University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 3-21-2014 Epibenthic Mobile Invertebrates along the Florida Reef Tract: Diversity and Community Structure Kristin Netchy University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Other Education Commons, and the Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Netchy, Kristin, "Epibenthic Mobile Invertebrates along the Florida Reef Tract: Diversity and Community Structure" (2014). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5085 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Epibenthic Mobile Invertebrates along the Florida Reef Tract: Diversity and Community Structure by Kristin H. Netchy A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Marine Science College of Marine Science University of South Florida Major Professor: Pamela Hallock Muller, Ph.D. Kendra L. Daly, Ph.D. Kathleen S. Lunz, Ph.D. Date of Approval: March 21, 2014 Keywords: Echinodermata, Mollusca, Arthropoda, guilds, coral, survey Copyright © 2014, Kristin H. Netchy DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to Dr. Gustav Paulay, whom I was fortunate enough to meet as an undergraduate. He has not only been an inspiration to me for over ten years, but he was the first to believe in me, trust me, and encourage me. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my major professor, Dr. Pamela Hallock Muller, for her guidance, support, optimism, and her availability to help me, no matter how full her schedule. This thesis would not have been possible without her. Thanks also go to my committee members, Dr. Kendra Daly and Kathleen Lunz, for donating their time and making suggestions to improve the work. I also would like to acknowledge the Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Conserve Wildlife Tag Grant# CWT1213-14 for funding my field operations; Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (CREMP) team, particularly Rob Ruzicka, for sharing boat space and coordinating boat logistics around this work; Dr. Ryan P. Moyer and Dr. Joan Herrera for their encouragement; and Dr. Darryl Felder, Anne Dupont, Dr. Arthur Anker, Dr. Gustav Paulay, Dr. Dave Pawson, John Slapcinsky, and Laurent Charles for providing expertise on species identification. Information presented does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or the Wildlife Foundation of Florida. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................................. ii List of Figures ...............................................................................................................................................................iii Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................................... v Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Methods ......................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Study Area ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 Site Selection ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Survey Design ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 8 Results ....................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Diversity ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 Community Structure .................................................................................................................................... 15 Discussion.................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Patterns of Diversity ...................................................................................................................................... 21 Challenges of Comparing Invertebrate Diversity Datasets............................................................................ 26 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................................. 30 Future Research ........................................................................................................................................................... 31 References ................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Appendices .................................................................................................................................................................. 41 i LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Reef types, number of sites, and numbers of mobile invertebrate taxa documented at each region along the Florida Reef Tract ............................................................................................................ 7 Table 2. Three dominant taxa responsible for assemblages on each reef type, their higher classification, the percentage they contribute to the assemblage, and their feeding guild (+: also feeds on algae) ............................................................................................................................................... 19 Table A1. List of unique taxa observed in each region and reef type with their higher level classification (*Species not recorded in Herrera et al. 2013. ǂSpecies not recorded in Levy et al. 1996) ............ 41 Table A2. Accumulation curve formulas and R 2 values ......................................................................................... 45 Table A3 . Similarity Percentage (SIMPER) analysis results - Taxa responsible for habitat clustering in Shallow Bank Reefs (+also known to feed on algae; °from sources that determined diet ex-situ) ........................................................................................................................................... 45 Table A4. Similarity Percentage (SIMPER) analysis - Taxa responsible for habitat clustering in Patch Reefs (°from sources that determined diet ex-situ) ........................................................................ 46 Table A5. Similarity Percentage (SIMPER) analysis - Species responsible for habitat clustering in Back Country reefs .................................................................................................................................. 46 Table A6 . Similarity Percentage (SIMPER) analysis - Species responsible for habitat clustering in Deep Bank Reefs (°from sources that determined diet ex-situ) ............................................................... 47 Table A7. Similarity Percentage (SIMPER) analysis - Species responsible for habitat clustering in Southeast Florida Reef Complex (°from sources that determined diet ex-situ ) ............................. 47 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Estimate of marine biodiversity percent composition of A) the major taxa (data from Bouchet 2006), and B) the taxa that are federally or state endangered, threatened, or vulnerable (data from FWC 2011) ............................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2. Study area of the Florida Reef Tract with major regions delineated. Locations of sites marked with shapes, corresponding to reef type. Line surrounding the coastline indicates demarcation of state and federal waters ............................................................................................ 5 Figure 3. Accumulation curves of the increase of taxa as additional sites are surveyed, grouped by phylogenetic level. All reef types, regions, and phyla pooled; curves are fitted using logarithmic trendlines ..................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 4. Accumulation curves of the increase of unique taxa as additional sites are surveyed, grouped by phylum. All reef types and regions pooled; curves are fitted using logarithmic trendlines ........... 11 Figure 5. Accumulation curves of the increase of