Benthic community composition at Pickles Reef, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary from 2009-2013

Website: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/674368
Data Type: experimental
Version: 2
Version Date: 2021-08-06

Project
» Cascading interactions of herbivore loss and nutrient enrichment on coral reef macroalgae, corals, and microbial dynamics (HERBVRE)
ContributorsAffiliationRole
Burkepile, DeronFlorida International University (FIU)Principal Investigator
Vega Thurber, RebeccaFlorida International University (FIU)Co-Principal Investigator
Copley, NancyWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO)BCO-DMO Data Manager
Rauch, ShannonWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO)BCO-DMO Data Manager

Abstract
This dataset contains benthic community composition data for the study plots at Pickles Reef, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary from 2009-2013. Published in Nature Communications (2016) doi:10.1038/ncomms11833, Supplementary Data 2c.


Coverage

Spatial Extent: Lat:24.9943 Lon:-80.4065
Temporal Extent: 2009-06-22 - 2013-08-17

Dataset Description

This dataset contains benthic community composition data for the study plots at Pickles Reef, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary from 2009-2013. Published in Nature Communications (2016) doi:10.1038/ncomms11833, Supplementary Data 2c.

Natural history of the study site: 
This experiment was conducted in the area of Pickles Reef (24.99430, -80.40650), located east of Key Largo, Florida in the United States. The Florida Keys reef tract consists of a large bank reef system located approximately 8 km offshore of the Florida Keys, USA, and paralleling the island chain. Our study reef is a 5-6 m deep spur and groove reef system within this reef tract. The reefs of the Florida Keys have robust herbivorous fish populations and are relatively oligotrophic. Coral cover on most reefs in the Florida Keys, including our site, is 5-10%, while macroalgal cover averages ~15%, but ranges from 0-70% depending on location and season. Parrotfishes (Scaridae) and surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae) are the dominant herbivores on these reefs as fishing for them was banned in 1981. The other important herbivore on Caribbean reefs, the urchin Diadema antillarum, remains at low densities across the Florida Keys following the mass mortality event in 1982-3.

Related Reference:
Zaneveld, J.R., D.E. Burkepile, A.A. Shantz, C. Pritchard, R. McMinds, J. Payet, R. Welsh, A.M.S. Correa, N.P. Lemoine, S. Rosales, C.E. Fuchs, and R. Vega Thurber (2016) Overfishing, nutrient pollution, and temperature interact to disrupt coral reefs down to microbial scales. Nature Communications 7:11833 doi:10.1038/ncomms11833 Supplementary Information


Methods & Sampling

Quantification of benthic cover:
At least once every season (for example, spring, summer, fall, winter at 12–14 week intervals), we visually quantified benthic cover within four, 50 × 50 cm quadrats in each of the 1 m2 treatment areas. These quadrats were divided into 49 points, and benthic organisms under each point were identified to species or genus. Algae that are challenging to identify taxonomically under field conditions (for example, crustose coralline algae and filamentous algae) were classified into algal functional groups. Filamentous algae were classified into short algal turf (<0.5 cm in height) or algal turf (>0.5 cm in height) given that taller, thicker algal turf can often be deleterious to coral health and growth10.

Benthic cover was quantified in June 2009 1 week before treatments were initiated to provide a baseline from which to assess changes in algal abundance and community structure. No significant differences among treatments in algal abundance could be detected at the beginning of the experiment (see initial time points in Fig. 1a,b), as expected given random assignment of subplots to treatment conditions. Further, during the summer of each year (2009–2012) when algal cover was often at its highest, we also surveyed open areas of reef (areas that did not have three-sided exclosure controls) within the 9-m2 plots to assess whether the exclosure controls had any effect on algal abundance or community composition. We did not detect any differences in algal abundance or community composition between the open unmanipulated areas and exclosure controls (Supplementary Data 1).


Data Processing Description

BCO-DMO Processing:
- extracted the benthic community columns from the full table, plus the sample id, site, latitude, and longitude columns;
- added conventional header with dataset name, PI name, version date, reference information;
- renamed parameters to comply with BCO-DMO naming conventions;
- replaced 'unknown' with 'nd' ('no data').


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Data Files

File
S2c_benthic_community.csv
(Comma Separated Values (.csv), 188.47 KB)
MD5:890268cfb5c6f697219c9c9bf43b6acf
Primary data file for dataset ID 674368

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Related Publications

Zaneveld, J. R., Burkepile, D. E., Shantz, A. A., Pritchard, C. E., McMinds, R., Payet, J. P., … Thurber, R. V. (2016). Overfishing and nutrient pollution interact with temperature to disrupt coral reefs down to microbial scales. Nature Communications, 7(1). doi:10.1038/ncomms11833
Results

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Related Datasets

IsRelatedTo
Burkepile, D., Vega Thurber, R. (2021) Microbial sample metadata, sequencing and treatment details, temperature and salinity at Pickles Reef, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary from 2009-2012. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 2) Version Date 2021-08-06 doi:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.674321.2 [view at BCO-DMO]
Burkepile, D., Vega Thurber, R. (2021) Parrotfish bite annotations from Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 2009-2013. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 2) Version Date 2021-08-06 doi:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.674439.2 [view at BCO-DMO]
Burkepile, D., Vega Thurber, R. (2021) Relative abundance of phyla from Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 2009-2013. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 2) Version Date 2021-08-06 doi:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.674449.2 [view at BCO-DMO]

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Parameters

ParameterDescriptionUnits
sample_location_namename of sample collection reef unitless
latitudelatitude; north is positive decimal degrees
longitudelongitude; east is positive decimal degrees
SampleIDsample identifier unitless
date_collecteddate of collection formatted at yyyy-mm-dd unitless
QuadratAsparagopsisquadrat cover by Asparagopsis unitless
QuadratAmphiroa_fragilisimaquadrat cover by Amphiroa fragilisima unitless
QuadratAmphiroa_tribulisquadrat cover by Amphiroa tribulis unitless
QuadratAvrainvilleaquadrat cover by Avrainvillea unitless
QuadratBrown_crust_Pseudolithodermaquadrat cover by Brown crust Pseudolithoderma unitless
QuadratBotryocladiaquadrat cover by Botryocladia unitless
QuadratBryothamnionquadrat cover by Bryothamnion unitless
QuadratCCAquadrat cover by crustose coralline algae unitless
QuadratCeramium_nitensquadrat cover by Ceramium nitens unitless
QuadratCoelothrixquadrat cover by Coelothrix unitless
QuadratCryptonemiaquadrat cover by Cryptonemia unitless
QuadratCyano_Lyngbiaquadrat cover by Cyano Lyngbia unitless
QuadratCyano_Schythothirxquadrat cover by Cyano Schythothirx unitless
QuadratCyano_3quadrat cover by Cyano 3 unitless
QuadratCyano_4quadrat cover by Cyano 4 unitless
QuadratCyano_6quadrat cover by Cyano 6 unitless
QuadratCyano_Otherquadrat cover by Cyano Other unitless
QuadratDasyaquadrat cover by Dasya unitless
QuadratDasya_2quadrat cover by Dasya 2 unitless
QuadratDasycladusquadrat cover by Dasycladus unitless
QuadratDictyota_menstrualisquadrat cover by Dictyota menstrualis unitless
QuadratDictyota_pulchellaquadrat cover by Dictyota pulchella unitless
QuadratDictyota_bartquadrat cover by Dictyota bart unitless
QuadratDictyota_pfafquadrat cover by Dictyota pfaf unitless
QuadratDictyota_cilliolataquadrat cover by Dictyota cilliolata unitless
QuadratDictyota_cervicornisquadrat cover by Dictyota cervicornis unitless
QuadratDictyopterisquadrat cover by Dictyopteris unitless
QuadratDigeniaquadrat cover by Digenia unitless
QuadratEctocarpusquadrat cover by Ectocarpus unitless
QuadratGalaxaura_obtusataquadrat cover by Galaxaura obtusata unitless
QuadratGalaxura_marginataquadrat cover by Galaxura marginata unitless
QuadratGelidiellaquadrat cover by Gelidiella unitless
QuadratGracilaria_spquadrat cover by Gracilaria sp unitless
QuadratGrateloupiaquadrat cover by Grateloupia unitless
QuadratGreen_scuzquadrat cover by Green scuz unitless
QuadratHallymeniaquadrat cover by Hallymenia unitless
QuadratHalimeda_opuntiaquadrat cover by Halimeda opuntia unitless
QuadratHalimeda_scabraquadrat cover by Halimeda scabra unitless
QuadratHalimeda_goreauiiquadrat cover by Halimeda goreauii unitless
QuadratHypnea_1quadrat cover by Hypnea sp. 1 unitless
QuadratHypnea_2_Wrightiella_blodgettiiquadrat cover by Hypnea sp. 2 Wrightiella blodgettii unitless
QuadratHypnea_3quadrat cover by Hypnea sp. 3 unitless
QuadratHypnea_4quadrat cover by Hypnea sp. 4 unitless
QuadratJania_adherensquadrat cover by Jania adherens unitless
QuadratLaurenciaquadrat cover by Laurencia unitless
QuadratLaurencia_2quadrat cover by Laurencia sp. 2 unitless
QuadratLaurencia_3quadrat cover by Laurencia sp. 3 unitless
QuadratLiagora_spquadrat cover by Liagora sp unitless
QuadratLobophoraquadrat cover by Lobophora unitless
QuadratNeomerisquadrat cover by Neomeris unitless
QuadratPadina_sppquadrat cover by Padina spp unitless
QuadratPennicillusquadrat cover by Pennicillus unitless
QuadratPessyoneliaquadrat cover by Pessyonelia unitless
QuadratRed_Dictyota_likequadrat cover by Red Dictyota-like unitless
QuadratRhipocephalusquadrat cover by Rhipocephalus unitless
QuadratSargassum_polyceratiumquadrat cover by Sargassum polyceratium unitless
QuadratSargassum_hystrixquadrat cover by Sargassum hystrix unitless
QuadratSargassum_filipendulaquadrat cover by Sargassum filipendula unitless
QuadratShort_tufquadrat cover by short algal turf: filamentous algae unitless
QuadratCodium_intertextum_Spongy_greenquadrat cover by Spongy green Codium intertextum unitless
QuadratStypopodiumquadrat cover by Stypopodium unitless
QuadratTall_turfquadrat cover by Tall turf: algal turf >0.5 cm in height unitless
QuadratTurbinariaquadrat cover by Turbinaria unitless
QuadratUdotea_sppquadrat cover by Udotea spp unitless
QuadratValoniaquadrat cover by Valonia unitless
QuadratWrangelia_argusquadrat cover by Wrangelia argus unitless
QuadratWirebrush_algaquadrat cover by Wirebrush alga unitless
QuadratRed_macroalgaequadrat cover by Red macroalgae unitless
QuadratBrown_macroalgaequadrat cover by Brown macroalgae unitless
QuadratGreen_macroalgaequadrat cover by Green macroalgae unitless
QuadratUpright_calcifiedquadrat cover by Upright calcified unitless
QuadratTotal_articulated_corallinesquadrat cover by Total articulated corallines unitless
DecileQuadratTotal_articulated_corallinesDecilequadrat cover by Total articulated corallines unitless
QuadratTotal_Dictyotaquadrat cover by Total Dictyota unitless
QuadratTotal_Hypneaquadrat cover by Total Hypnea unitless
QuadratTotal_Sargassumquadrat cover by Total Sargassum unitless
QuadratTotal_macroalgaequadrat cover by Total macroalgae unitless
QuadratTotal_cyanobacteriaquadrat cover by Total cyanobacteria unitless
QuadratTotal_turf_algaequadrat cover by Total turf algae unitless
QuadratCrustose_and_turfquadrat cover by Crustose and turf unitless
QuadratTotal_upright_algal_coverquadrat cover by Total upright algal cover unitless
DecileQuadratTotal_upright_algal_coverdecile quadrat cover by Total upright algal cover unitless
QuadratAgariciaquadrat cover by Agaricia unitless
QuadratAnemonequadrat cover by Anemone unitless
QuadratDichocoeniaquadrat cover by Dichocoenia unitless
QuadratDiploriaquadrat cover by Diploria unitless
QuadratGorgonianquadrat cover by Gorgonian unitless
QuadratMadracisquadrat cover by Madracis unitless
QuadratManiciniaquadrat cover by Manicinia unitless
QuadratMeandrinaquadrat cover by Meandrina unitless
QuadratMilleporaquadrat cover by Millepora unitless
QuadratMontastrea_cavquadrat cover by Montastrea cav unitless
QuadratOther_invertsquadrat cover by Other invertebrates unitless
QuadratP_astreoidesquadrat cover by P astreoides unitless
QuadratP_poritesquadrat cover by P porites unitless
QuadratSiderastreaquadrat cover by Siderastrea unitless
QuadratSpongequadrat cover by Sponge unitless
QuadratStephanocoeaniaquadrat cover by Stephanocoeania unitless
QuadratSandquadrat cover by Sand unitless
QuadratTunicatequadrat cover by Tunicate unitless
QuadratZooanthidquadrat cover by Zooanthid unitless
QuadratExperimentalquadrat cover by Experimental unitless
QuadratTotal_coral_coverquadrat Total coral cover unitless
QuadratTotal_invert_non_coralquadrat cover by Total invertebrate non coral unitless
QuadratTotal_invert_coverquadrat Total invertebrate cover unitless
QuadratTotal_coverQuadrat Total cover unitless

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Deployments

Burkepile_FL_Keys

Website
Platform
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Start Date
2009-06-01
End Date
2012-08-31
Description
Herbivore effects on reef algae


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Project Information

Cascading interactions of herbivore loss and nutrient enrichment on coral reef macroalgae, corals, and microbial dynamics (HERBVRE)

Coverage: Key Largo, Florida Keys, USA; N 24.99430, W 080.40650


Description from NSF award abstract:
Coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea are undergoing unprecedented declines in coral cover due in large part to climate change, pollution, and reductions in fish biodiversity and abundance. Macroalgae have become abundant on reefs, probably due to decreases in herbivory (e.g., through overfishing) and increases in anthropogenic inputs of nutrients. The spread of macroalgae has negative feedbacks on reef recovery because algae are often superior competitors and suppress growth of both adult and juvenile corals. A majority of reef studies to date have focused on how stressors affect macroorganisms, while relatively few have investigated how these stressors and the resultant algal-dominated states affect microorganisms. Yet, coral reef-associated microbes play significant roles in coral reef ecosystems through biogeochemical cycling and disease. Since microbes are important mutualists of corals as well as potential pathogens, it is important to understand the mechanisms that control their taxonomic and functional diversity.

The goal of this proposal is to quantify how alterations of top-down (removal of herbivorous fish) and bottom-up (inorganic nutrient addition) forces alter macrobial as well as microbial dynamics on coral reefs in order to understand the mechanisms that reinforce coral-depauperate reef systems. This work asks two main questions:

Q1. How do nutrient enrichment and herbivore removal interact to affect benthic algal abundance, coral-algal interactions, and coral survivorship and growth?

Q2. How do nutrient enrichment and herbivore removal affect bacterial abundance, taxonomic diversity, and functional diversity on and within corals?

The proposed research will directly and empirically address many of the current hypotheses about how bottom-up and top-down forces alter reef dynamics. The PIs will investigate: (1) the impact of multiple stressors over several years; (2) impacts on multiple levels of biological organization (from fishes to algae to microbes); and (3) the mechanisms underlying changes in algal-coral microbe interactions. Significantly, the approach will provide the statistical power necessary to distinguish between seasonal- and stress-induced changes in macro- and microbial diversity.

Resulting Publication:
Zaneveld, J.R., D.E. Burkepile, A.A. Shantz, C. Pritchard, R. McMinds, J. Payet, R. Welsh, A.M.S. Correa, N.P. Lemoine, S. Rosales, C.E. Fuchs, and R. Vega Thurber (2016) Overfishing, nutrient pollution, and temperature interact to disrupt coral reefs down to microbial scales. Nature Communications 7:11833 doi:10.1038/ncomms11833.
Access to data via Supplementary Information.



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Funding

Funding SourceAward
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE)

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