Stony coral (Scleractinia and Milleporina) community structure at Bird Key Reef, Ft Jefferson National Monument, Dry Tortugas, Florida
Jaap WC, Lyons WG, Dustan P, Halas JC. 1989. Stony coral (Scleractinia and Milleporina) community structure at Bird Key Reef, Ft Jefferson National Monument, Dry Tortugas, Florida. Florida Marine Research Publication 46
Stony coral community structure at Bird Key Reef was investigated during 1975 using 30 continuous 25-m line transects in depths of 0.5 to 21.3 m. Thirty-two species, 872 colonies, and 14 198 cm of coral cover were sampled quantitatively. Most species, colonies, and live coral cover occurred seaward of 8-m depths on spur and groove substrate. Montastrea annularis, M. cavernosa, and Siderastrea siderea constituted more than 50% of all cover. Species diversity (Shannon index, log sub (2) ranged from 1.0 for individual transects. Diversity and evenness values computed from cover data were generally lower than values computed from abundance data, reflecting M. annularis dominance. Numerical community classification (Czekanowski's quantitative coefficient) revealed three groups and an ecotone, each related to depth and substrate: 9 transects in 1 to 6 m depths dominated by Porites astreoides and Diploria clivosa: an ecotone of 6 transects in 5 to 6 m depths; 5 transects in 6 to 9 m depths dominated by S. siderea; and 10 transects in 8 to 21 m depths dominated by M. annularis.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Jaap, Walter; Lyons, William; Dustan, Phillip; Halas, John
- Date of Issue
- 1989-04
- Units
- DRTO
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Biodiversity, Bird Key Reef Dry Tortugas National Park FL, Colonies, Distribution, Ecology, Habitats, Millepora (fire coral genus), Percent Cover, species evenness, stony corals (Scleractinia)