Documenting Hurricane Impacts on Coral Reefs Using Two-Dimensional Video-Mosaic Technology
Abstract
Four hurricanes impacted the reefs of Florida in 2005. In this study, we evaluate the combined impacts of hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma on a population of Acropora palmata using a newly developed video-mosaic methodology that provides a high-resolution, spatially accurate landscape view of the reef benthos. Storm damage to A. palmata was surprisingly limited; only 2 out of 19 colonies were removed from the study plot at Molasses Reef. The net tissue losses for those colonies that remained were only 10% and mean diameter of colonies decreased slightly from 88.4 to 79.6 cm. In contrast, the damage to the reef framework was more severe, and a large section (6 m in diameter) was dislodged, overturned, and transported to the bottom of the reef spur. The data presented here show that two-dimensional video-mosaic technology is well-suited to assess the impacts of physical disturbance on coral reefs and can be used to complement existing survey methodologies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA478962
Entities
People
- Arthur C. Gleason
- Brooke E. Gintert
- Dana Williams
- Diego Lirman
- G. C. Boynton
- Hossein Madjidi
- Margaret Miller
- Nuno R. Gracias
- R. P. Reid
- Shahriar Negahdaripour
Organizations
- Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science