BIO

Jessica Dambra is a fourth-year Environmental Science and Policy student from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with a passion for coral reef ecology and conservation. Her interest in these diverse ecosystems developed when she became a recreational diver where she observed, with admiration and sadness, the beauty and decline of reef ecosystems throughout the Caribbean. She aspires to utilize the skills and knowledge gained through her undergraduate studies to conserve and protect coral reefs worldwide. Jessica hopes to delve into the field of coral restoration post-graduation and contribute to the growing research surrounding Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease.

Temporal changes in fish diversity in correlation to corals affected by stony coral tissue loss disease within the Florida Reef Tract

Abstract

The Florida Reef Tract is the largest coral reef ecosystem in the continental US spanning roughly 360 miles from the Dry Tortugas near Key West to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. Since 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has rapidly spread throughout the Florida Reef Tract and the Caribbean, killing many reef-building coral species. Since coral reefs sustain such a diverse range of marine life, particularly reef fish, the purpose of this study is to better understand how SCTLD affects reef fish diversity within the Florida Keys. We hypothesize that reef fish diversity has declined overtime after the first detection of SCTLD, likely as a result of decreased live coral cover. We analyzed changes in fish diversity in relation to coral infection status by examining coral reef fish survey data provided by the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program. Reef fish diversity was calculated using the Shannon diversity metric for three distinct regions along the Florida Reef Tract (Key Biscayne, Key West, and Dry Tortugas). Temporal trends in diversity with respect to SCTLD were investigated from 2014 to 2018 using linear regression. The results of this study indicate that the decline of reef fish diversity is associated with the detection of SCTLD. We found a significant decrease in reef fish diversity at Key Biscayne where SCTLD was first detected in 2014. Comparatively, there was no significant change in reef fish diversity at Dry Tortugas National Park where SCTLD had not yet been detected.

Keywords: SCTLD, Coral, Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, Reef fish, Diversity