Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations HCNSO Student Work 7-25-2019 Spatial and temporal trends in the Xestospongia muta (giant barrel sponge) population on the Southeast Florida Reef Tract Alanna D. Waldman student, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd Part of the Marine Biology Commons, and the Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons Share Feedback About This Item NSUWorks Citation Alanna D. Waldman. 2019. Spatial and temporal trends in the Xestospongia muta (giant barrel sponge) population on the Southeast Florida Reef Tract. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, . (514) https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/514. 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]. Thesis of Alanna D. Waldman Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science M.S. Marine Biology Nova Southeastern University Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography July 2019 Approved: Thesis Committee Major Professor: David Gilliam, Ph.D. Committee Member: Jose Lopez, Ph.D. Committee Member: Charles Messing, Ph.D. This thesis is available at NSUWorks: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/514 HALMOS COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND OCEANOGRAPHY Spatial and temporal trends in the Xestospongia muta (giant barrel sponge) population on the Southeast Florida Reef Tract By Alanna Denbrook Waldman Submitted to the Faculty of Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science with a specialty in: Marine Biology Nova Southeastern University August 2019 Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ii List of Equations ............................................................................................................................ ii List of Appendices ........................................................................................................................ iii 1. Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... iv 2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 3. Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (SECREMP) .................. 6 3.2 Broward County Biological Monitoring Project (BC BIO) ................................................ 10 3.3 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 10 4. Results ....................................................................................................................................... 13 4.1 Spatial and temporal trend analysis ..................................................................................... 13 4.2 Impact of Hurricane Irma .................................................................................................... 16 5. Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 20 5.1 Long-term trends ................................................................................................................. 20 5.2 Divers of increasing density ................................................................................................ 22 5.3 Hurricane Irma .................................................................................................................... 24 6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 25 7. Tables ........................................................................................................................................ 28 8. Literature Cited ......................................................................................................................... 30 9. Appendices ................................................................................................................................ 39 i List of Figures Figure 1: Healthy and diseased Xestospongia muta ....................................................................... 5 Figure 2: Damaged Xestospongia muta .......................................................................................... 5 Figure 3: Map of the Southeast Florida Reef Tract and study sites ................................................ 7 Figure 4: Map of the Southeast Florida Reef Tract and study sites ................................................ 8 Figure 5: Map of the Southeast Florida Reef Tract and study sites ................................................ 9 Figure 6: Xestospongia muta demographic measurements ............................................................. 9 Figure 7: BC BIO photoquadrat .................................................................................................... 10 Figure 8: Boxplot of regional density ........................................................................................... 14 Figure 9: Boxplot of nearshore reef density ................................................................................. 14 Figure 10: Boxplot of middle reef density .................................................................................... 15 Figure 11: Boxplot of outer reef density ....................................................................................... 15 Figure 12: SECREMP regional density and volume .................................................................... 18 Figure 13: SECREMP nearshore reef density and volume ........................................................... 18 Figure 14: SECREMP middle reef density and volume ............................................................... 19 Figure 15: SECREMP outer reef density and volume .................................................................. 19 Figure 16: SECREMP Regional density of size classes .............................................................. 20 List of Tables Table 1: SECREMP list of permanent sites .................................................................................. 28 Table 2: BC BIO list of permanent sites ....................................................................................... 29 List of Equations Equation 1: Volume calculation for frustum of a cone ................................................................. 12 ii List of Appendices Appendix A: Linear regression of 2017 vent and base diameter measurments ............................ 39 Appendix B: Linear regression of 2018 vent and base diameter measurments ............................ 40 Appendix C: Size classes by volume parameters ......................................................................... 41 Appendix D: Regional SEFRT density of size classes 2013-2018 ............................................... 41 Appendix E: Nearshore reef density of size classes 2013-2018 ................................................... 41 Appendix F: Middle reef density of size classes 2013-2018 ........................................................ 42 Appendix G: Outer reef density of size classes 2013-2018 .......................................................... 42 Appendix H: SECREMP site densities 2003-2018 ....................................................................... 43 Appendix I: BC BIO site densities 2003-2018 ............................................................................. 44 Appendix J: SECREMP site volumes 2013-2018 ........................................................................ 45 iii 1. Abstract Xestospongia muta, the giant barrel sponge, is a key component of coral reef benthic communities in Southeast Florida and the Caribbean. Xestospongia muta increases habitat complexity and stability, and filters large volumes of water, enhancing water quality and facilitating nutrient cycling. Therefore, it is important to investigate trends in the X. muta population on Southeast Florida reefs in response to anthropogenic stressors, changing environmental conditions and acute disturbances and how these events affect its ecological role in the benthic community. This study identified trends in X. muta population density, volume, and size class distribution over time and across reef habitats on the Southeast Florida Reef Tract (SEFRT). Density and volume changes were also investigated following acute physical disturbance caused by Hurricane Irma in September of 2017. Images and demographic data collected at 41 permanent sites from two long-term monitoring projects, The Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (SECREMP) and the Broward County Biological Monitoring Project (BC BIO), were used to evaluate the X. muta