Abstract
The Florida Keys, a delicate archipelago of sub-tropical islands extending from the south-eastern tip of Florida, host the vast majority of the only coral barrier reef in the continental United States. Abiotic as well as microbial components of the surrounding waters are pivotal for the health of reef habitats, and thus could play an important role in understanding the development and transmission of coral diseases in Florida. In this study, we analyzed microbial community structure and abiotic factors in waters around the Florida Reef Tract. Both bacterial and eukaryotic community structure were significantly linked with variations in temperature, dissolved oxygen, and total organic carbon values. High abundances of copiotrophic bacteria as well as several potentially harmful microbes, including coral pathogens, fish parasites and taxa that have been previously associated with Red Tide and shellfish poisoning were present in our datasets and may have a pivotal impact on reef health in this ecosystem.
Highlights
Coral reefs around the Florida Keys constitute the main part of the third largest barrier reef ecosystem in the world [1]
The data presented in this study show that the total abundances of unpigmented cells are not necessarily correlated with organic carbon concentrations, and even though higher abundances of high nucleic acid (HNA) bacteria were more likely to be found in areas with elevated
Our study indicates that dinoflagellates contributed to a larger fraction of the Eukaryotic Microbial Community (EMC) compared to abundances reported by a study that was carried out in the Florida Keys three years earlier [64], this could reflect seasonal variation or differences in the composition of sampling locations
Summary
Coral reefs around the Florida Keys constitute the main part of the third largest barrier reef ecosystem in the world [1]. In addition to the reefs, the area around the Keys is comprised of diverse habitats such as shallow seagrass meadows and mangrove forests. These ecosystems are constantly threatened by global climate change (e.g., ocean warming and ocean acidification), human activities (e.g., fishing and pollution), hurricanes, and tropical storms. In 1990, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) was established to protect the only coral barrier reef in the continental United States, which provides essential ecosystem services and represents a very important source of food and income for coastal communities [2]. The preservation of the Florida Keys has become a national priority in the USA [4] and unprecedented restoration efforts are on the way to restore parts of the nearly 90% of original coral cover that was lost (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/habitatconservation/restoring-seven-iconic-reefs-mission-recover-coral-reefs-florida-keys, accessed on 11 May 2021)
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