SEAGRASS MAPPINGAND MONITORING: BIGBEND AND BEYONDPaul Carlson, Laura YarbroFWC/FWRI 9/24/08TO EFFECTIVELY PROTECT AND MANAGEFLORIDA’S LIVING MARINE RESOURCES, FWCAND PARTNERS NEED TO MONITOR•COMMERCIAL AND RECREATIONAL FISH ANDSHELLFISH STOCKS•BENTHIC MARINE HABITATS- CORALS,SEAGRASSES, OYSTER REEFS, WETLANDS•SEA TURTLES, MAMMALS, AND BIRDS•THREATS TO HABITATS AND ORGANISMSNUTRIENT LOADING, WATER QUALITY, HYPOXIA,HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS,HABITAT LOSSFLORIDA SEAGRASS MEADOWS•One of the mostimportant fisherieshabitats•One of the greatestseagrass resourcesin the United States–2 million acresinshore–1.5 million acresoffshore–800,000 acres in theFlorida KeysFMRI SEAGRASSESTIMATESHectares AcresSTATEWIDE TOTAL913,770 2,257,926Panhandle16,942 41,864Big Bend247,699 612,064Gulf Peninsula43,341 107,096Atlantic Peninsula30,132 74,456South Florida575,117 1,421,114POTENTIAL SEAGRASSBig Bend1,415,028 3,496,534Southwest Florida Shelf 1,433,127 3,541,254Economic Valueof Seagrass Habitat• TPD $9,000-$28,000 per acreper year•FDEP $20,000 per acre per year•2.2 million acres•$44 billion per year•Restoration costs estimated tobe 10-20x higherSEAGRASS LOSS IN FLORIDA• Tampa Bay- 80% loss since 1890’s•Hillsborough Bay- 90% loss•Sarasota Bay- 30% loss since 1950•St. Joseph Sound- 72% loss since 1950•Charlotte Harbor- 30% loss since 1950•Northern Biscayne Bay- 43% loss•Indian River- 30% lossCAUSES OF SEAGRASS LOSS• Direct losses: Dredging for navigationand residential construction. Propellerscarring.•Changes in timing and volume offreshwater delivery to estuaries•Indirect impacts on water quality andclarity: Point and non-point sourcenutrient loading, sediment resuspensionII 41'EpiphytesAlmaLight-through-Water•AlgaaEpiphyle-DetritusLight AlternationI'Sal:limn=(K..)Water-ColumnLight Atte mlistbnKJ)FigureAvailability of light for underwater bey grasses is influenced by water-column and at-Me-leafsurface light attenuation processes. DIN = dissolved inorganic nitrogen and DIP = dissolved inorganicphosphorus.Unkrwaler Hay Grasses4rLight TransmissionLight . knoll LimonReflection•Water•Particles•CoferTBFPNITROGEN MANAGEMENTSTRATEGY PARADIGMN Lod—I'.Chlorophyll• Light AttenuationSeagrask GrowthySeagia!:.t.-,LightRrp Tod ucti nRequirementJ gui.efie.TB NLPMarmgern,.-nt Strategy Paradigm.Planktonhlorophyl IaTotalSuspendedSolidsDepth distribution of seagrasses throughoutthe world is determined by water clarityClearTurbidTriennial Review of WQ Stds• Do we really need to monitor waterquality in areas with seagrass?•Would a narrative criterion based onseagrass loss be as effective as anumeric criterion for transparency?•Seagrass loss listed as a trigger forassessment in IWRIntegratedMapping andMonitoringCharacteristics Mapping MonitoringSpatial coverage Large- 100s km2 Small- 100s m2Spatial resolution Coarse- 0.2 ha Fine- 1 m2Classification Coarse- 9113,16 Fine- scalarSpecies Comp NoneCompleteRevisit interval Long- 5 to 10 y Short- 6 to12 mosData lag time Long- 12 to 24 mo Short- 1 to 2 mosMapping and Monitoring are ComplementaryCAUSES FOR CONCERN•Tremendous resourceat risk•Rising nutrient loads inSuwannee Basin•Coastal development•El Nino runoffMODIS RGB, March 2003BIG BEND SEAGRASSBEDS•Extensive•Logistically difficult•Pristine?SPRING 1998 SEAWIFS CHLOROPHYLLBig Bend Seagrass MonitoringProgram Sampling GridWATER QUALITY•Salinity, Temperature•Secchi depth•Water depth (MLW)•PAR vertical profiles•Color, turbidity•ChlorophyllVEGETATION•Braun Blanquet cover•Epiphyte load•Epiphyte light attenuation• Biomass•Morphometrics11BIG BEND KPAR VALUESSUMMER 20033 0 3 6 KilometersIBIG BEND SURFACE SALINITYSUMMER 200350510 KilometersRegionThalassia Halodule SyringodiumCedar Keys2.7 2.53.0Econfina3.3 2.22.1Keaton Beach3.3 2.62.5Steinhatchee3.3 2.82.5Suwannee0.0 3.04.7Mean Braun Blanquet ScoresSEAGRASS DENSITY WHERE PRESENTDEPTH DISTRIBUTION OF THALASSIA-500-400-300-200-1000

DEPTH (cm)ECON KEAT STEINHBW HBE SUWCEDBIG BEND SEAGRASSAERIAL PHOTOGRAPHYLAST FLOWN 2001,MAPPED 2005,RE-FLOWN 2006Seagrass Resources of the Suwannee RiverWater Management DistrictHabitat TypeCodeArea(Acres)Land0294809Nearshore Open Water5400205549Offshore Open Water5700129382Tidal Flats651019202Intertidal Oyster Reefs6540587Patchy Seagrass911322301Continuous Seagrass9116260420All Seagrass282722it'elMay 2004November 2004RegionMean Std Mean StdEconfina8.1 4.7 10.2 5.9Horseshoe West 15.5 5.6 14.1 9.3Horseshoe East11.28.02.64.0Suwannee7.78.12.94.22004 2005Comparison of Seagrass Abundance, 2004-2005. Data are means of Braun-Blanquetscores for four quadrats at each siteRegion2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005Econfina 58.1% 73.3% 51.6% 70.0% 61.3% 83.3%Horseshoe West 73.5% 65.4% 58.8% 65.4% 14.7% 17.3%Horseshoe East 35.3% 33.3%47.1% 23.8%23.5% 19.0%Suwannee 9.1% 33.3%18.2% 11.1%36.4% 33.3%Thalassia Syringodium HaloduleComparison of Seagrass Species Composition, 2004-2005.Data are frequency of occurrence by species and region••••••eagrass Density Changes(Braun-Blanquet Scores)Horseshoe Beach Region,June 2004- June 2005S'—r•!!° -■•ti 0•4:f:4‘ •QN,•1P0.11P)IA • • •Isi■•••0 0.5 1234Milesp.Q.44Seagrass DensityBBFLDO4B EventsSUMSGo0.0 - 5.0•5.1 - 10.0•10.1 - 15.00 15.1 - 20.00 20.1 30.0SG•0.00 -5.00•5.01 - 10.00•10.01 - 15.00•15.01 - 20.0020.01 - 29.00rThe SIMM Program- SeagrassIntegrated Mapping and MonitoringProgram Elements•Map all seagrass within theState on a six-year cycle.•Monitor seagrassthroughout Florida annually•Annual monitoring report•Hexennial mapping andmonitoring reportThe Vision: Distributed network ofpartners working in their “back yards”