OUR FLORIDA CORAL REEFS James Byrne April 2014. Spans over 300 nautical miles from the Dry Tortugas to Stuart. The only tropical coral reef system, and.

OUR FLORIDA CORAL REEFSJames Byrne April 2014

• Spans over 300 nautical miles from the Dry Tortugas to Stuart.

• The only tropical coral reef system, and one of the greatest natural resources, in Florida and the continental United States.

• Adjacent to one of the most densely populated and urbanized coastal communities in the U.S.

1/3 of Florida’s population (6 billion people)

Coastal population has grown 64% since 1990

30 million visitors/year

Where are Florida’s Coral Reefs?

Florida’s Coral Reefs are home

Benefits

Florida’s Reefs are essential to our way of life.

• Tourism, recreation and fishing are the basis of Florida’s economy and the Floridian lifestyle.

• Reef-related tourism, diving and fishing annually provide:

$6.3 billion in sales and income 71,000 jobs 70% of sales attributed to visitors

• Florida’s reefs provide shelter, food and breeding sites for many recreational and commercial fishery species.

• Reefs generate sand for our beaches and protect our shorelines from tropical storms and erosion.

Florida’s Reefs are threatened.

1957

1980’s

2007

Florida’s Reefs have been damaged.

Photo Series: Phil Dustin

Reefs at Risk Revisited (Burke et al, 2011)

Cumulative Impacts

Cumulative Impacts

Reefs at Risk Revisited (Burke et al, 2011)

State of the Reef System

1950 2000 2100

Re

ef

co

nd

itio

n

2014

2050

Overfishing/LBSP/Climate Change

State of the Reef System

1950 2000 2100

Re

ef

co

nd

itio

n

2014

2050

Overfishing/LBSP/Climate ChangeThreat Abatement Alone

Status Quo

State of the Reef System

1950 2000 2100

Re

ef

co

nd

itio

n

2013

2050

Ecosystem Restoration + Threat Abatement

Threat Abatement Alone

Status Quo

Overfishing/LBSP/Climate Change

Florida Reef Resilience Program (FRRP)

Origin: Discussions between NOAA, GBRMPA, State of Florida, TNC

• Resilience based management concept• Monitoring of entire reef tract• Goals

– Identify reefs that are likely to resist or recover from bleaching– Guide the protection & management of those reef areas

A Public and Private Partnership

Healthy vs. Bleached

Coral Bleaching

Impacts of Coral Bleaching

Bleaching can lead to disease and sometimes death.

Death due to bleaching reduces coral reef biodiversity by decreasing coral species and coral cover.

Declines in coral cover can

cause a decrease in abundance of reef fish and a large decline in the number of reef species.*

* Jones, G. P. et. al. 2004. Coral decline threatens fish biodiversity in marine reserves. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 101: 8251-8253.

Bleaching, disease, and death of inshore patch reefs in the Florida Keys (Marilyn E. Brandt, University of Miami)

• Monitor coral reef health after disturbances

• 2005-12 focused on coral bleaching

• Trained experts survey stony corals on FL reef tract during peak annual temperatures (6-8 weeks)

• Follow-up surveys after moderate/severe bleaching years (e.g. 2005)

• Can be used for other disturbances (e.g. hurricanes, cold water)

Disturbance Response Monitoring (DRM)

• Random sites generated and assigned to teams

• 1 x 10m belt transects (2/site)

• Measure/assess all corals (>=4 cm)

• Species level identification• Degree of bleaching and

presence of disease • Data entered online • Database queried for results

DRM Field Methods

2005–20131758 Surveyed Sites

FRRP Survey Sites

2013 Bleaching Extent By Zone

• 100 surveyed sites• Mild to moderate bleaching (0-50%)• Moderate bleaching occurring in Upper Keys,

Biscayne and Broward sub-regions due to paling.

2005-2010 Data Analysis

Inverse distance weight interpolations of FRRP data

www.frrp.org

FRRP Website

Bleaching Response Plan

Chapter 1: Early Warning System

Chapter 2: Impact Assessment

Chapter 3: Communications

Chapter 4: Management Actions

Enhancing Coastal Protection

Coastalresilience.org

EXAMPLE: REEF WAVE ATTENUATIONWave heights during storm

No live coral on reef Role of Coral

19001900 20002000 21002100 22002200

YearYear

Mitigation: Reduce rate & magnitude of sea temperature change

Mitigation: Reduce rate & magnitude of sea temperature change

Reef conditionReef condition

Increase resilience:• Refugia

• Water quality

• Biodiversity

• Connectivity

Increase resilience:• Refugia

• Water quality

• Biodiversity

• Connectivity

“Resilience threshold”“Resilience threshold”

What we need to do

THANK YOU

James [email protected]