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Distribution and Condition of Stony Corals in the Veracruz

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Distribution and Condition of Stony Corals in the Veracruz Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations HCNSO Student Work 3-29-2017 Distribution and Condition of Stony Corals in The Veracruz Reef System National Park: A Management Perspective Mauricio López Padierna Nova Southeastern University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd Part of the Biodiversity Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, and the Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons Share Feedback About This Item NSUWorks Citation Mauricio López Padierna. 2017. Distribution and Condition of Stony Corals in The Veracruz Reef System National Park: A Management Perspective. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, . (447) https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/447. This Thesis is brought to you by the HCNSO Student Work at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY HALMOS COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE AND OCEANOGRAPHY Distribution and Condition of Stony Corals in The Veracruz Reef System National Park: A Management Perspective By Mauricio López Padierna Submitted to the Faculty of Nova Southeastern University Halmos College of Natural Science and Oceanography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science with specialty in: Coastal Zone Management & Marine Biology Nova Southeastern University March 2017 I dedicate this work to my grandmas Abi and Abue who showed me what a life well lived looks like. Their loving kindness and persistence is an inspiration. Acknowledgments I am thankful to the myriad of people who were involved in this long project. First and foremost, my advisor Dr. Dave Gilliam for giving me the opportunity to work on a project I was passionate about in my own home country. His willingness to travel and keep an open mind, finding funding to continue the project for as long as it did. I also thank my committee members Dr. Richard Spieler and Dr. Brain Walker for helping get the project going and their continued work on several of our sampling trips. I also thank our partners at the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano. Dr. Elvira Carvajal who invited us to survey the reefs in Veracruz, Dr. Tomas Camarena-Luhrs for his support during our visits, and of course the staff who accompanied us during surveys: Luis, Miguel, Marcos, Israel and Jacobo, and their supporting crew who helped us fuel the boats, get tanks and helped us navigate the reefs. This project could not have been done without the d many friends and lab mates who collected the data during our many trips: Melissa, Joanna, Vanessa, Danny, Allison, Paola, Stephanie, Ari, Kate, Amanda, Nicole, Chuck. And a special thanks to Liz for taking this project and making it even better with her inquisitiveness curiosity and support. I am also grateful for the great many people who crossed paths with me during my time at the Oceanographic Center and made my experience here a memorable one Zach, Matt, Nick (x3), Ashley, Andia, Jigu, Ana, Cody, Lystina, Katelyn, Naoko, Corinne to name a few, but there too many others to name, thanks to all. Last but not least I must thank my family for sticking with me while they wondered what I was doing thing whole time. Their love and support keeps me going every day. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... v Abstract ............................................................................................................................. vi 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Coral Reefs ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Marine Protected Areas .............................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Coral Reefs in Mexico ............................................................................................................... 4 1.4 The Veracruz Reef System ........................................................................................................ 5 1.5 Veracruz Reef System National Park ...................................................................................... 10 1.7 Justification .............................................................................................................................. 15 1.8 Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 15 2. METHODS .................................................................................................................. 16 2.1 Field Methods .......................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Descriptive statistics ................................................................................................................ 17 2.3 Statistical analysis .................................................................................................................... 18 2.4 Temperature ............................................................................................................................. 18 3. RESULTS .................................................................................................................... 20 3.1 Sites Surveyed .......................................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Distribution .............................................................................................................................. 24 3.2.1 Benthic Cover .................................................................................................................... 24 3.2.2 Species Richness ................................................................................................................ 28 3.3 Stony Coral Demographics ...................................................................................................... 30 3.4 Distance Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 38 3.5 Temperature ............................................................................................................................. 41 4. DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................. 43 4.1 Distribution .............................................................................................................................. 43 4.2 Stony Coral Demographics ...................................................................................................... 47 4.3. Distance Analysis .................................................................................................................... 49 5. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ...................................................................................... 51 5.1 Distribution .............................................................................................................................. 51 5.2 Stony Coral Demographics ...................................................................................................... 51 5.3 Management ............................................................................................................................. 52 Literature Cited .............................................................................................................. 53 iii List of Figures Figure 1. Map of the reefs and reef areas in the Gulf of Mexico ........................................ 5 Figure 2. Satellite image of the reefs of the Veracruz Reef System ................................... 7 Figure 3. Map of the Port of Veracruz from 1807 .............................................................. 9 Figure 4. Map of the VRS showing the 1992 (yellow) and 2012 (red) park boundaries. 14 Figure 5. Location of survey sites in the Veracruz Reef System. ..................................... 23 Figure 6. Percent cover for each of the seven functional groups. ..................................... 25 Figure 7. Percent cover for each functional group at each reef ........................................ 27 Figure 8. Species richness for each of the reefs surveyed ................................................ 30 Figure 9. Relative abundance of coral species .................................................................. 34 Figure 10. Stony Coral Condition in the VRS .................................................................. 35 Figure 11. Stony Coral Condition by Species .................................................................. 37 Figure
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