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UCF Study Finds Coral Reefs Taking Longer to Recover, Some Don'tCoral reefs off the shores of Florida are taking much longer to recover and, in some cases, appear not to heal at all once damaged, according to a research team that presented its findings at this month's International Coral Reef Symposium in Fort Lauderdale.
The findings don’t bode well for the reefs or the state’s economy, which derives millions of dollars from tourists wanting a look at coral reefs and the marine life they generate.
John Fauth, a biology professor at the University of Central Florida, and a team of experts from around the country presented their findings at the symposium that drew more than 2,500 scientists from around the world. The symposium (http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/ ) is one of the largest gatherings of scientists dedicated to reef research and occurs only once very four years. The last time the conference was held on U.S. soil was in 1977.
“What was really surprising to me was how long it took corals to generate over lesions,” Fauth said. “What should have taken three to four months was taking much longer, and some of the samples we had didn’t heal at all. That was a surprise.”
Fauth and his team used cellular diagnostics, similar to techniques hospitals use to determine what ails the body, to test coral health. Researchers checked for enzymes and proteins that are harmful and the resulting damage. The project is a first step in identifying the chain between land-based pollutants, responses of individual reef-building corals and health of coral reef communities in the South Florida watershed.
Fauth worked closely with Phillip Dustan, a biology professor at the College of Charleston; Kenneth Banks, of the Broward County Environmental Protection Department in Broward County; Eric Pante from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Bernardo Vargas-Angel from Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center; and Craig Downs from Haereticus Environmental Laboratory in Amherst, Va. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection funded the research.
Divers worked at four inshore and offshore sites off Broward County between one and three miles off the coast. The sites included ocean outflows that dispose of sewage wastewater.
Test results from corals sampled during the study and from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary were consistent with exposure to chemical contaminants. Stress responses were most pronounced in corals near an ocean outfall that discharges millions of gallons of treated wastewater each day.
Results from the study confirm what the World Research Institute’s Reefs at Risk Program has said – coastal development and treated discharge are chronic sources of stress for coral reefs along Florida’s extensive reef tract, Fauth said.
Preserving the reefs is critical, and not just for nature’s sake, Fauth said. The coral reefs off Florida’s coasts are regarded as some of the best in the world, and eco-tourists from around the globe travel to the state to see them.
“It’s a multi-billion dollar industry,” Fauth said. “These tourists have lots of disposable income, and if they can’t come here they will go to the Red Sea, Australia or Belize to see them. It’s of huge importance.”
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