Smith, S. R., Aronson, R. B., Ogden, J. C.

Coral reef benthic community response to ten years of management in fully protected marine zones of the Florida Keys: Report of 2007 field work

2007

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The primary purpose of this project was to resume our study of coral recruitment, juvenile coral mortality and benthic community structure in fully protected (no-take?) zones and adjacent reference sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). This work will form part of our ten year assessment of the efficacy of the protected areas in restoring coral populations in the FKNMS. The fully protected zones (FPZs) consisted of South Carysfort (Carysfort Sanctuary Preservation Area) in the Upper Keys, and Eastern Sambo Research-Only Area and Western Sambo Ecological Reserve in the Lower Keys. The reference sites were Maitland, located near the M/V Maitland ship-grounding site in the Upper Keys, and Middle Sambo Reef and Pelican Shoal in the Lower Keys. These sites have been studied continually from 1998 until 2005. Other monitoring sites were established in the Upper Keys in 2002, at Molasses Reef FPZ with nearby Pickles Reef selected as a reference area but we did not anticipate being able to work on those sites this year due to the current level of funding support.

FY2007 CRCP Project ID 10347; Project Title: Coral Reef Benthic Community Response to Management in Fully Protected Marine Zones of the Florida Keys; Principal Investigator: Brian Keller