Coupling Harmful Algal Blooms to the West Florida Shelf Benthos

The relationships between Karenia brevis blooms and the benthos of the West Florida Shelf are little known, as harmful algal bloom studies focus on impacts in the water column. This study continues a collaborative effort with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s Harmful Algal Bloom (FWRI-HAB) group. Existing data was expanded on to explore relationships between K. brevis and benthos via a multipronged approach: 1) continuing to establish a sedimentary context of the sea floor, 2) creating seasonal and interannual baselines of benthic health through foraminifera assemblages, 3) exploring relationships between K. brevis and foraminifera and 4) investigating historical context and flux through short lived radioisotopes. These efforts will assist in developing systems for bloom prediction. Links have been established between changes in benthic foraminifera and the initiation and termination of K. brevis blooms. One of the primary developments is a marine biotic index of benthic health (f-AMBI) that will be calibrated to various K. brevis indicators such as total organic carbon and K. brevis cyst counts. In addition, a better understanding of the relationships between other environmental parameters and changes in benthic foraminifera assemblages has been developed through advanced statistical analysis. This study presents more than three years of monitoring data along with historical profiles from the last 100 years, linking benthic foraminifera indicators of seafloor health with potential red tide indicators.

Presentation Preference: Oral

Primary Presenter: Ariana Cory, Eckerd College (abcory@eckerd.edu)

Authors:

Ariana Cory, Eckerd College  (abcory@eckerd.edu)

Patrick Schwing, Eckerd College  (schwinpt@eckerd.edu)

Matt Garrett, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission  (matt.garrett@myfwc.com)

Rebekka Larson, Eckerd College  (larsonra@eckerd.edu)

Gregg Brooks, Eckerd College  (brooksgr@eckerd.edu)

Bryan O'Malley, Eckerd College  (bjomalle@eckerd.edu)

Gabe Mopps, Eckerd College  (glmopps@eckerd.edu)

Abigail Hunt, Eckerd College  (aohunt@eckerd.edu)

Thea Rind, Eckerd College  (trrind@eckerd.edu)

Ja’Kiah Cooper, Eckerd College  (jkcooper@eckerd.edu)