Water Flow, Water Quality and Threatened Florida Corals

Reprinted from Natural Resources and Environmenta, Volume 22 No. 2 Fall 2007

Presented at Reef Relief’s Annual Membership Meeting, July, 1997, Key West, Florida

CORALS IN CRISIS SAY EXPERTS

Reef Relief’s annual membership meeting featured presentations by Craig Quirolo, Reef Relief’s founder and Director of Marine Projects, Katy Thacker of the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society and Dr. James Porter of the University of Georgia.

Reef Relief’s Annual Membership Meeting, held Wednesday evening the Pier House Caribbean Spa, the prime event of Reef Awareness Week featured Craig Quirolo’s “State of the Reef” Address, a presentation of the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society on Jamaica’s conservation programs as well as a captivating discussion entitled “A Pox Upon Your House: Coral disease in the Florida Keys” by Dr. James Porter of the University of Georgia.

Quirolo’s presentation included a review of the cumulative data of his on-going coral monitoring survey, now in its fifth year. The coral diseases have accelerated beyond our wildest expectations — “a coral crises of one thousand percent increase in coral disease over the past year,” noted Quirolo.

He showed slides of corals attacked by a variety of diseases. Most remarkable were recently taken slides of corals in Cuba that showed similar disease infestations. “The increase in coral diseases extends beyond the Florida Keys — oceans know no political boundaries,” added Quirolo.

Katy Thacker, executive director of the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society, stressed the long term importance of collaborating on a regional basis, citing the multi-year cooperation between her organization and that of REEF RELIEF in efforts to install reef mooring buoys, improve water quality, launch educational programs and implement coral reef monitoring surveys.

“We cannot over-emphasize the importance of a regional focus when looking at conserving coral reef ecosystems,” added Ms. Thacker. She described a community-based programs throughout the Negril, Jamaica watershed that have heightened awareness and concern for the protection of Negril’s coral reefs.

Dr. Porter’s talk included a review of developing coral diseases in the Florida Keys. Dr. Porter, a highly trained biologist, stated: “I’m amazed at the proliferation of new diseases and the spread of better known diseases in the Florida Keys.”

The Environmental protection Agency’s Water Quality Protection Program for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has begin funding special studies of coral diseases that includes an analysis epidemeology of these diseases.

Dr. Porter’s coral disease team includes Dr. Esther Peters of Tetratech, Dr. Eric Mueller of the Pigeon Key Foundation and the support of Reef Relief in the Key West area in surveying a growing list that includes White Pox, Blackband, Yellowband, White Pox II, Yellow Blotch and Red Spots.

“In some cases we don’t know whether it is a bacterium, a fungus, a virus, or a protazoa — we don’t know enough,” lamented the scientist.

INCREASED EVERGLADES FLOWS IMPACT CORAL REEFS

A talk by Dr. Brian Lapointe during the 1997 Reef Awareness Week called “Coral Reefs, Seagrasses and the Sargasso Sea”Dr. Brian Lapointe of Harborbranch Oceanographic Institution addressed a full house for the Reef Awareness Week luncheon July 25th, 1997 at Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada.His talk, entitled “Coral Reefs Seagrasses and the Sargasso Sea,” detailed in the dynamics of pelagic Sargassum, the floating seaweed in the Sargasso Sea and adjacent waters.Dr. Lapointe’s recent field research indicated the highest growth rate and biomass of Sargassum occurs in the Florida Straits and the Gulfstream where land-based run-off enriches the drifting plants with nitrogen and phosphorus.Recent observations during 1996 indicate new epiphyte or algal overgrowth on these floating communities, which serve as critical habitat for juvenile loggerhead turtles once they leave their sandy nests on-shore and head out to sea.”There the turtles join a myriad of fish and other sea-life that depend upon the floating seaweeds for protection and nutrition,” stated Lapointe.The discussion led upstream to consider the increased levels of chlorophyll, nitrogen and phosphorus levels contained in the Everglades runoff and wastewater discharges in the Florida Keys.Dr. Lapointe presented graphs and data documenting that the increased flow of water from the Everglades into Florida bay over the last few years has been accompanied by a corresponding increase in harmful nutrients, chlorophyll and turbidity, and the decline of the downstream coral reefs.Wastewater discharges in the Keys have also contributed to to the over-enrichment of local waters.Lapointe reported the results of his USPA-funded study of Looe Key reef that found chlorophyll levels averaged 0.7 micrograms per liter in 1966.This level exceeds the critical threshold for eutrophication of coral reefs as established by the case studies of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, Barbados, and inshore reefs of the Australian Great Barrier Reef.Likewise, nitrogen levels at Looe Key were above critical thresholds for healthy coral reefs as evidenced by the “pea-soup” green water at the world famous reef.Lapointe quoted Dr. James Porter of the University of Georgia of the University of Georgia, who stated that his USEPA studies reflect a thousand percent increase in coral diseases in the Keys in the past year at the randomly-selected sites he is monitoring.The discussion that followed identified potential solutions such as the immediate need for advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) throughout the Keys and official recognition of the nitrogen problem in the Everglades.Danny Johnson of the Upper Keys Citizens Association, who co-hosted the event, noted that a citizen committee has been appointed by the Monroe County Commission to help design and implement a Master Wastewater Plan.Lapointe recommended that the National Academy of Sciences appoint a technical oversight committee to monitor the south Florida ecosystem effort.

Reef Health: Measures of Change Scientific Panel Discussion Yields Useful Information

As part of Reef Awareness Week, Reef Relief hosted a Scientific Panel Discussion Thursday evening at the Hilton Resort. Panelists Dr. Bill Alevizon, Dr. Brian Lapointe, and Reef Relief Director Craig Quirolo presented information on the changing nature of coral reefs around the world. The audience participated in a discussion of how to determine if a reef is healthy.Some of the answers were surprising and offer a quick report card for those who visit coral reefs. Fish density is not an indicator of a healthy reef; rather a diversity of species in a small area is a better parameter of a healthy coral reef. The quality of the fish populations is another parameter; fish with lesions and diseases indicate that all is not well.The color and visibility of the water is another easy test. Clean, clear ocean waters that appear to be blue or turquoise and the depth of clarity are sure indicators of a clean ocean. Yellow or green water is a sign of an abundance of chlorophyll in the water column and this provides the growth mechanism for harmful algal blooms that out-compete the corals for habitat. Scientists often measure the level of dissolved nitrogen in the water column to determine if there are too many nutrients to support healthy reef growth. An overabundance of nutrients in the water column depletes oxygen levels and may lead to eutrophication or the “stuffing” of a reef by harmful algal growth.The corals themselves can be a signal of reef health. A uniform color on the entire coral colony, the presence of an abundance of healthy coralheads in an area, and a uniform shape to the corals-neither inflated nor deflated polyps-all signal healthy conditions. Scientists often measure the percentage of coral coverage as a measure of reef health. Soft corals such as sea fans should not be torn, nor exhibit abrasions, streaks of unusual color, or fungal growth on them.Sea urchin density is often noted as a measure of reef health, because they are algal grazers. However, a coral reef that has too much nuisance algae can never become balanced by grazers alone. Other indicators of a balanced healthy coral reef are the presence of keystone species such as turtles, conch and dolphin.Reef Relief will incorporate this information into an on-line chat session so that people from all over the world can learn more about whether their coral reefs are healthy or exhibiting the signals of change. By using these simple standards, anyone can determine whether they are visiting a healthy coral reef and increase their knowledge of protecting coral reefs.

1* JOAN B. ROSE,1 SUNNY JIANG,1 CHRIS KELLOGG,1 AND EUGENE A. SHINN2

This graphic was created as part of Reef Relief’s Clean Water Campaign to educate the public on why it was critical to have advanced wastewater treatment throughout the Florida  Keys.  As a result of years of efforts, the Key West sewer outfall has been phased out with advanced wastewater treatment and efforts are underway throughout the Florida Keys to upgrade sewage treatment to state standards that require advanced treatment.  Another Reef Relief effort was creation of a No Discharge Zone for boater sewage that  is now Florida Keys-wide.

Nutrient Inputs from the Watershed

Esstuaries Vol. 15 No. 4 p 465-476 December 1992 http://www.erf.org/estuaries-coasts

Brian E. Lapointe^{1, 2} and Mark W. Clark²

Abstract  Widespread use of septic tanks in the Florida Keys increase the nutrient concentrations of limestone groundwaters that discharge into shallow nearshore waters, resulting in coastal eutrophication. This study characterizes watershed nutrient inputs, transformations, and effects along a land-sea gradient stratified into four ecosystems that occur with increasing distance from land: manmade canal systems (receiving waters of nutrient inputs), seagrass meadows, patch reefs, and offshore bank reefs. Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), the primary limiting nutrient, was significantly elevated in canal systems compared to the other ecosystems, while dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN; NH₄ ⁺ and NO₃ ⁻) a secondary limiting nutrient, was elevated both in canal systems and seagrass meadows. SRP and NH₄ ⁺ concentrations decreased to low concentrations within approximately 1 km and 3 km from land, respectively. DIN and SRP accounted for their greatest contribution (up to 30%) of total N and P pools in canals, compared to dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) that dominated (up to 68%) the total N and P pools at the offshore bank reefs. Particulate N and P fractions were also elevated (up to 48%) in canals and nearshore seagrass meadows, indicating rapid biological uptake of DIN and SRP into organic particles. Chlorophylla and turbidity were also elevated in canal systems and seagrass meadows; chlorophylla was maximal during summer when maximum watershed nutrient input occurs, whereas turbidity was maximal during winter due to seasonally maximum wind conditions and sediment resuspension. DO was negatively correlated with NH₄ ⁺ and SRP; hypoxia (DO<2.5 mg l⁻¹) frequently occurred in nutrient-enriched canal systems and seagrass meadows, especially during the warm summer months. These findings correlate with recent (<5 years) observations of increasing algal blooms, seagrass epiphytization and die-off, and loss of coral cover on patch and bank reef ecosystems, suggesting that nearshore waters of the Florida Keys have entered a stage of critical eutrophication.