Middle Florida Research Articles

Marine Debris Harbor Unique, yet Functionally Similar Cryptofauna Communities.

Human-made debris is entering the ocean at alarming rates. These artificial structures are becoming habitats for small marine taxa known as cryptofauna. Cryptofauna are among the most essential reef taxa; however, little is known about these organisms, let alone their fate considering degrading coral reefs and increasing anthropogenic disturbance. The current study explores differences in naturally occurring cryptofauna biodiversity compared to those inhabiting benthic marine debris. To explore this difference, we measured invertebrate diversity from autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) located on patch reefs along the middle Florida Keys reef tract. ARMS were used as a proxy for natural structure to compare to marine debris removed from five reef locations. Plastic debris was the most abundant of all the debris material collected. Wood and concrete were identified as covariates since they are sourced from wooden lobster traps. Taxa diversity varied significantly between ARMS and debris, indicating that each structural unit contained significantly different and diverse communities. The most influential taxa identified included commensal shrimps, hermit crabs, brittle stars, segmented worms, and several families of crabs. Additionally, while functional richness increased with taxa richness for ARMS communities, debris communities showed decreasing functional richness and high functional similarity, suggesting a specialization of debris-specific taxa. Overall, these data assist in better understanding of the marine community ecology surrounding anthropogenic marine debris for future debris removal and management practices for comprehensive reef health.

Abundance, patterns, and taxa associations of anthropogenic marine debris on reefs in the middle Florida Keys

The Florida Keys reef tract has rapidly shifted from a structurally complex, hard coral-dominated reef to a less rugose, soft coral-dominated reef. This transition has been facilitated by persistent anthropogenic stressors including recreational and commercial fishing and increased anthropogenic marine debris. During the summers of 2020–2022, benthic censuses were conducted to identify substrate and marine debris composition for 30 reefs in the middle Florida Keys. Inshore reefs contained higher rugosity, coral cover, and marine debris abundance primarily comprised of monofilament and rope from fishing traps. Plastic items (e.g., ropes and monofilament) overall had the highest species diversity. Additionally, marine debris appears to promote turf algae growth on inshore reefs. While is it not yet possible to determine if this pattern of high debris nearshore is due to proximity to onshore debris sources, accumulation due to higher rugosity snagging debris, or increased debris removal efforts offshore, these differences in marine debris types and abundances suggest variability in potential impacts of debris on marine biota on inshore versus offshore reefs. Therefore, the differential use of marine debris by associated biota should be considered in marine debris management practices.

Environmental predictors for the restoration of a critically endangered coral, Acropora palmata, along the Florida reef tract.

The population decline and lack of natural recovery of multiple coral species along the Florida reef tract have instigated the expanding application of coral restoration and conservation efforts. Few studies, however, have determined the optimal locations for the survival of outplanted coral colonies from restoration nurseries. This study predicts the optimal locations for Acropora palmata colonies along the Florida reef tract using a boosted-regression-tree model to examine the relationships between the occurrence of wild A. palmata and ten environmental variables. Our model results predicted A. palmata was most likely to occur in shallow reef habitats with (i) generally low mean chlorophyll-a concentrations (< 1 mg m-3), (ii) moderate fetch (3 kJ m-2), (iii) salinities between 20 and 37.5 ppt, (iv) temperatures between 20 and 32°C, (vi) low mean concentrations of total nitrogen (0.16 ppm), and (iv) irradiance between 26.5 and 53.5 mol m-2 s-1. The most suitable habitats for A. palmata were disproportionately allocated to reefs in Biscayne Bay, the Upper Keys, the western-lower Florida Keys, the Marquesas, and the Dry Tortugas. The middle Florida Keys had unfavorable environmental conditions for A. palmata habitat. Results from this study inform where A. palmata, outplanted as part of restoration and conservation efforts, would have suitable environmental conditions to persist over time. This study also provides decision-making support for management focused on the conservation and restoration of the endangered species A. palmata along the Florida reef tract.

Recruitment of Juvenile Snapper (Lutjanidae) in the Middle Florida Keys: Temporal Trends and Fine-Scale Habitat Associations

Juvenile recruitment is a major factor in the establishment and maintenance of local population structures of coral reef fishes. An understanding of the factors that affect juvenile recruitment and survival help explain spatial and temporal patterns in adult abundance, especially of commercially and recreationally fished species. Here, we examined the distribution and juvenile recruitment of 5 snapper species: Mutton Snapper (Lutjanus analis), Lane Snapper (L. synagris), Schoolmaster (L. apodus), Gray Snapper (L. griseus), and Yellowtail Snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) collected in 1,314 seine samples conducted between 2007 and 2019 in the Middle Florida Keys. We use a generalized linear modeling routine to assess juvenile recruitment of each species as a function of temporal, environmental, and benthic habitat variables. Interannual variability in juvenile recruitment ranged between 2 and 15—fold differences in mean predicted abundance between the highest and lowest producing years by species. Predicted recruitment varied dramatically by species in 2010 following a historic cold spell in south Florida. Three of the 5 species (Lane Snapper, Yellowtail Snapper, and Schoolmaster) exhibited the lowest observed yearly recruitment in that year, while Gray Snapper recruitment peaked. For all species, recruitment indices exhibited strong seasonal trends with peak abundances observed in the fall. Aquatic vegetation type, aquatic vegetation cover, distance from shore, and water temperature were the most important predictors of abundance. Results of this study highlight species—specific preferences for settlement habitat, demonstrate the importance of local—scale recruitment processes, and provide updated, management—relevant juvenile abundance indices for shallow water snapper in the Middle Florida Keys.

Factors influencing stoplight parrotfish territoriality and social structure in the middle Florida Keys

Factors influencing stoplight parrotfish territoriality and social structure in the middle Florida Keys

Geographically driven differences in microbiomes of Acropora cervicornis originating from different regions of Florida's Coral Reef.

Effective coral restoration must include comprehensive investigations of the targeted coral community that consider all aspects of the coral holobiont—the coral host, symbiotic algae, and microbiome. For example, the richness and composition of microorganisms associated with corals may be indicative of the corals’ health status and thus help guide restoration activities. Potential differences in microbiomes of restoration corals due to differences in host genetics, environmental condition, or geographic location, may then influence outplant success. The objective of the present study was to characterize and compare the microbiomes of apparently healthy Acropora cervicornis genotypes that were originally collected from environmentally distinct regions of Florida’s Coral Reef and sampled after residing within Mote Marine Laboratory’s in situ nursery near Looe Key, FL (USA) for multiple years. By using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing, we described the microbial communities of 74 A. cervicornis genotypes originating from the Lower Florida Keys (n = 40 genotypes), the Middle Florida Keys (n = 15 genotypes), and the Upper Florida Keys (n = 19 genotypes). Our findings demonstrated that the bacterial communities of A. cervicornis originating from the Lower Keys were significantly different from the bacterial communities of those originating from the Upper and Middle Keys even after these corals were held within the same common garden nursery for an average of 3.4 years. However, the bacterial communities of corals originating in the Upper Keys were not significantly different from those in the Middle Keys. The majority of the genotypes, regardless of collection region, were dominated by Alphaproteobacteria, namely an obligate intracellular parasite of the genus Ca. Aquarickettsia. Genotypes from the Upper and Middle Keys also had high relative abundances of Spirochaeta bacteria. Several genotypes originating from both the Lower and Upper Keys had lower abundances of Aquarickettsia, resulting in significantly higher species richness and diversity. Low abundance of Aquarickettsia has been previously identified as a signature of disease resistance. While the low-Aquarickettsia corals from both the Upper and Lower Keys had high abundances of an unclassified Proteobacteria, the genotypes in the Upper Keys were also dominated by Spirochaeta. The results of this study suggest that the abundance of Aquarickettsia and Spirochaeta may play an important role in distinguishing bacterial communities among A. cervicornis populations and compositional differences of these bacterial communities may be driven by regional processes that are influenced by both the environmental history and genetic relatedness of the host. Additionally, the high microbial diversity of low-Aquarickettsia genotypes may provide resilience to their hosts, and these genotypes may be a potential resource for restoration practices and management.

Habitat Restoration Restores Underwater Soundscapes and Larval Recruitment

Habitat degradation alters many ecosystem processes, and the potential for the reestablishment of ecosystem function through restoration is an area of active research. Among marine systems, coastal habitats are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic degradation and, in response, are the focus of marine ecological restoration. One of the crucial functions of structurally complex coastal habitats (e.g., saltmarshes, seagrass meadows, kelp forests, coral reefs) are as nurseries to coastal and offshore species, many of whose larvae utilize sound to locate suitable nursery habitat. However, the effect of habitat degradation and subsequent restoration on underwater soundscapes and their function as navigational cues for larvae is unexplored. We investigated these phenomena in sponge-dominated hardbottom habitat in the waters surrounding the middle Florida Keys (Florida, United States) that have been degraded in recent decades by massive sponge die-offs caused by harmful algal blooms. One of the consequences of sponge die-offs are dramatic changes in underwater sounds normally produced by sponge-associated animals. We tested whether soundscapes from healthy hardbottom habitat influenced larval recruitment, and then examined how hardbottom degradation and restoration with transplanted sponges affected underwater soundscapes and the recruitment of larval fishes and invertebrates. Larval assemblages recruiting to healthy areas were significantly different than those assemblages recruiting to either degraded or restored hardbottom areas. Fewer larvae recruited to degraded and restored areas compared to healthy hardbottom, particularly during the full moon. Experimental playback of healthy hardbottom soundscapes on degraded sites did not promote larval community differences although some individual species responded to the playback of healthy habitat soundscapes. These results indicate that habitat-associated soundscapes have idiosyncratic effects on larval settlement, which is diminished by the degradation of nursery habitat but can be reestablished with appropriate habitat restoration.

An ecological assessment of large coastal shark communities in South Florida

Given population declines of many shark species, coupled with increasing conservation efforts and recoveries, there is a need for baseline assessments and continued monitoring of shark populations to support management. The waters of South Florida, USA, are used by a diverse array of sharks that occur among a mosaic of habitats and management zones. Here we conducted standardized drumline surveys from Miami through the middle Florida Keys to examine spatial, seasonal and environmental patterns in shark occurrence, catch per unit effort, composition, and demographic structure. Between 2009 and 2021, a total of 21,755 drumlines were deployed, capturing 3398 sharks, comprising fifteen species. Ginglymostoma cirratum, (n = 1335), Carcharhinus limbatus, (n = 650), Negaprion brevirostris, (n = 314), C. leucas, (n = 253), and Sphyrna mokarran, (n = 238) were the most common species encountered. Overall, the largest shark surveyed was a 450 cm S. mokarran and the smallest shark was a 50 cm Rhizoprionodon terraenovae. At the assemblage level, relative abundance among regions and seasons were generally similar; however clear species-specific patterns of abundance, size structure, and sex-composition were detected by season, region, habitat, and management zones. Of the physical conditions evaluated, habitat type and depth emerged as the most influential parameters affecting abundances and sizes of species captured. While few species exhibited significant differences in catches by management zone, areas with the most restrictive fisheries regulations generally supported higher abundances for which differences were detected. These data serve as a baseline for future monitoring of shark populations in South Florida and assessing their response to environmental change.

Establishment ofAedes(Ochlerotatus)scapularis(Diptera: Culicidae) in Mainland Florida, With Notes on the Ochlerotatus Group in the United States

Aedes scapularis (Rondani), a widespread neotropical vector mosquito species, has been included in the mosquito fauna of Florida on the basis of just three larval specimens that were collected in the middle Florida Keys in 1945. Here, we report numerous recent collections of immature and adult Ae. scapularis from multiple locations in two counties of southern Florida. These specimens represent the first records of Ae. scapularis from mainland Florida and the first records of the species in the state since the initial detection of the species 75 yr ago. Collections of both larvae and adults across several years indicate that Ae. scapularis is now established in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. These contemporary records of this species in Florida may represent novel dispersal and subsequent establishment events from populations outside the United States or a recent reemergence of undetected endemic populations. To confirm morphological identification of Ae. scapularis specimens from Florida, the DNA barcoding region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) was sequenced and compared to all other Ochlerotatus Group species from the United States, specifically Aedes condolescens Dyar and Knab (Diptera: Culicidae), Aedes infirmatus Dyar and Knab (Diptera: Culicidae), Aedes thelcter Dyar (Diptera: Culicidae), Aedes tortilis (Theobald) (Diptera: Culicidae), and Aedes trivittatus (Coquillett) (Diptera: Culicidae). Molecular assays and sequencing confirm morphological identification of Ae. scapularis specimens. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis of COI and ITS2 sequences place Florida Ae. scapularis in a distinct clade, but was unable to produce distinct clades for Florida specimens of Ae. condolescens and Ae. tortilis.

Evaluating the small-scale epidemiology of the stony-coral -tissue-loss-disease in the middle Florida Keys.

Along the Florida reef tract, stony-coral-tissue-loss disease (SCTLD) has caused extensive mortality of more than 20 scleractinian coral species. The pathogen is unknown, but its epizoology indicates that the disease, facilitated by water currents, has progressed linearly along the tract, affecting reefs at the scale of hundreds of kilometers. To inform ongoing disease mitigation efforts, we examined the small-scale spatial and temporal epidemiology of SCTLD. We established a series of sites in the middle Florida Keys at offshore and inshore locations that had not yet shown signs of SCTLD. We then conducted high-frequency monitoring from February 2018 through September 2019 and documented the onset of SCTLD and its progression through the sites. SCTLD was first observed at one site during early February 2018 and by early March 2018 all sites showed signs of the disease. A dynamic multistate model suggested that disease transmission was independent of coral density and found little evidence of a positive association between a colony showing signs of SCTLD and the condition or distance to its neighboring colonies. The model did, however, indicate that the probability of a colony showing signs of SCTLD increased with increasing colony surface area. These results are consistent with the water-borne transmission of a pathogen that progressed rapidly through the survey area. However, by the end of our survey the progression of SCTLD had slowed, particularly at inshore sites. Many affected colonies no longer exhibited progressive tissue mortality typical of the disease, suggesting the existence of differentially resilient colonies or coral communities, meriting their use for future coral rescue and propagation and disease research. These results are useful for refining ongoing SCTLD mitigation strategies, particularly by determining when disease rates are sufficiently low for direct intervention efforts designed to arrest disease progression on individual coral colonies will be most effective.

Association of butterflyfishes and stony coral tissue loss disease in the Florida Keys

Since 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has rapidly spread throughout the Florida reef tract infecting and killing dozens of coral species. Previous studies have found that corallivorous fishes, such as butterflyfishes, are positively correlated with coral disease prevalence at both local and regional scales. This study investigates the association of SCTLD infection and butterflyfish abundance and behaviors on ten reefs in the middle Florida Keys. Divers conducted video surveys of reef fish abundance and disease prevalence in June 2017, 2018, and 2019; before, during, and after the outbreak of SCTLD infections. SCTLD prevalence increased from 3.2% in 2017 to 36.9% in 2018 and back to 2.7% in 2019. Butterflyfish abundances also showed a similar pattern with a twofold increase in abundance in 2018 over abundances in 2017 and 2019. To better understand the association of individual species of butterflyfishes and diseased corals, 60 coral colonies (20 healthy, 20 diseased, 20 recently dead) were tagged and monitored for butterflyfish activity using both diver-based AGGRA fish counts and 1-h time-lapse videophotography collected in the summers of 2018 and 2019. All reef fishes were more abundant on corals with larger surface areas of live tissue, but only the foureye butterflyfish preferred corals with larger surface areas of diseased tissues. Estimates of association indicate that foureye butterflyfish were found significantly more on diseased corals than either healthy or recently dead corals when compared with the other species of butterflyfishes. Foureye butterflyfish were observed to feed directly on the SCTLD line of infection, while other butterflyfish were not. Furthermore, association of foureye butterflyfish with particular diseased corals decreased from 2018 to 2019 as the SCTLD infections disappeared. Our findings suggest that foureye butterflyfish recruit to and feed on SCTLD-infected corals which may influence the progression and/or transmission of this insidious coral disease.

Rhodobacterales and Rhizobiales Are Associated With Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease and Its Suspected Sources of Transmission.

In 2014, Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) was first detected off the coast of Miami, FL, United States, and continues to persist and spread along the Florida Reef Tractr (FRT) and into the Caribbean. SCTLD can have up to a 61% prevalence in reefs and has affected at least 23 species of scleractinian corals. This has contributed to the regional near-extinction of at least one coral species, Dendrogyra cylindrus. Initial studies of SCTLD indicate microbial community shifts and cessation of lesion progression in response to antibiotics on some colonies. However, the etiology and abiotic sources of SCTLD transmission are unknown. To characterize SCTLD microbial signatures, we collected tissue samples from four affected coral species: Stephanocoenia intersepta, Diploria labyrinthiformis, Dichocoenia stokesii, and Meandrina meandrites. Tissue samples were from apparently healthy (AH) corals, and unaffected tissue (DU) and lesion tissue (DL) on diseased corals. Samples were collected in June 2018 from three zones: (1) vulnerable (ahead of the SCTLD disease boundary in the Lower Florida Keys), (2) endemic (post-outbreak in the Upper Florida Keys), and (3) epidemic (SCTLD was active and prevalent in the Middle Florida Keys). From each zone, sediment and water samples were also collected to identify whether they may serve as potential sources of transmission for SCTLD-associated microbes. We used 16S rRNA gene amplicon high-throughput sequencing methods to characterize the microbiomes of the coral, water, and sediment samples. We identified a relatively higher abundance of the bacteria orders Rhodobacterales and Rhizobiales in DL tissue compared to AH and DU tissue. Also, our results showed relatively higher abundances of Rhodobacterales in water from the endemic and epidemic zones compared to the vulnerable zone. Rhodobacterales and Rhizobiales identified at higher relative abundances in DL samples were also detected in sediment samples, but not in water samples. Our data indicate that Rhodobacterales and Rhizobiales may play a role in SCTLD and that sediment may be a source of transmission for Rhodobacterales and Rhizobiales associated with SCTLD lesions.

Impacts of consecutive bleaching events and local algal abundance on transplanted coral colonies in the Florida Keys

Climate change threatens many marine ecosystems, including coral reefs and the thousands of organisms that inhabit these reefs. Fluctuations in sea surface temperatures trigger bleaching events in coral colonies that lead to increased coral mortality and reef degradation. To combat the decline in coral cover, many researchers have focused on transplanting coral colonies to better understand which species are best adapted to these environmental changes. This current study examined the impacts of two consecutive thermal stress events on transplanted coral colonies in the middle Florida Keys within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Coral fragments of two species (Porites astreoides and Siderastrea siderea) were transplanted on seven reef sites. Transplanted colonies were monitored for evidence of coral bleaching during quarterly sampling trips from June 2013 through June 2017. Bleaching was only observed during the late summer of 2014 and 2015 when Degree Heating Weeks exceeded 4 °C-weeks. Results indicate that P. astreoides colonies had significantly higher bleaching than S. siderea colonies. Reefs differed in their proportion of bleached and unbleached corals for P. asteroides, but these reefs did not differ in their average daily maximum temperature or Degree Heating Weeks. However, individual corals that did bleach had a higher average fleshy algal abundance (Dictyota spp.) surrounding them than those corals that remained unbleached. Corals that bleached the first year and survived were no more or less likely to bleach the second year. These findings suggest that resilience to bleaching differs not only by coral species but may also be influenced by the local abundance of fleshy algal species.

Larval influx of Diadema antillarum to the Florida Keys linked to passage of a Tortugas Eddy

Lack of recovery of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean region following a widespread epizootic in 1983–1984 has garnered great interest due to the role of this species as a grazer of macroalgae that exclude reef-building corals. In the Florida Keys, USA, previous research suggests that reestablishment of D. antillarum is limited by low fertilization success and a lack of larval supply. However, the physical mechanisms determining larval supply in the Florida Keys remain poorly resolved. Here, we use coupled biological and physical oceanographic datasets of D. antillarum larval supply to settlement collectors, sea surface temperatures and heights, and the Okubo Weiss parameter to examine a link between influx of larvae to the middle Florida Keys and Tortugas Eddy activity in the Straits of Florida. The greatest magnitude of settlement over 3 months of measurements occurred from late May to late June 2015, coinciding with the passage and dissociation of a Tortugas Eddy. Settlement occurred on collectors only at offshore bank-barrier reef sites, consistent with a temperature signal of a passing eddy at these sites. No D. antillarum were observed by divers at sites 1 yr following settlement on the collectors. The results indicate that despite the lack of population recovery, D. antillarum larval influx can occur during intermittent oceanographic events.

Microbial Associations of Four Species of Algal Symbiont-bearing Foraminifers from the Florida Reef Tract, Usa

Abstract While microbiome research is a rapidly expanding field of study, relatively little is known of the microbiomes associated with Foraminifera. This preliminary study investigated microbes associated with four species of Foraminifera, representing two taxonomic orders, which host three kinds of algal endosymbionts. A major objective was to explore potential influences on the microbiome composition, including phylogenetic relatedness among the host species, similarities in algal symbionts hosted, and environmental conditions from which the specimens were collected. Samples examined from two locations along the middle Florida Keys reef tract included 45 foraminiferal specimens and four environmental samples. Bacterial DNA extraction from individual specimens was followed by amplification and amplicon sequencing of the V4 variable region of the 16S rRNA gene; results were obtained from 21 specimens. The Order Miliolida, Family Soritidae, was represented by 5–8 specimens of each of three species: Archaias angulatus and Cyclorbiculina compressa, which both host chlorophyte symbionts, and Sorites orbiculus, which hosts dinoflagellate symbionts. Three Ar. angulatus specimens from which the microbiome was successfully sequenced shared 177 OTUs. Six C. compressa specimens successfully sequenced shared 58 OTUs, of which 31 were also shared by the three specimens of Ar. angulatus. Four successfully sequenced S. orbiculus specimens shared 717 unique OTUs. The 13 soritid specimens shared 26 OTUs, 23 of which represented Proteobacteria, predominantly of the bacterial family Rhodobacteraceae. The fourth foraminiferal species, Amphistegina gibbosa (Order Rotaliida) hosts diatom endosymbionts. Bacterial DNA extraction was attempted on 16 Am. gibbosa, including both normal-appearing and partly-bleached specimens. Only six OTUs, four of which represented Proteobacteria, were found in all eight specimens successfully sequenced. The partly bleached specimens shared nearly twice as many unique microbial OTUs (32) as the normal-appearing specimens (19). All Am. gibbosa specimens shared only four microbial OTUs with the soritid species, three of which may have been contaminants, indicating minimal commonality between the microbiomes of Am. gibbosa and the soritid taxa.

Florida's Civil War: Terrible Sacrifices by Tracy J. Revels

Reviewed by: Florida's Civil War: Terrible Sacrifices by Tracy J. Revels Jonathan M. Berkey Florida's Civil War: Terrible Sacrifices. By Tracy J. Revels. ( Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2016. Pp. xx, 197. $29.00, ISBN 978–0-88146–589-1.) Ask any Civil War buff about the conflict in Virginia, and he or she will share a great deal of information about the military campaigns and even some of the key domestic struggles in the state. Ask about the war in Florida, and you will likely receive a blank stare, although an especially sharp enthusiast might mention Fort Pickens or the battle of Olustee. Given how historians have thoroughly analyzed the Civil War, it is surprising how little attention the Sunshine State has received. Tracy J. Revels strives to remedy this situation in her study of Florida's wartime experience. Beginning with the secession crisis and ending with postwar military occupation, Florida's Civil War: Terrible Sacrifices explores how various segments of the state's population—including soldiers, Unionists, African Americans, and women—struggled to survive through four years of conflict. The initial chapters of Revels's study analyze Florida's response to the election of Abraham Lincoln and military events in the state through the end of 1862. By then, most of the significant coastal cities were under Union control, but Middle Florida remained unscathed and under Confederate control. A series of topical chapters follow on the battle of Olustee, slavery, Florida's contributions to the Confederacy—which included soldiers, salt, and cattle—and the experiences of Union- and Confederate-sympathizing women as well as refugees. The study concludes with an assessment of events between late 1864 and the beginning of Reconstruction. Two broad themes emerge from the author's analysis. The first is Florida's complicated relationship with the Confederacy. Revels implies that the Confederate government took the state for granted, eagerly accepting Florida's contributions of soldiers, salt, and beef while ignoring the state's pleas for men and supplies to defend it from Union raids. The second theme, Florida's status as a frontier state, informs much of Revels's analysis. She notes that a large swath of unsettled area in the state's interior and a preponderance of swamps and woodlands made partisan warfare easy and effective. Limited transportation routes hampered Union invasion plans and diminished Florida's attractiveness as a depot for Confederate blockade-runners. While Florida did not witness the sustained military campaigns of other Confederate states, Revels asserts that Floridians suffered immensely from dwindling food supplies, harsh taxation, and conscription measures. These conditions contributed [End Page 163] to the growth of Unionism, which, to a lesser extent, had been present in Florida at the war's outbreak. Revels's use of sources limits the effectiveness of her analysis. She makes a curious choice, given her focus on the social aspects of wartime Florida, to limit her use of archival sources. Her decision, which she acknowledges in the book's preface, limits the effectiveness of her approach to the topic. While this could be excused in a work of synthesis, her treatment of secondary sources falls short as well. Her analysis cites numerous sources on Florida history but fails to engage more modern studies that would place Florida's experience in a broader context. For instance, Revels's analysis of why Floridians enlisted in the Confederate army does not address recent scholarship such as Aaron Sheehan-Dean's work on soldiers' motivations. Revels's chapter on slavery—the most effective chapter in her study—discusses self-emancipation but makes few references to current literature on the subject. Florida's Civil War provides a serviceable introduction to the social factors that shaped the state's experience, but a more frequent use of archival sources and rigorous engagement with recent historiography would have enriched its analysis. Jonathan M. Berkey Concord University Copyright © 2018 The Southern Historical Association

Coral growth patterns of Montastraea cavernosa and Porites astreoides in the Florida Keys: The importance of thermal stress and inimical waters

The calcification and extension rates of two species of scleractinian coral (Montastraea cavernosa, Porites astreoides) were measured in corals experimentally transplanted to paired inshore and offshore locations in the Upper, Middle, and Lower Florida Keys from 2010 to 2011. Growth rates were compared with respect to 1) shelf location, 2) species, 3) region, and 4) temperature. Transplanted corals on inshore reefs generally calcified less than those at paired offshore sites, but these differences were only significant in a few cases. This difference in growth is likely because of two thermal stress events that occurred inshore, but not offshore, as growth records from cores of P. astreoides revealed significantly higher extension and calcification inshore from 2001–2013. The core data confirmed that the years 2010–2012 were a period of depressed growth inshore. Calcification and extension rates of the experimental corals were not statistically different between M. cavernosa and P. astreoides within a given site. The only exceptions were that calcification was higher in M. cavernosa at the Middle Keys inshore site. The Middle Florida Keys sites had the lowest rates of calcification, supporting the hypothesis that the influence of Florida Bay waters in this region contributes to poor reef development. Mean calcification rates negatively correlated with metrics of cold stress in M. cavernosa and heat stress in P. astreoides. The lack of a significant correlation between heat stress and mean calcification in M. cavernosa may help explain this species persistence on today's reefs. Maximum calcification and mean extension, however, were negatively correlated with maximum running 30-day mean temperature, showing that the growth of M. cavernosa is not completely insensitive to warm water stress. The ‘weedy’ life-history strategy of P. astreoides may compensate for the sensitivity of calcification rates to heat stress reported here, allowing this species to maintain the stable populations that have been observed throughout Florida and the wider Caribbean.

Fractures as Preferential Flowpaths for Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Injections and Withdrawals: Implications for Environmentally Sensitive Near-Shore Waters, Wetlands of the Greater Everglades Basin and the Regional Karst Floridan Aquifer System

In theory, “aquifer storage and recovery” (ASR) is a form of artificial aquifer recharge consisting of threecomponents: (1) aquifer injections of fluids; (2) withdrawals of the injected fluids; and (3) a period of timebetween the injections and withdrawals that is considered to be aquifer “storage” of the injected fluids. Theinjected fluids may be: (1) treated sewage effluent (also known as reclaimed, reuse, or bright water); (2)stormwater runoff pumped out of canals, mine pits or other areas; (3) surface waters from natural lakes andstreams; or (4) ground water from different aquifer zones. An evaluation of existing data from more than 80injection/withdrawal cycle tests at 18 ASR sites in 9 counties throughout southern Florida, in the regional karstFloridan aquifer system of the United States (US) revealed that less than 25% actual “recovery” was achievedfrom ASR wells where water from various sources was injected into the regional karst aquifer system.Determination of actual “recovery” was based on the reported chloride content of injected and recovered waterand was more suggestive of fluid disposal than aquifer “recharge.” Actual “recovery” for those ASR tests,adjusted to the chloride concentrations of injected fluids, ranged from 0-17% for “storage” periods that rangedfrom 0-181 days. Although results of actual “recovery” provide little support for the concept of “stored” water, inreality those results also over-estimate the volume of injected water that is stored because it assumes that waterrecovered at the same chloride concentration is the same water that was injected. There is no evidence in theASR data to support that assumption. The low actual “recovery” rates occurred despite the fact that 28 of thecycle tests had a “storage” period < 1 day and the longest “storage” period tested did not exceed 181 days. Thosebrief “storage” periods also were insufficient to meet the stated agency objectives of retrieving the injected fluidsduring the dry season, more than six months after injection of what is termed “excess water” during the rainyseason. Despite those results, the agency’s Final Technical Data Report (TDR) and groundwater model releasedin 2014 concluded that: (1) “recovery” from those wells would range from 70-100% and (2) 232 ASR wells (94in the upper Floridan aquifer, 37 in the Avon Park Permeable Zone of the middle Florida aquifer and 101 in theBoulder Zone) could be completed in Florida’s Greater Everglades Basin (basin) as restoration. That Final TDRdid not consider differences in chloride content between water that was injected into and withdrawn from theASR cycle tests and that groundwater model for the basin did not include the anisotropy option or preferentialflow through karst conduits such as fractures. Preferential flow of water injected and withdrawn could result inboth low ASR “recovery” rates and environmental harm, such as submarine groundwater discharge (SGD)contaminated with pollutants, including nutrients that result in harmful algal blooms (HABs). That TDR andgroundwater model for southern Florida also did not evaluate the direct, indirect or cumulative adverse impactsof preferential flow from ASR injections and withdrawals (e.g., through fractures) on federally threatened andendangered species, environmentally sensitive areas or on sinkhole formation. Our evaluation of the basinvicinity also included analyses of fracture frequency, length and proximity to ASR wells, other injection andwithdrawal wells and modern sinkholes, based on georeferenced and transformed lineaments from threeindependent sources: the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE, 2004c), Florida Department of Transportation(FDOT, 1973), and Vernon (1951). Based on the three lineament data sets included in our study, includingwww.ccsenet.org/jgg Journal of Geography and Geology Vol. 7, No. 2; 2015118fractures that extend for considerable distances through environmentally sensitive areas in the basin such as theBig Cypress National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, Estero Bay, Everglades National Park, Florida KeysNational Marine Sanctuary, Indian River Lagoon and Marquesas Keys Wildlife Management Area. Some ofthese fractures also extend beyond the boundaries of the basin.

Southern Prohibition: Race, Reform, and Public Life in Middle Florida, 1821–1920 by Lee L. Willis (review)

Southern Prohibition: Race, Reform, and Public Life in Middle Florida, 1821–1920 by Lee L. Willis (review)

The Jackson County War: Reconstruction and Resistance in Post–Civil War Florida by Daniel R. Weinfeld (review)

Reviewed by: The Jackson County War: Reconstruction and Resistance in Post–Civil War Florida by Daniel R. Weinfeld Learotha Williams Jr. The Jackson County War: Reconstruction and Resistance in Post–Civil War Florida. Daniel R. Weinfeld. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0-8173-1745-4, 224 pp., cloth, $29.95. Daniel R. Weinfeld’s The Jackson County War: Reconstruction and Resistance in Post–Civil War Florida, examines a topic with which many scholars and students of Florida history will be familiar: the bloodshed and wanton loss of life in Jackson County during the early days of the state’s reconstruction. Historians seeking to better understand Reconstruction and the use of terror to subjugate freed persons in the Sunshine State have discussed at length the tragic events of the period. William Watson Davis’s Civil War and Reconstruction in Florida and John Wallace’s Carpetbag Rule in Florida were two of the earliest efforts to chronicle and interpret the violence in the [End Page 549] Middle Florida county, and during the twentieth century, historians Joe M. Richardson, Jerrell Shofner, Richard Peek, Canter Brown, and others actively engaged the county’s violent past. Indeed, the assassination plots, murders, victims, as well as the names of those responsible for the violence have been a well-documented part of the state’s history for more than a century. Through his meticulous research, Weinfeld successfully presents the reader with the most detailed biographical sketches of many of the major participants in the violent era to date. In addition to an excellent discussion of the events of the period, the author provides new insight into the strengths and flaws of the many politicians who dominated Florida politics during Reconstruction. Weinfeld begins The Jackson County War with a discussion of the peaceful character of the county prior to the Civil War and how Union victory ushered in dramatic economic and social change for the area’s black and white population. The book emphasizes that neither segment of the population fully comprehended the changes the war wrought, the most important being African American emancipation. Against this backdrop, Weinfeld introduces the two men whom many in Jackson County blamed for their problems with the African American population, Freedmen’s Bureau agents Charles Hamilton and William J. Purman. Weinfeld then proceeds to discuss the period from the defeat of the Confederacy to the end of violence in the county in 1871. The author presents the reader with a history of how the violence evolved from isolated random individual acts of racial violence to a more organized group violence fueled by political as well as racial impulses. By the book’s end, Weinfield demonstrates that many of the chief perpetrators of the violence not only escaped punishment for the lawless acts, but benefited economically, socially, and politically for them. Historians with interests in the history of African Americans in Florida will find Weinfeld wrestles with many of the same obstacles they have faced in studying free persons during this period, chief among them a scarcity of first-person accounts from African Americans who survived the era. The author uses testimony from congressional investigation of the Ku Klux Klan activity in the South, court cases, and newspaper articles to recount what life was like for African Americans living in Jackson County and how they responded to the murders and violence that became a common feature of their lives during Reconstruction. Although the author weaves a very powerful narrative of what the group faced in Jackson County—with the exception of prominent African American politician Emanuel Fortune and the County’s African American justice of the peace, Calvin Rogers—outside of being targets of violence, African Americans as a group appear to occupy only secondary roles in the drama, despite comprising half of Jackson County’s postwar population. The murder of Maggie McClellan described in the book’s introduction was likely in retaliation for a failed assassination attempt that resulted in the death of a small African American child, but it does not become clear that the suspected perpetrator was the actual target until later in the work. Readers will very likely leave this book understanding that further scrutiny of...