East Coast Of Florida Research Articles

Three new symbiotic crabs of the genusGlassellaCampos & Wicksten, 1997 from Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of Florida, USA (Decapoda: Brachyura: Pinnotheridae)

AbstractNew species of the pinnotherid crab genus GlassellaCampos & Wicksten, 1997 are described from western Atlantic waters along the east and west coasts of Florida, with the generic assignment of one being provisional. Glassella chaneyin. sp., Glassella martinin. sp., and Glassella taylorin. sp., all morphologically resemble the long-known species G. floridana (Rathbun, 1918) and overlap part of its distributional range, there occupying similar habitats and at least sometimes found with similar hosts. While genomic DNA sequencing has previously established the generic assignment of G. floridana, small sizes and suboptimal preservation histories of specimens representing the three new species have rendered all sequencing attempts unsuccessful, and thus not allowed their inclusion in molecular phylogenetic analyses. To facilitate present morphological comparisons, a rediagnosis of G. floridana was undertaken, and previously published illustrations were augmented, the latter now including figures of its previously undescribed male first gonopod and gonopodal plate. Comparisons of G. floridana to the three new species reveal striking diagnostic differences between all four species in their male first gonopods and varied configurations in the gonopodal plate or its probable homologs. These characters support the otherwise established separation of G. floridana from its congeners on the basis of its more strongly armed flexor margins of the fourth and fifth pereopods. In G. taylorin. sp., representing the smallest known member of Glassella, development of the third maxilliped and male first gonopod is so exceptional as to suggest the species may warrant eventual assignment to a separate genus.

Maturation of female common snook Centropomus undecimalis: implications for managing protandrous fishes.

The assumption for hermaphroditic fish species that mature individuals of the terminal sex arise directly from mature individuals of the primary sex has led to the use of sex ratios as a proxy for age at maturity (A50 ). The timing of transition and deficient energy reserves, however, can result in a delay between transition and spawning. To test the assumption of female maturity and investigate the relationship between maturation and energy reserves, common snook, Centropomus undecimalis, a protandrous hermaphrodite, were collected from rivers, estuaries, inlets and offshore habitats on the east coast of Florida during 2010-2015. Immature females were observed every month, with lowest proportions during the peak spawning months of July and August. When calculated based on sex ratio, A50 (8.1 years) overestimated the age at which 50% of the female population was, in fact, mature (4.1-4.9 years). Best-fit models indicate that mesenteric fat index (IF ) and hepato-somatic index (IH ) were significantly affected by gonad phase, month and size and weakly by habitat. In post hoc analysis, immature female IF did not differ significantly from developing and regenerating females, but immature female IH was significantly lower than that for all mature phases except animals in the regressing phase. Although immature females may have sufficient energy in terms of fat, it appears that energy is not allocated to reproductive processes, as evidenced by lower IH . Nonetheless, approximately 95% of females were spawning-capable during peak spawning months, suggesting that the energy threshold at which immature females reach maturity is met by most females each spawning cycle.

Significance of anecdotes for historical perspective: black bear predation on sea turtle eggs

In his April 2010 TED talk on the shifting baseline syndrome, Daniel Pauly warned us that ‘we transform the world, but we don’t remember it.’ This lapse is the greatest obstacle to understanding and restoring the structure and function of ecosystems transformed by anthropogenic effects over past centuries or even over the past few decades. Historical anecdotes can be a powerful tool to address gaps in our knowledge of the past. I present a case study to demonstrate the use of anecdotes to reveal the extensive predation by black bearsUrsus americanuson sea turtle eggs in Florida, USA. Until the late 1800s, bears were major predators on eggs deposited by the large sea turtle aggregations nesting on the east coast of Florida. However, this past source of mortality, and the resulting substantial transport of nutrients from marine to terrestrial habitats via the bears, are largely unknown today. By the early 1900s, the great influx of humans to the east coast of Florida quickly decimated the bear populations by hunting and habitat degradation. Without historical anecdotes, knowledge of the extensive predation by black bears on sea turtle eggs in Florida would have been lost.

Documenting the duration and chlorophyll pigments of an allochthonous Karenia brevis bloom in the Loxahatchee River Estuary (LRE), Florida

In Fall 2017 a large bloom of the toxic dinoflagellate Karenia brevis developed in the Gulf of Mexico. After persisting for months, in Fall 2018 wind and water circulation patterns drove K. brevis towards the east coast of Florida. On September 29, 2018 Palm Beach County, FL beaches were closed due to respiratory and gastrointestinal issues associated with brevotoxins, and effects of brevotoxins were reported from within estuarine segments of the Loxahatchee River Estuary (LRE). This was the first apparent report of a K. brevis bloom impacting inshore portions of the LRE prompting us to question the longevity of K. brevis within a relatively shallow, well-flushed coastal-estuarine system. Within 3 days (October 1, 2018) of the first reported effects of toxins, K. brevis reached over one million cells/L and chlorophyll-a concentrations peaked at 13 µg L−1. Within 11 days (October 9, 2018) both K. brevis and chlorophyll pigment concentrations significantly (p-perm ≤ 0.05) dropped to an average of ≤ 30,000 cells L−1 and < 4 µg L−1 chlorophyll-a, indicating that the bloom had diminished. Using distance-based linear modeling (DistLM) K. brevis abundance alone explained 66% of the variation in a multivariate measure of chlorophylls (driven by carotenoids and chlorophyll-c pigment concentrations), supporting a K. brevis dominated bloom. Following the K. brevis bloom, additional HAB species K. mikimotoi and Pseudo-nitzschia spp singularly explained 6% of the variations in the multivariate measure of chlorophylls. The low explanatory power of individual HAB species, including K. brevis (≤ 0%), signifies the recovery of the phytoplankton population, where non-HAB species likely contributed to the variability in the multivariate measure of chlorophylls and overall chlorophyll-a concentrations (average of 2 µg L−1 during non-bloom conditions). Finally, we evaluated ambient and historical water quality data to assess how these parameters changed before, during, and after the 2018 K. brevis bloom. Temperature, salinity, and nutrients in the LRE were comparable to reports of other K. brevis bloom events along the west coast of Florida. Reduced ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) concentrations and increased tidal amplitude coincided with the end of the bloom in 2018. More work is needed to understand the specific mechanisms constraining K. brevis blooms in tidal estuaries. We suggest that future research focus on water residence times along with nutrient availability in controlling allochthonous HABs in lotic and tidally flushed estuaries. Also, we anticipate this work may stimulate additional efforts to characterize HABs using in situ observations coupled with multivariate measures of chlorophylls, though we recognize much work remains to fully define the value of this approach.

Hurricane Preparedness and Response Along Florida's Central-East Coast: Indian River Mosquito Control District's Experiences Over the Years.

The hurricane is no stranger to longtime residents of Florida's east coast. In 1979, after about 15 years of local inactivity, Hurricane David made landfall in West Palm Beach. Thirteen years later and 100 miles south, category 5 Hurricane Andrew caused catastrophic damage when it hit the city of Homestead in the Miami-Dade area. In 2004, the counties along the east coast of central Florida were hit by 2 devastating hurricanes, Frances and Jeanne, that made landfall at Sewall's Point just 20 days apart. The very next year, Hurricane Wilma made landfall near Everglades City as a Category 3 storm. After a decade of relief, a glancing blow from Hurricane Matthew struck in 2016, only to be followed by the extremely devastating Hurricane Irma just 1 year later. Each of these hurricanes caused significant property damage and mosquito problems for the Florida residents affected by these storms. In 1997, the Indian River Mosquito Control District (IRMCD) developed a hurricane preparedness plan outlining the appropriate action to be taken depending on the severity of the approaching storm. The IRMCD has also learned to negotiate the intricacies of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's reimbursement program, thus reducing the financial impact to the District. This paper provides an overview of how IRMCD has prepared, reacted, and followed-up with the seemingly constant parade of hurricanes that have threatened and affected the east coast over time.

Testing satellite telemetry within narrow ecosystems: nocturnal movements and habitat use of bottlenose dolphins within a convoluted estuarine system

BackgroundWhile cetaceans have been extensively studied around the world, nocturnal movements and habitat use have been largely unaddressed for most populations. We used satellite telemetry to examine the nocturnal movements and habitat use of four bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from a well-studied population in a complex estuary along the east coast of Florida. This also enabled us to explore the utility of satellite tracking on an apex predator within a very narrow and convoluted ecosystem. Our objectives were to evaluate (1) nocturnal home ranges and how individual dolphins moved within them, (2) nocturnal utilization of habitats surrounding ocean inlets, (3) nocturnal movements outside of the population’s known range (i.e., the study area), and (4) nocturnal use of select environmental variables.ResultsSatellite tags were active between 129 and 140 days (136 ± 4.99) during nocturnal hours (summer/fall 2012), yielding 3.3 ± 1.4 high-quality transmissions per night. Results indicated substantial individual variation among the four tagged dolphins, with home ranges varying in length from 53.9 to 83.6 km (x̅ = 71.9 ± 12.9). Binomial tests and MaxEnt models revealed some dolphins preferred habitats surrounding inlets, seagrass habitats, and various water depths, while other dolphins avoided these areas. All dolphins, however, showed substantial movement (x̅ = 5.8 ± 7.4 km) outside of the study area, including travel into rivers/canals and the adjoining ocean (6.0–8.6% and 0.8–2.9% of locations per dolphin, respectively).ConclusionsThis study was the first to utilize satellite telemetry on Indian River Lagoon dolphins and provided the first detailed insights into the nocturnal movements and habitat use of this population. Our findings suggest that while individual dolphin home ranges may overlap, they use different foraging strategies, feed on different prey, and/or exhibit intraspecific resource partitioning. In contrast with a prior study, all tagged dolphins showed considerable movement into the adjoining ocean and freshwater sources. This suggests this population has a much larger range than previously thought, which is important to consider for future research and conservation efforts.

Seasonal occurrence patterns of seagrass should influence resource assessment and management decisions: A case study in the Indian River Lagoon and Loxahatchee River Estuary, Florida

Seagrasses provide and maintain critical ecosystem functions and support rich biodiversity, yet they are highly susceptible to anthropogenic impacts. From 2002 to 2016 seagrasses were surveyed monthly or bimonthly for presence in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) and Loxahatchee River Estuary (LRE) along the east coast of Florida. These data were used to assess seasonal seagrass presence patterns (i.e., annual maxima) and their relevance to management initiatives. Three species were examined (Halodule wrightii, Syringodium filiforme, and Halophila johnsonii) at 37 sites spanning 200 km of the IRL and 5.3 km of the LRE. Seagrass annual maxima, defined as bimonthly maximum annual percent presence of visible above-ground blades, exhibited clear seasonal trends: 61% of H. wrightii annual maxima (across years) occurred between May and August, 71% of S. filiforme annual maxima occurred between May and October, and 65% of H. johnsonii annual maxima occurred between March and June. Surveys intended to document and protect the spatial extent of seagrasses should, therefore, be scheduled during periods of expected annual maxima to capture the full extent of seagrass presence. These findings stress that any conservation-based seagrass monitoring program should conduct sampling efforts that account for the considerable seagrass seasonality. At a minimum, the survey period for H. johnsonii, a federally listed “threatened” species, should be revised to include March through June as an addendum to the current state and federal guidelines of June through September to provide better protection for this species. The results of this study suggest seagrass surveys for dredge and fill projects, dock permits, or other activities potentially damaging to seagrasses, should be conducted during periods when the annual maxima are most likely. Doing so will afford a more appropriate level of protection for these valuable ecosystem components.

“Selling Sunshine”: The Mackle Company's Marketing Campaign to Build Retirement and Vacation Communities in South Florida, 1945–1975

The Mackle Company of Miami rose to national prominence in the mid-1950s when it shifted to the vacation and retirement housing market. Capitalizing on a newly emerging population of retirees with disposable pension income and on a growing number of middle-class Americans seeking fun in the sun, the family firm targeted these groups in an aggressive, nationwide marketing campaign. Central in this promotional scheme were the sundrenched locations of its residential developments on the east and west coasts of south Florida. The Mackles’ marketing strategies belie a complex relationship with the environment, one deeply rooted in American ideas regarding the perfectibility of nature. The company’s houses, typically containing generous indoor-outdoor living spaces and lined with bands of windows opening onto waterfront lots, were presumably designed for a living experience tailored to the Edenic qualities of the Sunshine State. But, paradoxically, they relied on central air conditioning, a modern amenity intended to thwart the tropical climate that lured northerners to Florida in the first place. Moreover, the company depended on significant land modifications through dredging and filling, bulkheading and canal digging, beach improvements, and clearing of foliage and trees to make its communities inhabitable and appealing to its out-of-state clients. The tension between celebrating Florida’s subtropical landscape while simultaneously altering it pervaded the company’s marketing materials, even as the scale of the Mackle Company’s efforts increased, culminating in an ambitious project at Marco Island begun in the mid-1960s. Although the Mackles’ ambitions did not succeed to the extent they envisioned, their sales pitch to “sell sunshine” dramatically reshaped the cultural and natural landscape of south Florida.

A new ocean mean dynamic topography model, derived from a combination of gravity, altimetry and drifter velocity data

Abstract We present a new mean dynamic ocean topography product based on the improved geoid model, derived in the Optimal Geoid for Modelling Ocean Circulation (OGMOC) project supported by the European Space Agency. This geoid model is based on the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite missions combined with the newer DTU15GRA altimetric surface gravity and it was optimized to eliminate artificial features common for other geoid models such as striations and orange skin. Subsequently, the model has been augmented using the EIGEN-6C4 coefficients to harmonic degree 2160. The new geodetic mean dynamic ocean topography model DTU17MDT has been derived using this geoid model and the DTU15MSS mean sea surface, with the quasi-gaussian filter optimized to best fit velocities of oceanographic drifting buoys. The new model improves the resolution of important details of the ocean circulation. Finally, the drifter data were integrated into the model to refine its spatial resolution. The new topography product DTU17cMDT, combining the wealth of information from satellite gravity and altimetry and drifters, is rich with more features of the ocean surface circulation. In particular, as shown in the case of the Gulf Stream off the east coast of Florida, DTU17cMDT improves description of the western boundary currents.

Using hydrodynamic testing to assess the performance of fouling control coatings

Static immersion studies are commonly used to assess the performance of fouling control coatings. While these tests provide valuable data, it is also of importance to understand the drag forces associated with the accrued fouling communities and the velocities required for fouling removal. Replicates of five commercially available coatings were deployed at two test sites located along the east coast of Florida. After four months of immersion, the coatings were subjected to known water velocities in a high-speed boat modified for hydrodynamic testing. Hard fouling adhesion measurements were taken to determine the attachment strength of organisms which remained on the panels. The type and extant of fouling varied based on static immersion location, this in turn influenced the fouling removal and the associated drag. While fouling removal was observed on all coatings, the percent removal was related to the coating type and the overall community structure. Those organisms which have a higher profile were easily removed. Lower form foulers, especially those with hard structures, had a minimum removal even at some of the top speeds. The data collected from this series of tests, enabled the fouling control and fouling release properties of each coating to be characterized.

Migration routes, foraging behavior, and site fidelity of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) satellite tracked from a globally important rookery

The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, USA (27.946°N, − 80.494°W) represents one of the largest loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting sites in the Western Hemisphere. Surprisingly, little work has been conducted to determine females’ post-nesting migratory behavior and characteristics of their foraging areas. Between 2008 and 2017, satellite telemetry was used to trace the locations and movements of 45 post-nesting loggerhead turtles. A switching state-space model was employed to estimate the behavioral state of each location. Internesting, migrating and foraging activity periods were determined for 38 loggerheads based on the SSSM. Seven environmental variables were extracted from remote sensing imagery for each location to compare values among behaviors. Core primary foraging areas ranged in size from 5.89 to 4572.80 km2. Four foraging types (primary, secondary, seasonal, and loops) were observed. Most turtles resided at a primary foraging area year round. A few individuals conducted foraging loops away from a primary foraging area. Both seasonal and loop movements were associated with changes in sea surface temperature as turtles moved to avoid temperatures that could cause cold-stunning or mortality. Turtle size and nesting beach offshore currents may play a role in foraging area selection, and date of departure from the nesting beach may be linked to foraging destination. By making the connection among oceanic features, foraging areas, and the influence of environmental variables on these areas, it is possible to identify and characterize critically important feeding areas and migration corridors for loggerheads nesting on the east coast of Florida.

Sampling rare and elusive species: Florida east coast diamondback terrapin population abundance

AbstractThe Florida east coast terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin tequesta) is a rare and potentially endangered species that is difficult to survey because of poor detection probability and a patchy distribution. Like many rare species sampling programs, we apply a density and multistate occupancy sampling approach that considered the impacts of imperfect detection. We separated the detection process into availability of the animal within the sampling area (e.g., coming to surface) and perceptibility (actually seeing it). Our study employed a density estimation approach originally developed for birds, which combined time to detection and distance sampling within a Bayesian N‐mixture model. Our study also estimated two abundance occupancy states (few and many terrapins). We were able to estimate large differences in terrapin densities between sites through functions of site‐specific environmental covariates (water depth, distance to mangrove, and distance to land). The detection probability was poor (0.28) for the few terrapin occupancy state, but was much greater for many (0.75). The time to detection and distance‐sampling approach for this aquatic animal should be useful for other aquatic organisms that regularly surface. Terrapins were generally available to be sighted within four minutes but detection declined rapidly to a low probability of terrapin detection &gt;30 m. The approach of estimating density as a function of habitat covariates to identify habitat associations can provide an effective method that combined with adaptive sampling should be useful to investigate the distribution of terrapins in open water.

Seasonal variations of PM10 — Trace elements, PAHs and Levoglucosan: Rural sugarcane growing area versus coastal urban area in Southeastern Florida, USA. Part II: Elemental concentrations

The largest sugarcane-growing area in the United States is in South Florida. An estimated 7 million tons of dry sugarcane leafy biomass is removed from the fields before harvest by burning the leaves off the sugarcane stalks. Preharvest sugarcane leaf foliage burning is a major source of airborne particulate matter (PM), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), biogenic trace elements such as K, volatile hydrocarbons and other pollutants. In one harvesting period, approximately 22 million tons of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released, 7 million tons from leaf foliage preharvest burning alone and 15 million tons from burning sugarcane bagasse in the sugar mills for power generation. In this study, PM10 was collected from Belle Glade, close to the sugarcane-growing area, and from Delray Beach, an urbanized area along the East Coast of Florida. The PM samples were analyzed for trace elements and close to organic compounds. To elucidate the importance of preharvest sugarcane biomass smoke emissions on air quality, 39 trace elements, 18 PAHs, and levoglucosan were selected to apportion ambient PM constituents. Al, Ca and to a great extend also Mg are the major soil-related trace elements and key markers for fugitive soil dust emissions. Similarly, sea salt aerosol blown from the Atlantic Ocean into Florida added appreciably to PM10 trace elements concentration, especially Na and Cl. Approximately half of the sea salt aerosol (PM10 -portion) by mass is removed from the atmosphere during the transport of ocean air from Delray Beach to Belle Glade. Ambient acid displacement reactions caused a substantial portion of the Cl (˜30%) to be liberated from the sea salt aerosol to the atmosphere during transport as gaseous HCl. The PAH concentrations at Belle Glade were high when the biomass combustion markers levoglucosan and K also showed the highest concentrations. This indicates that during the sugarcane harvest season, when leaf foliage is burned off just before harvest, most of the ambient PAHs associated with PM10 are indeed related to preharvest burning, harvesting machinery emissions, bagasse burning in sugarcane mills, and other related activities that consume biomass and/or fossil fuels for sugarcane harvesting and processing.

Cognitive and Functional Status of Persons Newly Enrolled at Dementia-Specific Adult Day Centers and Burden of Their Caregivers.

Background and ObjectivesRecognizing the important role that dementia-specific adult day centers have in maintaining persons with a neurocognitive disorder in their home, this article examines three critical indicators at the time when people first enroll in such a center: cognitive and functional impairment of the enrollee, and burden reported by their family caregivers. We also considered variations in these 3 indicators by race/ethnicity and by the relationship of caregiver to the new enrollee.Research Design and MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of data collected by a nonprofit organization operating 11 dementia-specific adult day centers located on the east coast of Florida. Nursing staff conducted intake interviews with enrollees and their caregivers, and assessed functional status within one month of admission. Instruments included the Zarit Burden Scale and components of the Minimum Data Set: the Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS) and 4 measures of functional status.ResultsOn average the cognitive scores of newly enrollees were well-within the range indicated for severe impairment, and these levels did not differ by race/ethnicity. Burden reported by caregivers however differed significantly, with Latinx caregivers reporting the greatest burden and African American/Black caregivers reporting the least. Further, while daughters generally reported higher levels of burden than other family caregivers, Black daughters reported the least.Discussion and ImplicationsResults suggest a need for greater dissemination efforts about adult day programs to the Latinx community, as well as attention to the disparate burden placed upon differing family relationships of caregivers to enrollees.

The fate of beach nourishment sand placed on the Florida East Coast

Over 100 million yd3 of sand have been placed on Florida east coast beaches since the start of widespread beach nourishment in 1970. What has been the fate of this sand? Has it largely disappeared as some suggest, or is it largely in place, having increased beach width as much as expected? Shoreline position measurements show that beach nourishment has dominated shoreline change with beaches widening over 80 ft on average since 1970. Nourished beaches have widened an average of almost 120 ft and adjacent beaches that have never been nourished have widened almost 50 ft due to longshore transport moving nourishment sand to them. Using equilibrium profile theory, shoreline advance due to beach nourishment minus shoreline recession caused by longshore transport, inlets that trap sand in shoals, and sea level rise is shown to equal measured shoreline change within uncertainty limits in each east coast Florida county and for the entire coastline. About 90% of beach nourishment sand remains on profiles in the active littoral zone. Shoreline advance produced by beach nourishment has been eight times greater than the magnitude of the recession caused by sea level rise from 1970-2017. If beach nourishment sand is placed along this coast at the rate of the past 40 years, the shoreline will be wider in 2100 than in 2018 for all sea-levelrise scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Increased beach width since 1970 has produced significant benefits by reducing infrastructure storm damage and greatly increasing beach tourism.

The Coastal Ocean Circulation Influence on the 2018 West Florida Shelf K. brevis Red Tide Bloom

AbstractBlooms of the harmful alga, Karenia brevis on the west Florida continental shelf are thought to initiate offshore before manifesting as a nuisance along the coastline. Contributing to such blooms are a complex sequence of events occurring within oligotrophic waters, which in any given year may or may not be facilitated by the ocean circulation. Once initiation occurs, the delivery from the region of offshore origination to the region of coastline manifestation requires an upwelling circulation, whereby K. brevis cells are advected shoreward along the bottom. The 2018 K. brevis bloom was particularly intense owing to cells from the preceding 2017 bloom being reinforced by a newly formed bloom in 2018, a year when the offshore conditions in spring through early summer were again favorable for bloom development. As an event response to determine the potential for new cells to be delivered to the shore, a glider was deployed from 24 August 2018 to 17 September 2018 with a track line designed to map water properties over the hypothesized initiation region. The coastal ocean circulation during the deployment interval was generally upwelling favorable, but the passage of Tropical Storm Gordon temporarily disrupted this flow, after which K. brevis appeared along the Florida Panhandle coast. Strong upwelling then reestablished and K. brevis was subsequently observed along Florida's east coast. We describe the glider deployment, the K. brevis observations, and we use a numerical circulation model to account for the K. brevis manifestation as occurred along Florida's west, Panhandle, and east coasts.

Organic matter quantity and quality across salinity gradients in conduit‐ vs. diffuse flow‐dominated subterranean estuaries

AbstractSubmarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is a source of water and bioreactive solutes to coastal zones but may be modified by organic matter (OM) remineralization dynamics within subterranean estuaries (STEs). We hypothesize that bioreactive solute fluxes should depend on water residence time in STEs, but links between OM transformations and residence time in STEs are poorly characterized. To test this hypothesis, we compare dissolved OM (DOM) quantity and quality in two hydrologically distinct STE systems: a reef lagoon on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, where semidiurnal mixing in submarine springs of a carbonate karst aquifer results in short residence times, and a barrier lagoon on the east coast of Florida, where slow flow through siliciclastic sediments results in long residence times. We measured dissolved organic carbon concentrations and characterized colored DOM (CDOM) with ultraviolet spectroscopy and fluorescence combined with Parallel Factor Analysis. Both sites exhibit similar shifts in OM quality with salinity and reflect a marine source of labile OM to the STEs. Nonconservative mixing and CDOM production occurs at all sites but the long water residence times in the siliciclastic STEs cause orders of magnitude greater production than the carbonate STE. Consistent CDOM production across sites with disparate characteristics indicates that STEs are common sources of CDOM to surface water. However, observed variation in the magnitudes of CDOM production indicates that estimating global, and even regional, solute fluxes associated with SGD will be complicated by hydrologic control on extents of OM remineralization.

POST-HURRICANE COASTAL MAPPING AND CHANGE ANALYSIS: NATIONAL COASTAL MAPPING PROGRAM

Hurricane and other extreme storm impacts pose one of the greatest threats to coastal environments, populations, and infrastructure. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Coastal Mapping Program (NCMP), executed by the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX), collects and processes high resolution aerial imagery and lidar data that provide regional datasets to support assessments of coastal change. The NCMP surveying methods and data products are invaluable tools for coastal management and have the potential to produce rapid-response data following extreme storm impacts. Emergency post-storm deployment of this system was used following Hurricane Matthew’s impact in October 2016 where the NCMP surveyed from Key Biscayne, FL to the VA/MD border between October 27th and December 2nd, collecting topographic and bathymetric lidar along the coast in a 1.5 km swath. Approximately one year later, Hurricane Irma impacted the Florida east and west coast in September 2017. The NCMP surveyed the entire Florida east coast, including the Keys, in addition to Collier County on the West Coast of Florida from September 22 to October 25.

Seismic and Hydroacoustic Observations from Underwater Explosions off the East Coast of Florida

Seismic and Hydroacoustic Observations from Underwater Explosions off the East Coast of Florida

Migratory connectivity and philopatry of cownose rays Rhinoptera bonasus along the Atlantic coast, USA

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 602:197-211 (2018) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12686 Migratory connectivity and philopatry of cownose rays Rhinoptera bonasus along the Atlantic coast, USA Matthew B. Ogburn1,*, Charles W. Bangley1, Robert Aguilar1, Robert A. Fisher2, Mary Carla Curran3, Sarah Fae Webb3, Anson H. Hines1 1Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA 2Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, PO Box 1346, Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062, USA 3Savannah State University, Box 20467, Savannah, GA 31404, USA *Corresponding author: ogburnm@si.edu ABSTRACT: Migratory species link spatially separated ecosystems, and understanding their migrations is critical for conservation and management. The cownose ray Rhinoptera bonasus is a large-bodied batoid ray implicated in shellfish declines along the US Atlantic coast, but its migrations and habitat use remain poorly understood. We used passive acoustic telemetry to track tagged adult female (N = 27) and male (N = 9) rays released during summer and fall 2014-2016 in Maryland, Virginia, and Georgia. Twenty-three tags provided data for more than 1 yr. Individuals from all tagging locations overwintered in the same region offshore of Cape Canaveral, Florida, then returned in summer to the estuaries where tagging took place. Hidden Markov modeling identified 3 behavioral states (Resident, Ranging, Migratory), with ray movements generally classified as non-migratory (Resident and Ranging behavioral states) in summer and winter, and migratory (Migratory behavioral state) in spring and fall. Linear discriminant analysis suggested strong philopatry to tagging locations. This study provides the first full annual migration tracks for cownose rays along the US Atlantic coast, indicating that they migrate between summer pupping and mating habitats in estuaries south of Long Island, New York, and shared overwintering habitats off the east coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral. Our results highlight the value of national-scale networks of acoustic telemetry arrays for identifying migratory patterns of highly mobile marine species. KEY WORDS: Migration · Connectivity · Behavior · Acoustic telemetry · Philopatry · Fisheries management · Conservation · Rhinoptera bonasus Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Ogburn MB, Bangley CW, Aguilar R, Fisher RA, Curran MC, Webb SF, Hines AH (2018) Migratory connectivity and philopatry of cownose rays Rhinoptera bonasus along the Atlantic coast, USA. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 602:197-211. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12686 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 602. Online publication date: August 23, 2018 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2018 Inter-Research.