Dana E. Williams, NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Protected Resources Division
Margaret W. Miller, NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Protected Resources Division
20050501
Demographic Monitoring of juvenile Acropora spp. in the Florida Keys 2002
Spreadsheet and digital images
Caribbean acroporid species have undergone extreme declines in abundance since the 1980s. Population-level recovery will depend on re-colonization by juveniles (fragments or sexual recruits), which are particularly vulnerable to threats such as predation and disease. Demographic monitoring of juvenile Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata colonies was undertaken in the Florida Keys (USA) to determine the fate of various initial colony conditions as expressed by growth and survivorship over an 18 month study. Both healthy colonies and those with signs of recent predation or disease were selected at several sites, measured, photographed and reassessed periodically between summer 2002 and winter 2003-04. Most A. palmata colonies (72%) that were initially healthy were still healthy at the study's conclusion. Snail (Coralliophila abbreviata) predation resulted in partial mortality which decreased growth for A. palmata. Snail-infested colonies tended to retain snails for several months to a year. White-band disease affected several colonies throughout the survey but did not result in complete mortality of any tagged colonies. Only half of the initially healthy A. cervicornis colonies remained healthy, while 38% lost substantial tissue or died of a rapidly progressing disease of unknown etiology. Predation by the fireworm Hermodice carunculata was extremely common. Although it was associated with relatively little live tissue loss, it is postulated to have profound effects on growth since it feeds selectively on the growing tips. Regardless of initial condition, A. cervicornis lost substantial tissue more often than A. palmata suggesting that A. cervicornis may be even more imperiled than its congener.
To determine the fate of juvenile colonies exposed to a variety of natural threats.
200206
200402
ground condition
None planned
Patch reef and reef tract habitats in lower Biscayne National Park and upper Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
-80.40
-80.17
25.38
24.98
NCEI Geoportal FilterCoRIS_Metadata
CRCP Project
Assessment and monitoring of Candidate Coral species
1055
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
Numeric Data Sets > Biology
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Predation > Coral Predation
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases
None
juvenile corals
coral disease
coral predation
ISO 19115 Topic Category
biota
002
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean > Florida Reef Tract > Biscayne Bay > Elkhorn Reef (25N080W0008)
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Florida > Dade County > Elkhorn Reef (25N080W0008)
OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean > Florida Reef Tract > Upper Florida Keys > Dry Rocks (25N080W0011)
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Florida > Monroe County > Dry Rocks (25N080W0011)
OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean > Florida Reef Tract > Upper Florida Keys > White Bank Dry Rocks (25N080W0021)
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Florida > Monroe County > White Bank Dry Rocks (25N080W0021)
OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean > Florida Reef Tract > Upper Florida Keys > Sand Island (25N080W0036)
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Florida > Monroe County > Sand Island (25N080W0036)
None
Anniversary Reef
Elkhorn Reef
Marker 3 Reef
North Dry Rocks
White Bank Dry Rocks
Sand Island
CoRIS Region
Florida
none
elkhorn corals
staghorn corals
coral snails
boring sponges
fireworm
ITIS organization and partners: U.S. Department of Agriculture; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Geological Survey; Smithsonian Institution; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; National Biological Information Infrastructure; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; U.S. National Park Service; Conabio (Comisión nacional para el conocimiento y uso de la biodiversidad - Mexico)
20020602
Unknown
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
None
Database
World Wide Web at URL: http://www.itis.usda.gov/itis_query.html
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) organization and partners
A species list is provided in the original data files, but not all species were observed during the study. Only those species identified during the surveys are included in this metadata record. Higher level taxonomy of species was completed, and species synonyms were noted, FOR THIS METADATA RECORD ONLY at the NODC using the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) in conjunction with additional taxonomic and museum references as required. No originator data has been altered at the NODC; higher level taxonomy is added at the NODC to selected biological metadata records as an aid to search engines which utilize metadata.
The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was used to detemine complete classifications.
Taxonomic_Keyword: Acropora palmata, Acropora cervicornis, Coralliophila abbreviata, Hermodice carunculata
Florida Reef Tract
Kingdoms
Animalia
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Cnidaria
Class
Anthozoa
Order
Scleractinia
Family
Acroporidae
Genus
Acropora
Species
Acropora palmata
elkhorn coral
Species
Acropora cervicornis
staghorn coral
Phylum
Mollusca
Class
Gastropoda
Order
Neogastropoda
Family
Coralliophilidae
Genus
Coralliophila
Species
Coralliophila abbreviata
short coral snail
Phylum
Annelida
Class
Polychaeta
Order
Aciculata
Family
Amphinomidae
Genus
Hermodice
Species
Hermodice carunculata
Fireworm
Access to jpg images select data available to general public for approved use upon request
Images must be credited to the originator, constraints of released data will be determined based on intended use.
Dana E. Williams
NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Protected Resources Division
Physical mailing
75 Virginia Beach Dr
Miami
FL
33149
305-361-4569
Offline Data
NOAA makes no warranty regarding these data, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NODC
cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data, nor as a result of the failure of these data to function on a particular system.
Spreadsheet file and jpg images
CD available upon request
9660
none
request by email dana.williams@noaa.gov
20200329
Dana Williams
NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Protected Resources Division
Physical Mailing
75 Virginia Beach Dr
Miami
FL
33149
305-361-4569
FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001.1-1999
20060123040317
None
20020601
20040231
https://www.coris.noaa.gov/metadata/records/html/monitoring_juvenile_acropora_florida_keys_2002.html
1155