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Long term monitoring of a deep-water coral reef: effects of bottom trawling
| Title: | Long term monitoring of a deep-water coral reef: effects of bottom trawling. |
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| Name(s): |
Reed, John K. Koenig, Christopher C. Shepard, Andrew N. Gilmore, R. G. |
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| Type of Resource: | text | |
| Genre: | Article | |
| Date Issued: | 2007 | |
| Publisher: | American Academy of Underwater Sciences | |
| Place of Publication: | Dauphin Island, AL | |
| Physical Form: | ||
| Extent: | 12 p. | |
| Language(s): | English | |
| Identifier: | FA00007322 (IID) | |
| Note(s): |
The deep-water Oculina coral reef ecosystem is unique and exists solely off the east coast of
central Florida. Oculina varicosa forms azooxanthellate colonies up to 2 m in diameter which
coalesce into dense thickets on 20-m tall mounds that are thousands of years old. Recently
restored videotapes that were made in the 1970s with the Johnson-Sea-Link submersibles show
large breeding aggregations of grouper associated with the coral habitat. Historical photographic
surveys provide evidence of the status and health of the reefs prior to heavy fishing and trawling
activities of the 1980s and 1990s. Recent quantitative analyses by point count of photographic
images reveal drastic loss of live coral cover between 1975 and present. Submersible and ROV
surveys conducted from 2001 to 2006 suggest that much of the Oculina habitat has been
reduced to rubble by bottom trawling which unfortunately is a trend for deep-water reefs
worldwide. Florida Atlantic University. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute contribution 1652 This manuscript is an author version with the final publication available and may be cited as: Reed, J. K., Koenig, C. C., Shepard, A. N., & Gilmore, R. G., Jr. (2007). Long term monitoring of a deep-water coral reef: effects of bottom trawling. In N. W. Pollock & J. M. Godfrey (Eds.), Diving for science 2007: proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences 26th Symposium (pp. 169-179). Dauphin Island, AL: American Academy of Underwater Sciences. |
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| Subject(s): |
Bottom trawling Dredging (Fisheries)--Environmental aspects Ecosystems Oculinidae Coral reef ecology |
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| Persistent Link to This Record: | http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00007322 | |
| Host Institution: | FAU |
