ATLANTIC AND GULF RAPID REEF ASSESSMENT (AGRRA): A TOOL FOR MULTI-SCALE STUDIES OF FLORIDA CORAL REEFS

Understanding the relationship between nearshore water quality and incidence of mortality in corals is essential to resource management.  Achieving this goal requires the integration of multiple indicators linking community responses with a rapid diagnosis of stress factors before they lead to declines in the reef community.  This study applied a multi-scale/multi-tool approach to examine differences between nearshore (3 m) and offshore (6 m) patch reefs within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and in Biscayne National Park (BNP) between 2001 and 2005.  We used the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment Assessment (AGRRA), a protocol developed by R. N. Ginsburg and others, to assess the condition of these benthic communities.  We compared results of the AGRRA assessments with environmental data, population data on the bioindicator species Amphistegina gibbosa (Class Foraminifera), and a suite of cellular parameters to determine which parameters most closely predicted the survival or demise of the reef-building coral Montastraea annularis.  We found the FKNMS and BNP reefs to be in relatively poor condition (< 16% live coral cover) with the highest live coral cover in the nearshore (3 m) patch reefs.  No clear north - south trends were observed, though geographic differences were apparent.