Marine debris abundance, spatial distribution, and impacts to coral reef benthic organisms in the Florida Keys
Mark Chiappone, Steven L. Miller and Leanne M. Rutten
Fishing gear and other solid waste such as plastic, glass, and metal materials accidentally lost or purposely disposed of in the marine environment represent a continuing threat to organisms, habitats, and ecosystem services both above and below the waterline. In the Florida Keys, solid waste materials partially damage or kill benthic organisms such as corals by entanglement and abrasion. During a 15-year period (2000-2015), intermittent large-scale surveys and solid waste recovery efforts in hard-bottom and coral reef habitats along the Florida Reef Tract were conducted to quantify the spatial distribution, abundance, and impacts to marine life. The sampling effort employed a stratified random sampling design that partitioned the seascape by cross-shelf habitat type and depth, along-shelf position, and location relative to existing management zones in Biscayne National Park, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Diver-based surveys of belt transects were employed to inventory the solid waste type, length (trap rope and monofilament), and weight on a per area basis, as well as enumeration of the numbers and types of organisms entangled with obvious tissue abrasion. The subtidal solid waste in the Florida Keys, in contrast to the predominance of plastics along coastal shorelines, falls into three general categories, the majority of which may originate from local sources: (1) angling gear, including monofilament, fishing wire, lead sinkers, and leaders; (2) lobster/crab trap gear, consisting mostly of polypropylene line, wooden slats, and cement weights; and (3) other items such as plastics, metals, and glass. Angling gear is the most commonly encountered, with densities as high as 20 or more items per 100 m2 and lengths of items recovered upwards of 25-m or more in length. Lobster/crab trap debris is the second most commonly encountered, about 50% of which in any given year is represented by polypropylene line that can exceed 150-m in length per occurrence. Although there are focused clean-up efforts of some highly visited reef areas, temporal patterns indicate that marine debris is ubiquitous and cumulative in subtidal habitats, a pattern that will likely continue given the projected increases in visitation and resource use.
Nova Southeastern University
Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 305-898-5390
Mark Chiappone, Steven L. Miller and Leanne M. Rutten
Fishing gear and other solid waste such as plastic, glass, and metal materials accidentally lost or purposely disposed of in the marine environment represent a continuing threat to organisms, habitats, and ecosystem services both above and below the waterline. In the Florida Keys, solid waste materials partially damage or kill benthic organisms such as corals by entanglement and abrasion. During a 15-year period (2000-2015), intermittent large-scale surveys and solid waste recovery efforts in hard-bottom and coral reef habitats along the Florida Reef Tract were conducted to quantify the spatial distribution, abundance, and impacts to marine life. The sampling effort employed a stratified random sampling design that partitioned the seascape by cross-shelf habitat type and depth, along-shelf position, and location relative to existing management zones in Biscayne National Park, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Diver-based surveys of belt transects were employed to inventory the solid waste type, length (trap rope and monofilament), and weight on a per area basis, as well as enumeration of the numbers and types of organisms entangled with obvious tissue abrasion. The subtidal solid waste in the Florida Keys, in contrast to the predominance of plastics along coastal shorelines, falls into three general categories, the majority of which may originate from local sources: (1) angling gear, including monofilament, fishing wire, lead sinkers, and leaders; (2) lobster/crab trap gear, consisting mostly of polypropylene line, wooden slats, and cement weights; and (3) other items such as plastics, metals, and glass. Angling gear is the most commonly encountered, with densities as high as 20 or more items per 100 m2 and lengths of items recovered upwards of 25-m or more in length. Lobster/crab trap debris is the second most commonly encountered, about 50% of which in any given year is represented by polypropylene line that can exceed 150-m in length per occurrence. Although there are focused clean-up efforts of some highly visited reef areas, temporal patterns indicate that marine debris is ubiquitous and cumulative in subtidal habitats, a pattern that will likely continue given the projected increases in visitation and resource use.
Nova Southeastern University
Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 305-898-5390