Water Connects the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem

Water Connects the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem

Kurtis Gregg, M.S.Florida Coral Reef Fishery Ecologist

ECS-Federal, Inc on contract toNOAA Fisheries Service Habitat Conservation Division

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The Southeast Florida Coral Reef Tract

The southeast Florida coral reef tract is approximately 110 miles long and generally varies from less than 1 to 3 miles from shore off Martin Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Over 6 million people live, work and play here, and another 25 million visitors enjoy the beaches, waterways, and reefs of southeast Florida each year.

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The Coral Reef Ecosystem of Southeast Florida

Credit: Mares 2012

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Interconnected Habitats in the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem

• Sustainable coral reef ecosystems need functional back-reef habitats (e.g. seagrass, mangroves, hardbottom, unconsolidated sediments, and coastal inlets) to provide access, nursery, shelter, cover and foraging opportunities for reef fish, prey and the other organisms in the coral reef ecosystem.

• These habitats are interconnected by reef fish and prey life history, and affected by tidal water exchange, freshwater flows, submarine groundwater discharge and human activities.

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Fisheries Habitat Connections

Photo: Google Earth 2013

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Southeast Florida Coastal Ocean Dynamics

Very simple-water leaves the inlets and goes north…Right?

Not really!

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The Florida Current interacts with wind and tides to create a dynamic coastal ocean environment

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Eddies change the direction and speed of nearshore coastal currents

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Upwelling results in unusual conditions on southeast Florida reefs

Upwelling is a natural occurrence that brings nutrient rich water to the Florida reef tract

In our region, upwelling is most frequently observed in the summer (July and August) off St. Lucie Inlet, but occurs along the entire southeast Florida reef tract.

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Water and Southeast Florida Coral Reefs

Southeast Florida coral reefs evolved in an environment that provided clean (low nutrient concentrations), clear water with low stormwater runoff to the ocean.

Credit: Dave Gilliam, Nova Southeastern University

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Nutrient Cycling

Water on the Florida reef tract was usually low in nutrient concentrations, so plants and animals in the coral reef ecosystem developed intricate strategies to cycle limiting nutrients to maximize their productivity.

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Land Use Affects LBSP

Water picks up and carries

nutrients and other compounds

as it flows over land.

What water picks up changes

in composition and quantity

depending on the type

of land use.

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Typical Pathways for Pollutants in a Coastal Ecosystem

Credit: Hans Paerl

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Stormwater management in Southeast Florida

Stormwater is routed through southeast Florida canals before being discharged to estuarine waters, like Lake Worth Lagoon.

Photo: Google Earth 2013

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Wastewater Management in Southeast Florida

The four methods of municipal wastewater effluent disposal in southeast Florida include: •surface discharges•ocean outfalls•deep well injection•reuse

Photo: Palm Beach Post 2010

Graphic: USGS 2013

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Freshwater inflows to the Lake Worth Lagoon

Source Percentage of Inflow

West Palm Beach Canal (C-51) 49.7 Earman River Canal (C-17) 12.5 Boynton Canal (C-16) 10.7

West Palm Beach sewage treatment plant2 1.3

Boynton Beach sewage treatment plant2 0.3

Groundwater 22.3

1Data from Palm Beach County Environmental Resource Management. 1990. Lake Worth Lagoon: Natural resources inventory and resource enhancement study. 226pp2Sewage treatment plants which no longer discharge into the lagoon.

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Septic Systems

Septic systems can adversely affect ground water quality (i.e. the Biscayne Aquifer) and surface waters with human pathogens (bacteria and viruses) and high nutrient

levels.

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Nutrient Pollution in Coastal Waters of Southeast Florida

NH4

Source kgN/d

N+NkgN/d

TNkgN/d

TSSkg/d

TPkgP/d

Boca Raton 425.3 133.7 684.5 243.0 28.4

Hollywood 1779.3 179.4 2482.1 2541.9 164.5

Broward n/a n/a 2044.9 179.6 2541.9

South Central 571.3 200.2 913.2 439.5 83.0

Boynton Inlet (September-high flow)

655.0 633.5 n/a n/a n/a

Boynton Inlet (June-normal flow)

56.9 122.3 616.3 6566.4 n/a

Flux of nutrients from four treated-wastewater outfalls and the Boynton Inlet

From Carsey and others 2012. Boynton Inlet 48-Hour Sampling Intensives: June and September 2007. 43pp

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To understand how water and pollution loads move in southeast Florida, Inlet Contributing Areas (ICA) are being delineated by a contractor with guidance from NOAA Fisheries and South Florida Water Management District.

Extensive watershed modifications have occurred in Florida for flood control, human use and more recently, environmental restoration. How water moves once it has “gone to tide”, i.e. discharged to the Intracoastal Waterway, is less well known.

ICA’s were delineated in the “Normal” condition. Direction and flow of water are different during flood and water supply (drought) conditions.

Southeast Florida Inlet Contributing Areas

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Stressors and Pollutants

What is a stressor?

A stressor is any kind of input, process or activity that adversely affects the functioning of an ecosystem over time. Stressors can be naturally occurring, e.g. hurricanes, or can be related to human activities.

What is a pollutant?

Pollutants are stressors that include man-made substances (e.g. biocides, pharmaceuticals, sun screen, perfume) or can be constituents already present in nature that are elevated by human actions (e.g., nutrients, hydrocarbons, metals and sediments.

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Land-based Pollutants Affecting Southeast Florida Fisheries Habitats

• Nutrients (Nitrogen and Phosphorus)• Salinity (especially rapid changes)• Turbidity• Sedimentation• Biocides• Heavy metals• Hydrocarbons and other organic compounds• Pharmaceuticals and personal care products

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Sources of LBSP

Stormwater X X X X X X

Treated Wastewater

X X X X

Untreated Wastewater(also high in bacterial and viral pathogens)

X X X X X

Ocean Outfalls X X X X

Submarine Groundwater Discharge (also has low DO and temperature)

X

X X

Beach Nourishment

X X X

Source Nutrients Sediments Turbidity Biocides Metals Hydrocarbons Pharmaceuticals

From Gregg 2013. Literature review and synthesis of LBSP affecting essential fish habitat in southeast Florida. 55pp

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Land-based Pollutants affecting Southeast Florida coastal waters

Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus can result in adverse changes to estuarine and marine ecosystems. Increases in nutrients have been shown to promote the growth of macroalgae and cyanobacteria that can smother benthic animals; and phytoplankton blooms that reduce light and dissolved oxygen levels when the phytoplankton die off.

Credit: Dave Gilliam Nova Southeastern University

Credit: Karl Havens, Florida Sea Grant

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Salinity

Changes in salinity can stress or kill important plants (e.g. seagrass) and animals (e.g. oysters and sponges) in southeast Florida estuaries. While the St. Lucie River estuary was in the news last summer, many other southeast Florida estuaries also faced similar impacts from low salinity.

Credit: Florida Oceanographic Society

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Sediment and Turbidity

Sedimentation can kill filter feeding animals like corals, sponges and oysters by smothering, burial or inhibiting feeding and can adversely affect seagrass and other estuarine habitats by direct burial.

Turbidity decreases light penetration and reduces photosynthetic production by seagrass, algae and coral zooxanthellae in coastal waters.

Credit: NOAA Fisheries Service

Credit: Florida Department of Environmental Protection

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Land-based Pollutants Affecting Southeast Florida Coastal Waters

Credit: Sailing Buzzards Bay

http://sailingbuzzardsbay.frankgerry.com/?p=118

Biocides and their degradation compounds can be highly toxic to corals, crustaceans, and other benthic animals at very low concentrations

Credit: Wikipedia 2013

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Land-Based Pollutants affecting Southeast Florida

Organic (Oil) pollution usually occurs when hydrocarbons are released into the environment from stormwater runoff or oil spills.

Petroleum products usually remain near the water surface and may not contact reefs or other sub-tidal habitats; however, these compounds may still affect developing larvae that float at the surface.

Credit: NY Daily News 2010

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Intertidal oyster and seagrass habitats are particularly vulnerable to organic pollution.

Credit: NOAA FisheriesCredit: NOAA Fisheries

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Heavy metals are known to kill or damage marine animals such as corals, mollusks (oysters, clams, conch), and crustaceans (lobsters, crabs, shrimp).

Credit: US EPA Mercury Report 1998

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Pharmaceuticals (medications and hormones) and Personal care products, (e.g., lotions, fragrances, insect repellent), end up in estuarine and marine waters of southeast Florida.

These pollutants are not removed by secondary water treatment, but can be removed by advanced treatment of wastewater.

Credit: Alejandro Ramirez, Baylor University

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/04/pollution/fish-pharm

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Key Recommendations

• Reduce nutrient loading from all human-induced sources and pathways, including surface water management, septic systems and ocean outfall discharge, to improve conditions for estuarine and marine habitats.

• Support implementation of numeric nutrient water quality criteria for nitrogen and phosphorus that are in the process of being developed by the state of Florida

• Support construction of additional water storage reservoirs, stormwater treatment areas , flow equalization basins, and use of appropriate technologies to reduce nutrient levels before release of water to southeast Florida estuaries and to modulate salinity changes in those estuaries.

• Modify beach nourishment activities to minimize sedimentation and turbidity impacts to nearshore hardbottom, worm reef, and other marine habitats.

• Use an ecosystem-based fisheries habitat perspective to inform current water quality improvement planning and management activities in southeast Florida to reduce LBSP impacts to estuarine and marine EFH. The ecosystem based fisheries management approach considers the physical, chemical and biological components and connections between species and between habitats.

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Questions?

[email protected]

Documents

Water Connects the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem