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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 Floridas population (6 billion people)Coastal population has grown 64% since 199030 million visitors/yearWhere are Floridas Coral Reefs?2

Floridas Coral Reefs are homeTo a rich and diverse assemblage of more than 6000 species of marine life.To Residents And Visitors To animals BIG and small Some are here just for the season and others have lived here for a very long time.4Benefits

5Floridas Reefs are essential to our way of life.

Tourism, recreation and fishing are the basis of Floridas economy and the Floridian lifestyle.

Reef-related tourism, diving and fishing annually provide:$6.3 billion in sales and income 71,000 jobs70% of sales attributed to visitors

Floridas 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.

$6.3 billion in sales and income ($5.7 billion in SE FL alone)71,000 jobs annually (61,000 in SE FL)6Floridas Reefs are threatened.

19571980s2007LPSP, Misuse and Overuse, Maritime Industry and Coastal Construction Impacts, Global Threats, and Invasive Species, AMONG OTHERS!7Floridas Reefs have been damaged.

Photo Series: Phil Dustin

Reefs at Risk Revisited (Burke et al, 2011)Cumulative ImpactsCumulative Impacts

Reefs at Risk Revisited (Burke et al, 2011)

State of the Reef System195020002100Reef condition20142050Overfishing/LBSP/Climate ChangeThe reefs are no longer healthy nor resilient and being constantly pushed down from multiple impacts and can not recover on their own. BUT, we are still managing the reefs as if they were healthy and resilient. Management must change to fully integrate active reef ecosystem restoration with threat abatement to allow the reef ecosystems to recover, they will not do it on their own! They will die a death from thousands of cuts12State of the Reef System195020002100Reef condition20142050Overfishing/LBSP/Climate ChangeThreat Abatement Alone

Status Quo

The reefs are no longer healthy nor resilient and being constantly pushed down from multiple impacts and can not recover on their own. BUT, we are still managing the reefs as if they were healthy and resilient. Management must change to fully integrate active reef ecosystem restoration with threat abatement to allow the reef ecosystems to recover, they will not do it on their own! They will die a death from thousands of cuts13State of the Reef System195020002100Reef condition20132050Ecosystem Restoration + Threat Abatement

Threat Abatement Alone

Status Quo

Overfishing/LBSP/Climate ChangeThe reefs are no longer healthy nor resilient and being constantly pushed down from multiple impacts and can not recover on their own. BUT, we are still managing the reefs as if they were healthy and resilient. Management must change to fully integrate active reef ecosystem restoration with threat abatement to allow the reef ecosystems to recover, they will not do it on their own! They will die a death from thousands of cuts14

Florida Reef Resilience Program (FRRP)Origin: Discussions between NOAA, GBRMPA, State of Florida, TNC

Resilience based management concept Monitoring of entire reef tract GoalsIdentify reefs that are likely to resist or recover from bleachingGuide the protection & management of those reef areas

A Public and Private Partnership17

Healthy vs. BleachedCoral Bleaching

Impacts of Coral BleachingBleaching 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 teams1 x 10m belt transects (2/site)Measure/assess all corals (>=4 cm)

Species level identificationDegree of bleaching and presence of disease Data entered online Database queried for resultsDRM Field Methods

200520131758 Surveyed SitesFRRP Survey Sites22

2013 Bleaching Extent By Zone100 surveyed sitesMild 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.orgFRRP Website

Bleaching Response Plan

Chapter 1: Early Warning System

Chapter 2: Impact Assessment

Chapter 3: Communications

Chapter 4: Management ActionsEnhancing Coastal Protection

Coastalresilience.org28Example: Reef Wave AttenuationWave heights during storm

No live coral on reefRole of Coral

1900200021002200YearMitigation: Reduce rate & magnitude of sea temperature changeReef conditionIncrease resilience: Refugia Water quality Biodiversity ConnectivityResilience threshold

What we need to do30

THANK YOUJames Byrnejbyrne@tnc.org