Determining the extent and characterizing coral reef habitats of the northern latitudes of the Florida Reef Tract (Martin County).

Climate change has recently been implicated in poleward shifts of many tropical species including corals; thus attention focused on higher-latitude coral communities is warranted to investigate possible range expansions and ecosystem shifts due to global warming. As the northern extension of the Flo...

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Autores principales:	Brian K Walker, David S Gilliam
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a25bfde252144f8db8d7f580996525fd
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a25bfde252144f8db8d7f580996525fd2021-11-18T08:44:53ZDetermining the extent and characterizing coral reef habitats of the northern latitudes of the Florida Reef Tract (Martin County).1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0080439https://doaj.org/article/a25bfde252144f8db8d7f580996525fd2013-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24282542/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Climate change has recently been implicated in poleward shifts of many tropical species including corals; thus attention focused on higher-latitude coral communities is warranted to investigate possible range expansions and ecosystem shifts due to global warming. As the northern extension of the Florida Reef Tract (FRT), the third-largest barrier reef ecosystem in the world, southeast Florida (25-27° N latitude) is a prime region to study such effects. Most of the shallow-water FRT benthic habitats have been mapped, however minimal data and limited knowledge exist about the coral reef communities of its northernmost reaches off Martin County. First benthic habitat mapping was conducted using newly acquired high resolution LIDAR bathymetry and aerial photography where possible to map the spatial extent of coral reef habitats. Quantitative data were collected to characterize benthic cover and stony coral demographics and a comprehensive accuracy assessment was performed. The data were then analyzed in a habitat biogeography context to determine if a new coral reef ecosystem region designation was warranted. Of the 374 km(2) seafloor mapped, 95.2% was Sand, 4.1% was Coral Reef and Colonized Pavement, and 0.7% was Other Delineations. Map accuracy assessment yielded an overall accuracy of 94.9% once adjusted for known map marginal proportions. Cluster analysis of cross-shelf habitat type and widths indicated that the benthic habitats were different than those further south and warranted designation of a new coral reef ecosystem region. Unlike the FRT further south, coral communities were dominated by cold-water tolerant species and LIDAR morphology indicated no evidence of historic reef growth during warmer climates. Present-day hydrographic conditions may be inhibiting poleward expansion of coral communities along Florida. This study provides new information on the benthic community composition of the northern FRT, serving as a baseline for future community shift and range expansion investigations.Brian K WalkerDavid S GilliamPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 11, p e80439 (2013)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Brian K Walker David S Gilliam Determining the extent and characterizing coral reef habitats of the northern latitudes of the Florida Reef Tract (Martin County).
description	Climate change has recently been implicated in poleward shifts of many tropical species including corals; thus attention focused on higher-latitude coral communities is warranted to investigate possible range expansions and ecosystem shifts due to global warming. As the northern extension of the Florida Reef Tract (FRT), the third-largest barrier reef ecosystem in the world, southeast Florida (25-27° N latitude) is a prime region to study such effects. Most of the shallow-water FRT benthic habitats have been mapped, however minimal data and limited knowledge exist about the coral reef communities of its northernmost reaches off Martin County. First benthic habitat mapping was conducted using newly acquired high resolution LIDAR bathymetry and aerial photography where possible to map the spatial extent of coral reef habitats. Quantitative data were collected to characterize benthic cover and stony coral demographics and a comprehensive accuracy assessment was performed. The data were then analyzed in a habitat biogeography context to determine if a new coral reef ecosystem region designation was warranted. Of the 374 km(2) seafloor mapped, 95.2% was Sand, 4.1% was Coral Reef and Colonized Pavement, and 0.7% was Other Delineations. Map accuracy assessment yielded an overall accuracy of 94.9% once adjusted for known map marginal proportions. Cluster analysis of cross-shelf habitat type and widths indicated that the benthic habitats were different than those further south and warranted designation of a new coral reef ecosystem region. Unlike the FRT further south, coral communities were dominated by cold-water tolerant species and LIDAR morphology indicated no evidence of historic reef growth during warmer climates. Present-day hydrographic conditions may be inhibiting poleward expansion of coral communities along Florida. This study provides new information on the benthic community composition of the northern FRT, serving as a baseline for future community shift and range expansion investigations.
format	article
author	Brian K Walker David S Gilliam
author_facet	Brian K Walker David S Gilliam
author_sort	Brian K Walker
title	Determining the extent and characterizing coral reef habitats of the northern latitudes of the Florida Reef Tract (Martin County).
title_short	Determining the extent and characterizing coral reef habitats of the northern latitudes of the Florida Reef Tract (Martin County).
title_full	Determining the extent and characterizing coral reef habitats of the northern latitudes of the Florida Reef Tract (Martin County).
title_fullStr	Determining the extent and characterizing coral reef habitats of the northern latitudes of the Florida Reef Tract (Martin County).
title_full_unstemmed	Determining the extent and characterizing coral reef habitats of the northern latitudes of the Florida Reef Tract (Martin County).
title_sort	determining the extent and characterizing coral reef habitats of the northern latitudes of the florida reef tract (martin county).
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2013
url	https://doaj.org/article/a25bfde252144f8db8d7f580996525fd
work_keys_str_mv	AT briankwalker determiningtheextentandcharacterizingcoralreefhabitatsofthenorthernlatitudesofthefloridareeftractmartincounty AT davidsgilliam determiningtheextentandcharacterizingcoralreefhabitatsofthenorthernlatitudesofthefloridareeftractmartincounty
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Determining the extent and characterizing coral reef habitats of the northern latitudes of the Florida Reef Tract (Martin County).

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