnerability of the species through human and non-human contact will be elucidated. Lastly, local effects of human population and solutions for the coral reef will be examined.

Dispersal is studied through the abundance of distributed clusters of the coral reef. It is an easy task to study the coral reef dispersal however, the reef faces many threats to its survival. The population growth is equivalent to a rate of being destroyed faster than replicating. Tidal currents are one of the accountable parts of the total variables in coastal water reefs and are important in local subpopulation and dispersion. However due to the coral reef symmetry, tidal currents are not efficient vehicles for spatial content. If dispersal is enough to connect populations within a species range, then one should expect that species be present within most communities encompassing its range. In turn, this could explain patterns of fish species ability to thrive and assemble accordingly to the local coral reef communities. Figure 1. The location of coral reefs among the South Florida Keys. These boundaries were illustrated by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary showing the uniform population in the upper coral reefs.

The history of ecology of the Florida Key reef has been linked to over fishing and habitat loss. Scientific data sources have shown the range of fishermen from early Spanish and British explorers to recreational fishermen (Agassiz 1880). Agassiz data explains the abundance of marine species through his observation of seeing coral reefs that extend for miles. Specific changes documented by historical ecology research help indicate a baseline for what happened to the decline of population density in coral reefs. First of all loss of top predators, such as an extinct species of monk seal which was historically ubiquitous and abundant in coral reef communities. Second the loss of spawning aggregations and reductions in numbers of large fish and sea urchins. By understanding the degree of change that has occurred over time shows how the ecosystem performed well in a more undisturbed space.

According to the department state of Florida, there are forty five species of stony corals and thirty seven species of octocorals are found along the barrier reef in the Keys. These corals live in individual colonies with different shapes. As mentioned before, the corals house a variety of algae, living symbiotically together. There are two classifications for corals: stony corals and octocorals (Starr et al. 2013). The main composition of the barrier reef is stony coral. They have polyps which extract calcium from seawater and consume carbon dioxide to construct the limestone skeleton. The history of the coral reef can be seen by examining the long-spined Diadema sea urchins. The urchins became lethargic in the 1980’s, and were not behaving properly for self-preservation (Moe 2016). They lost their ability to camouflage and protect themselves, becoming easy prey. This death caused disease to spread, affecting the coral reefs (Donahue and Keller 2005). Moreover, the coral reefs were being affected by climate change and warming of the oceans. Coral bleaching occurs due to the coral being stressed and the organism dinoflagellate population in coral’s tissues cannot rebound, leaving behind a skeleton coral (Starr et al. 2013). Although there are promising signs of some Diadema population recovery, and some scattered clusters of Diadema Urchins along the reefs of the Florida Keys, this species presents a small figure yet important figure of the health of coral reefs (Chiapponne et al. 2002).

The Figure above shows the range of stress from high temperatures on coral reefs. From the occurrence of hurricanes throughout the years, surface temperatures cooled the water. The increase of heat in the weather patterns created stress on the corals and they began to bleach. Right before the bleaching event occurred Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma improved the hot temperatures of the water preventing more stress from heat or “Duldrum” weather patterns (Donahue and Keller 2005). Other disturbances to the coral reef are tropical storms which snap branches of mangrove trees and transfer other debris into the ocean (colliding with the coral reef). Tropical cyclones act as vacuums, pulling up and overturning coral colonies. Human development causes another major issue which affects the coral reefs. In order to protect the Everglades from over flooding, drainage systems were implemented which cause the runoff to be deposited in the ocean. Moreover, coastal development has caused pollution and bacteria such as Enterococci and fecal coliform bacteria to enter the oceans. Fishing and recreational vessels contribute to the disturbance of the reefs by eliminating specific types of predators which may result in cascading ecological effects (Frank et al. 2005). In addition, fishing traps and human junk dispelled into the ocean can be moved by strong storms killing coral reef communities (Sheridan et al. 2005).

This information is essential for managing and restoring the ecosystem of the coral reef. Humans are one of the major causes of the mass destruction of the coral reef. Indirectly, humans have contributed to climate change through industrial development and agriculture. They have also directly influenced the disturbance to coral reef communities by boating, fishing, and polluting the water. Thus the intervention of finding a solution is underway by monitoring the habitat of the Keys coral reef. Water quality characteristics are qualified by its physical, chemical and biological variables. Scientists use statistical techniques, to understand the factors that influence nutrient biogeochemistry in the Florida watershed (Boyer and Briceño 2007). The Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute collects data on the coral habitats, and create protected nursery sites at shallow offshore or patch reef areas. The protected areas have shown recovery, yet over fishing still occurs, which damages even in the protected habitats. Algal blooms in the Keys are inhibited by heavy nutrients and water flows from run off by the Everglades (Fabricius et al. 2005). Climate change warms the ocean temperatures which is a difficult and major factor in coral bleaching. Solutions cannot just be found locally. Marine biologists can create coral nurseries and protected habitats as much as they can. However, with the rate of exponential human population growth, increases the pollution in the environment causing the devastation to the watershed ecosystem.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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