Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment and coastal eutrophication are a primary threat to the biological integrity of coral reef ecosystems. Macroalgal blooms are one symptom of eutrophication and provide useful 'bioindicators' of the nutrient dynamics associated with the eutrophication process. This study used marine macroalgae to monitor physiological processes associated with eutrophication by comparing the degree of phosphorus (P) limitation in reef and nearshore environments of the highly developed Florida Keys with the relatively pristine Bahamas by measuring enzymatic alkaline phosphatase activity (APA), tissue composition, and water column nutrient concentrations [total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP)]. Experimental nutrient enrichment studies were also performed to help interpret the field data from the Florida Keys and the Bahamas. Despite their large spatial scale and habitat heterogeneity between the Florida Keys and the Bahamas, and the inherent biological variability among the numerous taxa assayed, highly significant and distinct differences in macroalgae between the two study areas were evident. The analysis showed macroalgal APA was 2.5-fold higher in reef environments and 1.5-fold higher in nearshore environments in the Florida Keys than the Bahamas, indicating higher P-limitation in the Florida Keys. This was related to the significantly higher water column TN concentrations within the Florida Keys. Additionally, a significant and positively correlated relationship was detected between macro algal APA and tissue N:P ratios, indicating that elevated water column N causes the N:P ratio of macro algae to increase, leading to the observed increase in P-limitation. These findings showed that marine macroalgae are a useful means to monitor and gauge the degree and type of nutrient limitation and that N inputs as well as P inputs need to be considered for the protection of water quality in carbonate-rich, coral reef regions.

Within non-limiting substrate (NLS) environments bacteria are able to reach their carrying capacity. Under these conditions microbial communities are bottom-up controlled. In other words, they are mainly responsible for transferring carbon to higher trophic levels, rather then controlling bacterial numbers. One ecosystem where these ecological interactions have been sparsely examined is mangroves. Mangrove trees are highly productive which in part, explains the rich epibiont layer covering their roots. This study provided first information on the microbial epibionts on the prop roots of red mangroves, Rhizophora mangle. Six groups of microbial epibionts were examined for their rate of colonization of the prop roots, their temporal variation within four seasons (June 28, 1999 to May 25, 2000), and their role in carbon transfer to higher trophic levels. Microbes examined included bacteria, cyanobacteria, autotrophic diatoms, amoebae, heterotrophic ciliates, and heterotrophic flagellates (HF). Colonizing microbes on artificial substrates reached densities similar to those on natural prop roots within one to seven days, except for cyanobacteria, which occurred in ten to thirteen days. This rapid colonization was presumably due to the high organic input into this NLS environment. Final numbers of microbial epibionts on the artificial substrata (MEAS) were over two fold higher than abundances of microbial epibionts on the prop roots (MEPR). It is possible that this difference was due to phytotoxins produced by roots or bacterial interactions (ammensalism) occurring within the MEPR. Mean densities of the MEPR throughout the four seasons were 6.9x109 cells g-1 dry weight for the bacteria, 9.8x106 cells g-1 dry weight for the cyanobacteria, and 2.7x6 cells g-1 dry weight for the diatoms. The protozoan mean densities were 7.7x103 cells g-1 dry weight for the amoebae, 4.8 x 103 cells g-1 dry weight for the ciliates, and 2.7x105 cells g-1 dry weight for the HF. Due to the lack of seasonal change in this NLS environment, the temporal patterns for the protozoa were reminiscent of the variability throughout the year shown by the bacteria, cyanobacteria, and/or diatoms. The strongest positive correlations were seen with ciliates and heterotrophic flagellates with suspended bacteria (r=0.64 and r=0.80, respectively). Although, not as strong, amoebae were found to have a moderate positive correlation with diatoms (r=0.44). Based upon predator-prey relationships proposed by Paffenhofer (1998) it is possible that these correlation analyses are indicative of the dominant prey consumed by the protozoa examined. To further support this idea growth studies were done to determine which prey items were the most palatable to the protozoan groups studied. In other words, the more palatable the prey the faster the generation times of the protozoan group. This, in turn, provides information on protozoa predation within the epibiont community and possible carbon to higher trophic levels. Amoebae and ciliates were found to have their fastest generation times when feeding on cyanobacteria (40.9 h gen-1 and 60.7 h gen-1, respectively). Heterotrophic flagellates had their fastest generation times with suspended bacteria (14.5 h gen-1). A pioneering discovery from these growth studies demonstrated that amoebae were the only protozoan group capable of growing able with "tightly" attached bacteria was amoebae. It was discovered that 50% of epibiont bacteria were composed of "attached" bacteria (loosely or closely surface associated). This is a high percentage so the role of protozoa in removing "attached" bacteria was investigated. Based on the mean densities of the protozoan groups on the MEPR throughout the year, amoebae consumed 4.48 x 106 "attached" bacteria hr-1 ciliates consumed 5.71x106 "attached" bacteria hr-1, and HF consumed 2.91x107 "attached" bacteria hr-1. Converting these bacterial numbers into carbon equivalents it was determined that out of the potential "attached' bacterial carbon available in the environment amoebae, ciliates and HF are only able to consume: 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.8%, respectively of this carbon.

A number of studies have investigated the distribution of higher marine fungi in temperate estuarine systems. However, little is known of the distribution of higher marine fungi along tropical and subtropical estuarine salinity gradients and how the species composition may change seasonally. The purpose of this study was to examine the distribution and seasonal occurrence of higher marine fungi along a salinity gradient in a subtropical waterway, the New River estuarine system in southern Florida. In addition, a number of physical parameters such as water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and pH were measured. Five stations were established along the New River waterway. Mean salinity ranged from 2 ppt at the most freshwater station (station 1) to 32 ppt at the highest salinity station (station 5) . Physical parameters were measured every two weeks at each station. The substrates employed for fugal collection were wood panels of a hardwood, white oak (Quercus alba) and a softwood Douglas fir (Pseudotsugu menziessi). Four sets of panels were submerged at each station. One pair was removed every three months, at each station, for a period of one year. Thirteen species of fungi were identified during the course of the study. The Ascomycotina were represented by four species and the Deutermycotina were represented by nine species. Some fungal species displayed a physiological preference for higher saline waters. Trichocladium achrasporum was only isolated from station 5, with the highest salinity (32 ppt). Three known terrestrial species (Alternaria sp., Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp.) were isolated from the station that exhibited the lowest salinity, station 1 (2 ppt). These terrestrial species may be considered as contaminant species. Verruculina enalia, a known marine species (Kohlmeyer and Kohlmeyer 1979), was isolated from only the lower salinity regions and not the higher salinity sites. The distribution of fungal species did not appear to follow any seasonal pattern however patterns of succession were discernible. During the first period fungal diversity was at a maximum. Diversity gradually decreased with time consistent with previously observed successional patterns (Dix and Webster 1995). Compared to temperate studies of marine fungal distribution (Kirk and Brandt 1980, Kirk and Schatz 1980, Shearer 1972) species diversity was relatively low. The main theme of this study was dominance. Halosphaeria quadricornuta and Verruculina enalia were the two dominant species. The ascocarp frequency of Halosphaeria quadricornuta was inversely proportional to Verruculina enalia. This abundance pattern may suggest interference behavior.

The purpose of this study was to determine the change in water surface elevation and chloride concentration in the surficial, Mid Hawthorn, and Lower Hawthorn aquifers in the Cape Coral peninsula between 1980 and 1999. Seawater intrusion is a major concern in the Cape Coral area because the city is surrounded by open bodies of saline or brackish waters: Matlacha Pass to the west, San Carlos Bay to the south and Caloosahatchee River to the east. Prior to 1980, the principal groundwater withdrawals were from the Mid Hawthorn aquifer, with some smaller withdrawals from the surficial and Lower Hawthorn aquifers. Since 1980, many wells in the City of Cape Coral have been plugged and capped, decreasing the movement of water between the aquifers. In addition, withdrawals have primarily shifted to the Lower Hawthorn, which is now the principal water supply for the City of Cape Coral. Between 1980 and 1999 the water surface elevation in the surficial aquifer has remained relatively stable and chloride concentrations have decreased. During the same period, chloride concentrations have remained stable within the Mid Hawthorn aquifer. However, the potentiometric surface of the Mid and Lower Hawthorn has decreased and the chloride concentrations in the Lower Hawthorn in the vicinity of the City's wellfield have increased as a direct result of increased withdrawals. In addition, the area of highest chloride concentration within the City has moved west from its historic location, toward the City's reverse osmosis plant. The facility is roughly at the center of the wellfield that supplies water to the plant from the Lower Hawthorn. The potentiometric surface of the Mid Hawthorn has also decreased in the outlying areas of the Cape, mostly to the south and east, due to downward seepage into the Lower Hawthorn and well field pumping to the south in Ft. Myers, and east of Cape Coral along US 41.

No description available.

This report is part of the first study to evaluate the potential use of non-traditional and non-enteric bacteria as indicators of health risk in recreational waters and beach sand in south Florida. This study evaluated the possibility of utilizing a series of novel indicators including Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Vibrio species to assess beach quality. To evaluate the usefulness of these 4 novel microorganisms as potential indicators, 3 south Florida beaches were sampled for a 1 year period and during the year, the distribution across 500m of the beach (spatial analysis) and location (interstitial or attached) of the bacteria were obtained. At Hollywood Beach, Fort Lauderdale Beach, and Hobe Beach in Miami, wet sand, dry sand, and seawater samples were taken bimonthly and analyzed in a laboratory at Florida Atlantic University. In the laboratory, traditional microculture methods recommended by the USEPA were utilized to analyze the samples and bacteria. Analysis of the yearly sampling showed that dry sand, above the high tide mark contained highly elevated and significantly more bacteria than wet sand and seawater. Furthermore, S. aureus showed promise as a reliable indicator of health risk as the highly frequented beaches of south Florida correlated with high levels of S. aureus and some non-enteric illnesses, as displayed through a beach questionnaire, were apparent with high levels of S. aureus. Elevated levels of S. aureus may be due to regrowth in the sand as shown by the fact that S. aureus were found more often attached than residing in the interstitial spaces and this suggests viable activity of the bacteria and thus, regrowth. Positive correlations between the traditional enteric indicators and the potential indicators were displayed as well. Clostridium perfringens in the wet sand highly correlated with fecal coliforms (r = 0.98), E. coli (r = 0.87), and enterococci (r = 0.53) at Hobe beach, as did S. aureus which correlated with fecal coliforms (r = 0.81) and enterococci (r = 0.81) at Hollywood Beach. Most of the tested bacteria in this study were found to be attached to sand grains, especially S. aureus. Attachment to substrates requires the use of flagella, polysaccharides, or capsules and thus, attachment suggests metabolic activity. The bacteria, being viably active, can then exponential grow, and this further suggests regrowth in the sand. This regrowth in the sand may then pose a significant public health risk to people at the beach, especially young children, as these organisms have been shown to cause several non-enteric illnesses such as ear infections and skin rashes. The macrospatial analysis across the beach, up the beach, and down in the sand revealed some unevenness in the sand. The tendency for bacteria to not spread, and thus, not be even across the beach again supports the idea that the bacteria are regrowing in the sand. The sand can therefore serve as a reservoir from various sources such as runoff, beach attendees, and birds and in this reservoir, extremely high levels of potentially pathogenic bacteria can remain. The seemingly perfect environment of south Florida beaches, a tropical environment, the warm temperatures year round, high humidity, rainfall year round therefore creates an adequate niche for potentially pathogenic bacteria to reach significantly elevated levels. This study then demonstrates the need to analyze novel organisms (enteric and non-enteric) in beach sand to ensure public health safety at south Florida beaches.

The distribution of loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nests in Broward County was analyzed, using data from the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Project, to determine what features of the beach or nearby areas attract or repel nesting females. Two of the goals of this study were to determine if nest density had increased over time and if the yearly distribution of nests was consistently high or low in the same areas. Comparisons used data collected from eighty-four zones of equal length over a ten-year period (1990-1999). Both physical and human-related (anthropogenic) characteristics of each beach zone and adjoining offshore areas were also examined using multivariate regression analysis. Nest density per zone between zones differed significantly over the study period. Nest density within an individual zone remained statistically similar (some zones were preferred over others); zones that contained relatively high (or low) numbers of nests in one year also did so in all other years. Light intensity and an index of the ease of public access combined explain 35.6% of the variance in nest density per zone that was found. There was no significant relationship detected between nesting density per zone and beach width, offshore slope, and onshore slope.

Industrial scale exploitation of sharks globally to satisfy demands of the international shark fin market have resulted in trade in a few species considered particularly sensitive being restricted or controlled by national legislation or international accord (e.g. CITES). Despite these conservation efforts, trade in these species continues because law enforcement monitoring and surveillance is hindered by substantial difficulties with identifying species of origin of detached shark body parts. Additionally, attempts to assess the impacts of the fin trade on global shark populations generally have been thwarted by the almost complete absence of reliable species specific catch and trade data, the collection of which has proven immensely problematic due to species identification problems. To improve management and conservation efforts for protected species, we present the development and application of a highly streamlined, robust, multiplex PCR assay for identification of basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus; CITES Appendix II) and sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus; protected in the U.S. and Australia) body parts in trade (Chapters 1 and 2, respectively). Furthermore, given the spatially “patchy” nature of national protective efforts for some species, identifying the geographic origin of traded products will be needed for legal enforcement and will be informative for assessing geographic trends in exploitation pressure. To this end, I present a novel, bi-organelle multiplex PCR approach that simultaneously distinguishes species and ocean-basin of origin for the sand tiger shark, and demonstrate its utility for identifying law-enforcement confiscated fins (Chapter 2). Finally, as part of a larger collaborative study with S. Clarke (National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, Japan) aimed at characterizing the impacts of the international shark fin trade on shark populations, the multi-species genetic forensic markers developed in the M. Shivji laboratory (Guy Harvey Research Institute, NSU Oceanographic Center) were used to investigate the species composition of the Hong Kong shark fin market, and report the first genetically confirmed relationship between Chinese market categories and shark species (Chapter 3).

Coral reef communities are currently threatened by a variety of stressors. One direct and visible impact is physical damage from anthropogenic sources such as vessel anchors, recreational SCUBA divers, snorkelers, and debris. To lesson the impact of anchors on reefs, many coastal nations around the world have installed public mooring systems for use by small commercial and recreational vessel (typically less than 15 m in length). This thesis reviews current international mooring programs and assesses the impact of mooring use on reefs offshore Broward County, FL. Details of existing mooring programs, such as costs, maintenance schedules, and effectiveness in meeting program goals, is not readily available to coral reef managers. In this study a questionnaire was distributed to obtain information about mooring programs worldwide. The 41 questionnaire respondents indicated that there is variability in operating and maintenance procedures. The vast majority of respondents viewed moorings as an effective and/or important management tool. Mooring programs are used to achieve a variety of management goals, often with the aid of additional regulations. Additional research is needed to determine if mooring programs are able to achieve the primary goal, as defined by the questionnaire respondents, of reducing anchor damage on coral reefs. In this study, observations were conducted to determine mooring use offshore Broward County, Florida, USA. The majority of surveyed moored vessels were between 16 and 35 ft (4.8 and 10.6 m) in length. When all mooring site observations are pooled, SCUBA divers slightly outnumbered fishers as the primary users of the moorings; however, at some mooring sites fishing was more common than diving. Vessels were observed anchoring in the vicinity of the moorings even when moorings were available. Boater use patterns can aid in efficiently managing mooring maintenance and future resource management recommendations which may include additional regulations surrounding mooring use. The effect of mooring use on coral reefs offshore Broward County, Florida, USA, was assessed through 20 m x 1.5 m belt quadrat transects. Three major groups of coral reef sessile organisms were surveyed: stony corals (Scleractinia), octocorals (Octocorallia), and sponges (Porifera). In total, 19 transects were sampled at mooring sites and 17 transects were sampled at adjacent, non-mooring reef sites. Sessile organisms located in the mooring transects did not show a significant difference in damage or number of unattached organisms when compared to nearby areas without moorings. Reef at mooring sites have a greater amount of debris than areas with no moorings. A comparison of the sessile communities at individual mooring sites indicated that the mooring site that was most heavily utilized by fishers had a greater amount of damaged octocorals and debris than the other mooring sites. Based on this study, moorings are having no effect on sessile organisms at the current level of use in Broward County. Although I was unable to measure an effect, I believe moorings to be a useful management tool. The presence of moorings has prevented thousands of anchor drops and I believe that if regulations are enacted to reduce the number of vessels anchoring near the moorings in Broward that the moorings could have a positive impact on the coral reef community.

The pygmy sperm whale, Kogia breviceps, is a small odontocete whose biology and ecology are poorly understood. The Kogiids are taxonomically classified within the Superfamily Physeteroidea due to the presence of a spermaceti organ. This organ, along with the museau de singe/dorsal bursae complex, has been identified as the site of acoustic signal generation for the superfamily. The acoustic signals of this species have been rarely analyzed. Free ranging Kogiids are difficult to locate and stranded animals rarely survive long enough for any significant studies to be undertaken. This study utilized three live-stranded male animals, two adults and one neonate, to further analyze the acoustic repertoire of Kogia breviceps. Only one type of acoustic signal was identified in this study, pulsed signals, which occurred singly and in pulse trains. Two of the animals produced short, low-frequency pulses while the third animal produced short, high-frequency pulses. The measured differences in frequency were determined to be due primarily to the sensitivity of the recording equipment as many of the pulses exceeded the maximum frequency sensitivity of the recording equipment. The calf emitted significantly more pulses than either of the adult animals. Pulses from one adult and the calf were emitted in pulse trains determined to be both passive and active echolocation pulse trains. The pulse trains emitted by the adult animals contained a maximum of 19 pulses per train while the pulse trains emitted by the calf contained a maximum of 197 pulses per train. The pulse length of the calf and the young adult was found to be similar while the interpulse intervals were more similar for the two older animals. Overall, the pulses were found to be dissimilar to those produced by the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus.