TCRMP 2013: St. Croix, survey, part 2
SITE SUMMARIES 113 KINGS CORNER Descrip(on. The Kings Corner monitoring site is a part of a patchy reef complex along the steeply sloping west coast of St. Croix in depths of 15-‐25 m. The reef contains a high diversity of corals and sponges on mounds surrounded by sand. Kings Corner has been monitored since 2006, with permanent transects installed in 2007. Outstanding Feature. Kings Corner is a commercially important recreational dive site. The site supports a high diversity and density of fishes. It is also a very aesthetically pleasing site with high topographic relief. Threats. Kings Corner is open to fishing and is easily accessible as part of the calm lee of western St. Croix near Frederiksted. Derelict fishing lines, fish traps, fish weights, and other marine debris are in evidence in and around the site. Large plumes of sediment that wrap around Sandy Point from the south coast of St. Croix also periodically affect the site. Plumes can drop visibility to near zero and lead to high incidence of sediment on coral and spotty bleaching. Figure 50. Kings Corner. (top) Location. …
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SITE SUMMARIES 113 KINGS CORNER Descrip(on. The Kings Corner monitoring site is a part of a patchy reef complex along the steeply sloping west coast of St. Croix in depths of 15-‐25 m. The reef contains a high diversity of corals and sponges on mounds surrounded by sand. Kings Corner has been monitored since 2006, with permanent transects installed in 2007. Outstanding Feature. Kings Corner is a commercially important recreational dive site. The site supports a high diversity and density of fishes. It is also a very aesthetically pleasing site with high topographic relief. Threats. Kings Corner is open to fishing and is easily accessible as part of the calm lee of western St. Croix near Frederiksted. Derelict fishing lines, fish traps, fish weights, and other marine debris are in evidence in and around the site. Large plumes of sediment that wrap around Sandy Point from the south coast of St. Croix also periodically affect the site. Plumes can drop visibility to near zero and lead to high incidence of sediment on coral and spotty bleaching. Figure 50. Kings Corner. (top) Location. (right) A representative photo of the reef with a school of lane snapper (Lutjaus synagris). KINGS CORNER 114 Figure 51. Kings Corner benthic temperature (17 m depth) Physical Characteris.cs Current. Kings Corner currents have not been measured directly. The site is protected from wave action, but can experience strong unidirectional currents at times, particularly at shallower depths. Temperature. Kings Corner has moderately high temperatures. J F M A M J J A S O N D 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2009 2007 2010 2008 2011 Temperature ( oC) Month SITE SUMMARIES 115 Benthic Community. The Kings Corner site supports a diverse community of hard corals dominated by Orbicella spp. The site also has a very abundant population of sponges. This site was not monitored until after the 2005 bleaching event, so the impacts on coral cover are not known. Epilithic algae dominate the algal community at Kings Corner, with very low abundance of macroalgae and filamentous cyanobacteria. Sand is prominently interspersed among the coral banks. Coral Health. Non-‐thermal bleaching with moderate prevalence but low extent on colonies is a common feature at this site, likely as the result of chronic sedimentation. The prevalence of coral diseases has been low with dark spots disease predominating. Old partial mortality has been very high at this site since monitoring started and may be an indication of impacts from the 2005 coral bleaching event. Figure 52. Kings Corner (left) Relative composition of the sessile epibenthic animal community. (right) Relative composition of the algal community and unconsolidated sediment. KINGS CORNER 116 Figure 53. Kings Corner benthic cover and coral health through time (mean ±SE). Benthic Community Cover 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Coral Cyanobacteria Epilithic Algae Macroalgae Bleaching Prevalence/Extent 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Prevalence Extent Disease Prevalence 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% All disease Black Band Lesion Dark Spots Intercostal White Disease Yellow Band Unknown Partial Mortality 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2005 BL 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Prevalence 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Old Recent SITE SUMMARIES 117 Fish Community. Kings Corner represents the most diverse fish community with the highest fish biomass in the St Croix monitoring program, with a huge variety of resources available for foraging and habitat. The site is dominated by invertivores, influenced highly by the large numbers of the nocturnal feeding blackbar soldierfish, a zooplanktivore, and the tomtate, a more opportunistic and benthic feeder of invertebrates, zooplankton and benthic algae. Other common planktonic feeders include the black durgeon, creole wrasse and yellowtail snapper. Common benthic herbivores include the blue tang and ocean surgeonfish as well as most of the parrotfishes (stoplight, princess, redband, redfin, queen, and striped). Grunts are common on the site; however, in the 2012 census mutton snapper made up the bulk of the invertivore trophic group by biomass. Piscivores as a group were relatively high in biomass in 2012, primarily as a result of the great barracuda observed in relatively high numbers at the site. Other piscivores were represented by bar jacks (pelagic), glasseye snapper and bigeye (nocturnal feeders), and graysby, lionfish and small snappers (diurnal bottom feeders). KINGS CORNER 118 Figure 54. The Kings Corner fish community by absolute and relative biomass. Herbivores ocean surgeonfish stoplight parrotfish blue tang princess parrotfish redband parrotfish striped parrotfish redfin parrotfish doctorfish orangespotted filefish threespot damsel Beaugregory queen parrotfish dusky damsel Fish Biomass (g) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 Invertivores mutton snapper blackbar soldierfish smallmouth grunt porcupine tomtate yellow goatfish lane snapper spotted goatfish French grunt yellowhead wrasse Spanish hogfish white grunt southern stingray yellowfin mojarra fairy basselet harlequin bass clown wrasse spotted drum Fish Biomass (g) 0 2e+4 4e+4 6e+4 8e+4 1e+5 Plankivores yellowtail snapper bicolor damsel brown chromis black durgon blue chromis creole wrasse Fish Biomass (g) 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 Piscivores great barracuda bar jack glasseye snapper graysby red lionfish sand diver bigeye schoolmaster mahogany snapper trumpetfish redspotted hawkfish Fish Biomass (g) 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 SITE SUMMARIES 119 LANG BANK EAST END MARINE PARK Descrip(on. The Lang Bank EEMP site is a shelf edge mesophotic coral reef located at a depth of 27 – 30 m. The monitoring site sits just above a steep shelf break and is composed of rolling coral knolls dominated by boulder star corals (Orbicella spp.). This site was established in 2009. Outstanding Feature. The Lang Bank EEMP site appears to be a well-‐ developed mesophotic boulder star coral reef on St. Croix, where theses reef are rarer than the northern US Virgin Islands. Threats. The Lang Bank EEMP is in the outer park area and is open to fishing year-‐round. Therefore fisheries pressure is present. Its offshore location protects it from land-‐based sources of pollution. Figure 55. Lang Bank EEMP. (top) Location. (right) A representative photo of the reef. LANG BANK EEMP 120 Figure 56. Lang Bank EEMP benthic temperature (28 m depth) Physical Characteris.cs Current. Direct current measurements have not been taken at Lang Bank EEMP. The depth buffers the site from wave-‐driven oscillatory currents. Only weak unidirectional benthic currents have been experienced at the site during monitoring; however, midwater and surface currents can be moderate to strong (>10cm s-‐1). Temperature. Lang Bank EEMP has temperature that is reduced relative to shallow water sites, as shown by the relatively mild temperatures experienced during the warm water event of August to September 2010. This may be protective during mass bleaching events, but temperatures are not as reduced as at other mesophotic sites. J F M A M J J A S O N D 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2009 2010 2011 Temperature ( oC) Month SITE SUMMARIES 121 Benthic Community. Lang Bank EEMP supports many coral species but is dominated by Orbicella spp.. Sponges are also quite prominent and make up a quarter of the sessile epibenthic animal community. Epilithic algae, Lobophora variegata, and filamentous cyanobacteria near equally represent the algal community. The prominence of filamentous cyanobacteria is quite striking and has reached almost 40% of the substrate in some years. Coral Health. Background, non-‐thermal bleaching prevalence is quite high at Lang Bank EEMP. White disease showed an outbreak in 2011. Lang Bank EEMP was not initially monitored until well after the 2005 coral bleaching event; however, a high prevalence of old partial mortality suggests that corals were impacted. Many of the large faviids show lesion patterns that are consistent with the large lunate dead areas caused by white diseases following bleaching in 2005. Figure 57. Lang Bank East End Marine Park (left) Relative composition of the sessile epibenthic animal community. (right) Relative composition of the algal community and unconsolidated sediment. LANG BANK EEMP 122 Figure 58. Lang Bank EEMP benthic cover and coral health through time (mean ±SE). Benthic Community Cover 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Coral Cyanobacteria Epilithic Algae Macroalgae Bleaching Prevalence/Extent 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Prevalence Extent Disease Prevalence 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% All disease Black Band Lesion Dark Spots Intercostal White Disease Yellow Band Unknown Partial Mortality 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2005 BL 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Prevalence 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Old Recent SITE SUMMARIES 123 Fish Community. The Lang Bank East End Marine Park site represents a mesophotic reef community that is characterized by a high biomass of planktonic feeders. In 2012 the high overall biomass of the group was influenced primarily by the black durgeon while numerically creole wrasse were dominant. Many queen? triggerfish were observed in roving dives. Benthic herbivores were dominated both numerically and in biomass by the redband parrotfish in 2012. Large parrotfish were uncommon; however, small parrotfish (striped and princess), as well as the doctorfishes, were common. The benthic invertivores at the site were diverse and included nocturnally feeding blackbar soldierfish and squirrelfish, as well as several species of grunt (French, tomtate, white, bluestriped, Caesar and smallmouth). Piscivores were dominated in biomass by a single barracuda; however, graysby were common numerically. Red hind spawn during the full moon of December, January and February on the Lang Bank site, with queen trigger following a few days after. The bank is closed year-‐round to all bottom gear, and from December-‐February to all fishing. One red hind was observed during June on roving dives at Lang Bank. Several queen triggerfish were seen in roving dives. Other piscivores on the site included the horse-‐eye jack and cero mackerel, indicators of a deepwater community. Two lionfish were observed on the East End Marine Park site in 2012 on belt transects, however none were observed during roving dives. LANG BANK EEMP 124 Figure 59. The Lang Bank EEMP fish community by absolute and relative biomass. Herbivores redband parrotfish stoplight parrotfish striped parrotfish ocean surgeonfish princess parrotfish doctorfish blue tang yellowtail damsel greenblotch parrotfish Fish Biomass (g) 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 Invertivores blackbar soldierfish squirrelfish French grunt longsnout butterflyfish yellowhead wrasse yellow goatfish tomtate smallmouth grunt white grunt puddingwife spotted goatfish queen trigger bluestriped grunt dusky squirrelfish red hind Spanish hogfish clown wrasse Caesar grunt spotted drum harlequin bass yellowtail hamlet fairy basselet Fish Biomass (g) 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 Plankivores black durgon creole wrasse black jack yellowtail snapper blue chromis brown chromis bicolor damsel Fish Biomass (g) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 Piscivores great barracuda graysby horse-eye jack red lionfish glasseye snapper bigeye mahogany snapper bar jack redspotted hawkfish schoolmaster Fish Biomass (g) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 SITE SUMMARIES 125 LANG BANK RED HIND FISH SPAWNING AGGREGATION Descrip$on. The Lang Bank Red Hind Fish Spawning Aggregation (Lang Hind) monitoring site is a mesophotic reef of relict spur and groove structure at a depth of 30 – 35 m. The site is perched on the southeast side of the spur, which is a large finger that rises to 24 m to the west and drops on all other sides to a rhodolith/sand plain at about 50 m. Lang Hind was initially monitored in 2001 at a site on the shallower (24 m) portion of the bank to the west. Monitoring in 2004-‐2007 occurred along random transects in a deeper portion of the reef (~33 m depth) and benthic transects were made permanent in this area in 2009 Outstanding Feature. Lang Hind supports an annual fish spawning aggregation of the red hind (Epinephelus guttatus). This site also possesses high water clarity and an abundance of fishes, including sharks. Threats. The Lang Hind site is removed from land-‐based stressors. Fishing of the red hind aggregation was common prior to closure of the area to fishing in 1993. However, the aggregation is near the closure boundary. Figure 60. Lang Bank Red Hind FSA. (top) Location. (right) A representative photo of the reef. LANG BANK RED HIND FSA 126 Figure 61. Lang Bank Hind current speed (left) and benthic temperature (right; 33m depth) Physical Characteris.cs Current. Lang Hind had benthic currents recorded with ADCP every 30 minutes from 11/20/05 to 8/20/06, and 12/11/06 to 3/10/07.Bottom currents most typically alternate between north and southeast and can attain strong speeds periodically exceeding 0.4m s-‐1. Temperature. Lang Hind has temperatures that are reduced due to thedepth and proximity of the warm season thermocline. However, temperatures are not as cool or variable as sites on the southern Puerto Rican shelf, indicating that this site may be more susceptible to warming ocean temperatures. J F M A M J J A S O N D 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2006 2009 2007 2010 2011 Temperature ( oC) Month N NNE NE ENE E ESE SE SSE S SSW SW WSW W WNW NW NNW Current Speed (m s -1) 0.5 - 0.6 0.4 - 0.5 0.3 - 0.4 0.2 - 0.3 0.1 - 0.2 0.0 - 0.1 SITE SUMMARIES 127 Benthic Community. Lang Hind has a diverse sessile epibenthic community dominated by hard corals, predominantly Orbicella spp., gorgonians and sponges. Coral cover actually increased by 110% between the coral bleaching event and re-‐monitoring in 2006, but this may reflect the fact that transects were laid in random, rather than permanent, locations prior to 2009. The algal community is largely open epilithic algal communities, but also contains large proportions of Lobophora variegata and filamentous cyanobacteria. The algal community shows high inter-‐annual variability. Coral Health. Lang Hind was heavily affected during the 2005 coral bleaching event, with a very high prevalence of corals that were 100% bleached over the colony surface. Non-‐ thermal bleaching with moderate prevalence and low extent on colonies also occurred in later years. The site was heavily affected with white diseases after the coral bleaching event and has had high disease prevalence in all years of monitoring. Old partial mortality jumped after the 2005 bleaching event and was variable in later years. Recent partial mortality is unusually high at Lang Hind, largely as the result of fish bites and predation by the corallivorous snail Coralliophila spp. Figure 62. Lang Bank Red Hind FSA (left) Relative composition of the sessile epibenthic animal community. (right) Relative composition of the algal community and unconsolidated sediment. LANG BANK RED HIND FSA 128 Figure 63. Lang Bank Red HindFSA benthic cover and coral health through time (mean ±SE). Benthic Community Cover 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Coral Cyanobacteria Epilithic Algae Macroalgae Bleaching Prevalence/Extent 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Prevalence Extent Disease Prevalence 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% All disease Black Band Lesion Dark Spots Intercostal White Disease Yellow Band Unknown Partial Mortality 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2005 BL 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Prevalence 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Old Recent SITE SUMMARIES 129 Fish Community. The fish community at Lang Hind is indicative of a mesophotic reef system. High water column planktonic feeders are abundant and include the black durgeon, creole wrasse, yellowtail snapper and creolefish. Bicolor damselfish are numerous while herbivorous damselfishes are uncommon. Benthic herbivores are relatively low in diversity, abundance and biomass compared to nearshore sites. Invertivores are diverse and include many planktivores as well as benthic feeders, utilizing the varied resources of the bank. Four species of angelfish were observed on transects reflecting the high sponge cover. Lang Hind supports a red hind spawning site, active during December through February each year, and several red hind were observed in 2011 on both roving dives and transects. In addition one Nassau grouper was observed in 2011; a first observation across all St. Croix monitoring sites. There is reportedly a historic Nassau grouper spawning site near the Lang Hind monitoring site, and with the bank now closed to trap fishing there is hope of some re-‐ establishment of the species on St. Croix. Mahogany snapper dominated piscivorous fish on Lang Hind. No other large groupers or snappers were observed although a Caribbean reef shark was seen. Sharks are commonly observed while diving the deep bank. LANG BANK RED HIND FSA 130 Figure 64. The Lang Bank Red Hind FSA fish community by absolute and relative biomass. Herbivores redband parrotfish queen parrotfish princess parrotfish stoplight parrotfish ocean surgeonfish blue tang striped parrotfish doctorfish redtail parrotfish yellowtail damsel Fish Biomass (g) 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 Invertivores queen trigger blackbar soldierfish French grunt Spanish hogfish yellowhead wrasse spotted goatfish yellow goatfish clown wrasse harlequin bass fairy basselet longsnout butterflyfish Fish Biomass (g) 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Plankivores black durgon creole wrasse blue chromis creolefish bicolor damsel brown chromis Fish Biomass (g) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 Piscivores bar jack great barracuda graysby mahogany snapper horse-eye jack red lionfish spotted moray trumpetfish Fish Biomass (g) 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 SITE SUMMARIES 131 MUTTON SNAPPER Descrip(on. The Mutton Snapper site is located on the landward side of a shelf edge spur and groove reef on the southwest shelf of St Croix in depths of 22-‐24 m. The reef was dominated by boulder star coral (primarily Orbicella franksi) until a mass coral die-‐off following the 2005 bleaching event. Mutton Snapper has been monitored since 2003. Outstanding Feature. The Mutton Snapper site was located in conjunction with the possible proximity of a mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis) spawning aggregation. It is seasonally closed to fishing. The site was devastated by the 2005 coral bleaching event, with an 87% drop in coral cover and a concomitant increase in algae. Threats. The Mutton Snapper site is threatened by fishing pressure as evidenced by the abundance of fishing line and fishing trap debris. This site is offshore and less likely threatened by land-‐based stressors. The clear waters and warm temperatures make this site vulnerable to long-‐term seawater warming. MUTTON SNAPPER 132 Figure 65. Mutton Snapper. (top) Location. (right) A representative photo of the reef. SITE SUMMARIES 133 Figure 66. Mutton Snapper benthic temperature record at 23 m (left) and 39 m depth (right). Physical Characteris.cs. Current. Current records have not been taken at Mutton Snapper. There seems to be little wave-‐driven oscillatory flow. There are often strong unidirectional currents in a westward direction that penetrate to nearly the bottom. Temperature. Benthic temperatures at the Mutton Snapper site (23 m) show warming above the bleaching threshold during the 2010 bleaching event, whereas benthic temperatures just off-‐shelf from the site (40 m) show few excursions above the bleaching threshold. J F M A M J J A S O N D 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2008 2009 2010 2011 Temperature ( oC) Month J F M A M J J A S O N D 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2009 2007 2010 2008 2011 Temperature ( oC) Month MUTTON SNAPPER 134 Benthic Community. The Mutton Snapper site’s sessile epibenthic animal community is dominated the boulder star coral (Orbicella spp.), with sub-‐dominance of sponges. This site lost an extreme amount of coral cover (87.0%) in the 2005 coral bleaching event and has not regained any cover (-‐2.3%) as of 2011. Lobophora variegata, epilithic algae, and filamentous cyanobacteria dominate the algal community. Apparent is the rise in the abundance of macroalgae and filamentous cyanobacteria after 2005. Filamentous cyanobacteria reached extreme cover values (57.7%) in 2009. Current levels of herbivory no longer appear to be able to control algal abundance. Coral Health. Mutton Snapper bleached heavily in the 2005, with 100% of corals bleaching over 90% of the colony surface. Bleaching prevalence has remained high for most years since 2005, but at low colony extent, indicating continued impairment of corals. White disease has been at consistently high values through many years of monitoring. Old partial mortality increased after 2005, and then subsided as whole colonies were lost from the system. Impairment of this site is puzzling as stressors besides fishing appear to be low. Clear water and low genetic diversity of corals may increase susceptibility to environmental stress and white disease. Figure 67. Mutton Snapper (left) Relative composition of the sessile epibenthic animal community. (right) Relative composition of the algal community and unconsolidated sediment. SITE SUMMARIES 135 Figure 68. Mutton Snapper benthic cover and coral health through time (mean ±SE). Benthic Community Cover 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Coral Cyanobacteria Epilithic Algae Macroalgae Bleaching Prevalence/Extent 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Prevalence Extent Disease Prevalence 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% All disease Black Band Lesion Dark Spots Intercostal White Disease Yellow Band Unknown Partial Mortality 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2005 BL 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Prevalence 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Old Recent MUTTON SNAPPER 136 Fish Community. The Mutton Snapper site is an offshelf site with a fairly diverse and rich fish community. It is reportedly in an area that mutton snapper spawn, however mutton snapper have been very rare in surveys conducted at the site over the past 5 years. The Mutton Snapper site is very highly dominated in biomass by the black durgeon, a phytoplankton feeder, and numerically dominated by the creole wrasse, a zooplankton feeder. Stoplight parrotfish and doctorfish contributed the most biomass to the benthic herbivore group in 2012 surveys. Many parrotfish species can be found on the Mutton Snapper reef, however sub-‐adult and juveniles are by far the majority encountered. The invertivore group is also diverse, indicative of the variety of resources available on the reef. Piscivores are not common on Mutton Snapper and in 2012 the biomass of this group was made up of primarily bar jack and barracuda. The sole piscivorous serranid was the graysby, and sole lutjanid the mahogany snapper. Several red lionfish were observed in roving surveys and in transects in 2012. SITE SUMMARIES 137 Figure 69. The Mutton Snapper fish community by absolute and relative biomass. Herbivores stoplight parrotfish doctorfish princess parrotfish striped parrotfish redband parrotfish ocean surgeonfish blue tang redfin parrotfish queen parrotfish Beaugregory orangespotted filefish threespot damsel greenblotch parrotfish cocoa damsel yellowtail damsel dusky damsel Fish Biomass (g) 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 Invertivores blackbar soldierfish French grunt yellowhead wrasse red hind striped grunt fairy basselet butter hamlet Spanish hogfish squirrelfish white grunt highhat dusky squirrelfish clown wrasse harlequin bass longsnout butterflyfish Fish Biomass (g) 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 Plankivores black durgon blue chromis yellowtail snapper bicolor damsel creole wrasse brown chromis sargassum triggerfish Fish Biomass (g) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 Piscivores bar jack great barracuda graysby mahogany snapper glasseye snapper red lionfish Fish Biomass (g) 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 SITE SUMMARIES 139 SALT RIVER WEST Descrip(on. Salt River West lies just atop the Salt River Canyon west wall in a depth of 9 m. The reef is a flat colonized hardbottom/coral community atop ancient carbonates. Salt River West has been monitored since 2001. Outstanding Feature. Salt River West is a popular tourist dive site with a unique sharp drop to the wall environment. Threats. Salt River West is exposed to the outflow from the Salt River Canyon and resuspension of sediment from the Salt River eastern flats. The site is now within in the Salt River National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve. Figure 70. Salt River. (top) Location. (right) A representative photo of the reef. SALT RIVER WEST 140 Figure 71. Salt River West surface-‐benthic temperature record (1 and 5m depths). Data provided by the NOAA ICON monitoring network. Physical Characteris*cs. Current. Currents have not been directly measured by the TCRMP. Due to the northern exposure and shallow depth, Salt River West experiences wave-‐driven oscillatory flow, which can be strong. Unidirectional benthic currents are typically weak to moderate (<15cm s-‐1). Temperature. The temperature at Salt River West can be very warm and in 2005 surpassed the bleaching threshold (29.5°C) for approximately 2.5 months between August and October. The record also shows how 2010 was actually warmer than 2005 until the passage of Hurricane Earl in late August dropped temperatures precipitously. J F M A M J J A S O N D 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2002 2007 2003 2008 2004 2009 2005 2010 2006 2011 Temperature ( oC) Month SITE SUMMARIES 141 Benthic Community. The Salt River West epibenthic sessile animal community has a diverse hard coral community of small massive head corals and large proportions of sponges and gorgonians. The site lost an imperceptible amount of coral cover in the 2005 coral bleaching event (-‐13.6%) and had regained nearly half of that cover by 2011 (37.1%). The algal community shows extreme dominance by epilithic algae and low abundance of macroalgae and filamentous cyanobacteria. However, filamentous cyanobacteria have increased slightly since 2005. Coral Health. Corals were severely bleached during the 2005 coral bleaching event, with over 90% of corals bleached over 80% of the colony surface. Corals were assessed just prior to the 2010 bleaching event in August, but were showing increased prevalence of low colony extent bleaching by then. Diseases are typically low, with the outstanding case of dark spots disease, which attains some of the highest values seen in TCRMP sites. Of note, is the fact that dark spots disease actually decreased following severe bleaching and recovery in 2005 and 2006. Old partial mortality increased rapidly after the 2005 bleaching and then subsided somewhat by 2011. Recent partial mortality can be high and is primarily caused by fish biting, such as from parrotfish. However, extent is quite low (data not shown). Figure 72. Salt River West (left) Relative composition of the sessile epibenthic animal community. (right) Relative composition of the algal community and unconsolidated sediment. SALT RIVER WEST 142 Figure 73. Salt River West benthic cover and coral health through time (mean ±SE). Benthic Community Cover 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Coral Cyanobacteria Epilithic Algae Macroalgae Bleaching Prevalence/Extent 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Prevalence Extent Disease Prevalence 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% All disease Black Band Lesion Dark Spots Intercostal White Disease Yellow Band Unknown Partial Mortality 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2005 BL 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Prevalence 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Old Recent SITE SUMMARIES 143 Fish Community. Fish biomass is relatively low on the Salt River West site. A more diverse community of some larger fishes can be seen closer to the edge of the site, near the Salt River wall, however the top of the reef has little structure for larger fishes, with low lying coral heads, gorgonians and sponges. Wrasses and damselfishes are both numerous and diverse; the most dominant species on the site is the bluehead wrasse followed closely by the bicolor damselfish. Black durgeon, an opportunistic planktivore that feeds on zooplankton, phytoplankton and algae, dominated the Salt River West site in biomass, followed by the stoplight parrotfish, ocean surgeonfish and creole wrasse. Piscivores were nearly non-‐existent, and included only trumpetfish and graysby in 2012 belt transects. One red lionfish was seen on a roving dive. Yellowfin snapper were the only snappers observed on the Salt River West site and these were recorded only on roving dives near the shelf edge. SALT RIVER WEST 144 Figure 74. The Salt River West fish community by absolute and relative biomass. Herbivores stoplight parrotfish ocean surgeonfish redband parrotfish princess parrotfish blue tang striped parrotfish redtail parrotfish doctorfish yellowtail damsel queen parrotfish orangespotted filefish dusky damsel Fish Biomass (g) 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 Invertivores French grunt squirrelfish yellowhead wrasse slippery dick sand tilefish red hind smallmouth grunt harlequin bass spotted goatfish bluestriped grunt Spanish hogfish yellowtail hamlet Fish Biomass (g) 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 Plankivores black durgon creole wrasse blue chromis sunshinefish bicolor damsel brown chromis chalk bass Fish Biomass (g) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 Piscivores trumpetfish graysby Fish Biomass (g) 0 50 100 150 200 250 SITE SUMMARIES 145 SALT RIVER DEEP Descrip(on. The Salt River Deep site is located on the steep canyon wall just below the Salt River West monitoring site. The reef consists of vertical buttresses surrounded by extensive sand deposits. The reef is largely formed of plating coral at these deep, mesophotic depths. The initial site was deployed in 2009 with two transects at 30 m depth and 4 transects at 40 m. Due to low coral cover at 40 m transects were moved to 30m in 2010. Outstanding Feature. Salt River Deep is a heavily visited recreational dive site. The site has been under scientific investigation since the 1970’s. The underwater HYDROLAB habitat was maintained near the site from 1977 to 1985 and the Aquarius habitat from 1986 to 1989. Threats. Salt River Deep is threatened by land-‐based sources of pollution due to its proximity to the Salt River Canyon outflow. The site may also be susceptible to warming temperatures. Figure 75. Salt River Deep. (top) Location. (right) A representative photo of the reef. SALT RIVER DEEP 146 Figure 76. Salt River Deep benthic temperature at 30 m depth (left) and 40 m depth (right). Physical Characteris.cs. Current. Salt River deep currents have not been measured directly by the TCRMP. Only very weak oscillatory and unidirectional currents have been experienced at the site. Temperature. Temperatures on the wall have been measured at two depth levels at 30 m and 40 m. Both sites have temperatures that are much cooler than the shallow site. The 40 m site experiences even greater cooling and experiences more diel variability (not shown) and day-‐to-‐day variability due to the influence of internal waves. Despite some interaction with the thermocline, cooling is not as great as at the mesophotic reefs at similar depths on the southern Puerto Rican Shelf. J F M A M J J A S O N D 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2007 2008 2010 2011 Temperature ( oC) Month J F M A M J J A S O N D 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2009 2010 2011 Temperature ( oC) Month SITE SUMMARIES 147 Benthic Community. Hard coral community of the Salt River Deep monitoring site is dominated by plating lettuce corals (Agaricia spp.); however, sponges, gorgonians, and black corals dominate the overall sessile epibenthic animal community. The site was not monitored during the 2005 bleaching event, but as with the Cane Bay Deep site, severe bleaching was observed down to depths of 40m. The algal community is dominated by epilithic algae and unidentified diminutive macroalgae. The site is notable for the high composition of sediment, which cascades from the upper reef between spurs and buttresses. Coral Health. Low extent coral bleaching is typically in moderate to high prevalence at the Salt River Deep site. Interaction data (not shown) indicates that sediment and Lobophora variegata overgrowth are responsible for much of the bleaching. Diseases have not been observed. Old partial mortality is high on corals, which may be a reflection of the 2005 bleaching event and cumulative impacts from interaction with sediment and algae. Figure 77. Salt River Deep (left) Relative composition of the sessile epibenthic animal community. (right) Relative composition of the algal community and unconsolidated sediment. SALT RIVER DEEP 148 Figure 78. Salt River Deep benthic cover and coral health through time (mean ±SE). Benthic Community Cover 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Coral Cyanobacteria Epilithic Algae Macroalgae Bleaching Prevalence/Extent 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Prevalence Extent Disease Prevalence 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% All disease Black Band Lesion Dark Spots Intercostal White Disease Yellow Band Unknown Partial Mortality 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2005 BL 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Prevalence 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Old Recent SITE SUMMARIES 149 Fish Community. The relatively high turbidity and high composition of sand and silt bottom, as a consequence of river discharge, influences the fish community of Salt River Deep. The mesophotic reef wall site is characterized by a primarily invertivore fish community, leading in both biomass and species richness. Invertivores are dominated numerically by the functionally plantivorous blue chromis and creole wrasse. The benthic feeding yellow goatfish highly dominated the invertivore group by biomass in 2012, swimming in small schools along the sandy wall. Mahogany snapper and graysby dominated the piscivore group both numerically and by biomass. Sub-‐adult princess and redband parrotfish dominated the herbivores. Characteristic deepwater fishes observed commonly on Salt Water Deep include the sunshinefish, bantum bass, fairy basslet and longsnout butterflyfish. As on the Cane Bay Deep site, occasional cubera snapper (Lutjanus cyanopterus), mutton snapper (L. analis) or southern stingrays (Dasyatis americana) are observed during roving dives on the wall, and commonly one or two Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi) are present. SALT RIVER DEEP 150 Figure 79. The Salt River Deep fish community by absolute and relative biomass. Herbivores redband parrotfish queen parrotfish ocean surgeonfish princess parrotfish redtail parrotfish striped parrotfish doctorfish threespot damsel midnight parrotfish stoplight parrotfish dusky damsel Fish Biomass (g) 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 Invertivores yellow goatfish fairy basselet black margate yellowhead wrasse Spanish hogfish French grunt spotted goatfish tomtate longsnout butterflyfish yellowtail hamlet bluestriped grunt white grunt smallmouth grunt butter hamlet Fish Biomass (g) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 Plankivores yellowtail snapper creole wrasse black durgon blue chromis bicolor damsel sunshinefish tobaccofish chalk bass brown chromis Fish Biomass(g) 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 Piscivores mahogany snapper graysby bar jack schoolmaster trumpetfish Fish Biomass (g) 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 SITE SUMMARIES 151 SPRAT HOLE Descrip(on. The Sprat Hole site is a nearshore/shelf-‐edge fringing reef in depths of 7 – 10 m. The site is a rolling boulder star coral (Orbicella annularis) reef. The slope to the west drops off to an attractive mixed coral community with abundant fish. Sprat Hole has been monitored since 2001. Outstanding Feature. Sprat Hole is a heavily visited reef for snorkel and dive tours. Threats. The Sprat Hole reef is vulnerable to land based sources of pollution if there is increased development of the watershed. Low wave action and light currents favor settling of small particles of terrestrial sediment that injure corals. The site is also frequently fished and there is derelict fishing gear in abundance. Recreational overuse may also be a threat. Figure 80. Sprat Hole. (top) Location. (right) A representative photo of the reef. SPRAT HOLE 152 Figure 81. Sprat Hole benthic temperature (7 m depth). Physical Characteris.cs. Current. Currents have not been measured at Sprat Hole. Oscillatory currents are typically weak on the western lee of St. Croix. Unidirectional currents during monitoring have always been weak (<10cm s-‐1). Temperature. Sprat Hole temperature has not been monitored over many years due to loss of probes. This is likely due to the high exposure to recreational and commercial fishing divers. In general Sprat Hole appears to be a warm site. J F M A M J J A S O N D 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2007 2008 2009 Temperature ( oC) Month SITE SUMMARIES 153 Benthic Community. Sprat Hole is a fringing Orbicella annularis dominated reef, with a good diversity of other coral species. There was a 62.3% decline in coral cover due to the 2005 coral bleaching event, with a regain of 11.9% of cover by 2011. Epilithic algae dominate the algal community, with smaller amounts of a diverse group of macroalgae, including Dictyota spp. and Halimeda spp. There has been variable, but increasing cover of filamentous cyanobacteria since 2005. Coral Health. The coral community at Sprat Hole was heavily affected during the 2005 coral bleaching event, with a high prevalence of bleaching at a very high extent. Bleaching prevalence has tended to be higher since the event. Disease prevalence can be quite high, particularly for white disease. Dark spots disease has also been in high prevalence in certain years. Old partial mortality was high on colonies from 2005 to 2011, and low when recorded in 2002. In this case, old partial mortality is a very common feature of O. annularis and it is likely that low values are due to observer bias and a different method for estimating partial mortality. Recent partial mortality is consistently very high at Sprat Hole,due in part to the high abundance of territorial damselfish (Stegastes spp.) forming algal lawns on O. annularis. Figure 82. Sprat Hole (left) Relative composition of the sessile epibenthic animal community. (right) Relative composition of the algal community and unconsolidated sediment. SPRAT HOLE 154 Figure 83. Sprat Hole benthic cover and coral health through time (mean ±SE). Benthic Community Cover 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Coral Cyanobacteria Epilithic Algae Macroalgae Bleaching Prevalence/Extent 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Prevalence Extent Disease Prevalence 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% All disease Black Band Lesion Dark Spots Intercostal White Disease Yellow Band Unknown Partial Mortality 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2005 BL 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Prevalence 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Old Recent SITE SUMMARIES 155 Fish Community. Sprat Hole exhibits a fairly typical fish community structure for a nearshore coral reef ecosystem receiving some amount of terrestrial runoff from the watershed. Fish biomass is moderate, and the site is dominated numerically by the creole wrasse and blue chromis, planktivorous invertivores. Benthic herbivores are common and include small parrotfish and all three Caribbean acanthurid species. Invertivores are diverse and include both planktivores and benthic feeders; mostly small fish in small numbers. A mutton snapper was recorded on four belt transects in 2012, elevating the invertivore biomass significantly, however these observations probably represented only one individual. Numerically and by biomass the graysby dominated the piscivore group in 2012. Larger piscivorous serranids and lutjanids were absent, as on all nearshore reefs off St. Croix. Two lionfish were observed on the Sprat Hole site in belt transects in 2012. SPRAT HOLE 156 Figure 84. The Sprat Hole fish community by absolute and relative biomass. Herbivores stoplight parrotfish striped parrotfish threespot damsel redband parrotfish blue tang ocean surgeonfish princess parrotfish dusky damsel doctorfish queen parrotfish redfin parrotfish cocoa damsel greenblotch parrotfish Beaugregory Fish Biomass (g) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 Invertivores mutton snapper yellowhead wrasse Spanish hogfish French grunt blackbar soldierfish red hind yellow goatfish squirrelfish clown wrasse slippery dick Caesar grunt spotted drum yellowtail hamlet yellowcheek wrasse striped grunt fairy basselet longsnout butterflyfish harlequin bass Fish Biomass (g) 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Plankivores creole wrasse blue chromis brown chromis bicolor damsel yellowtail snapper black durgon Fish Biomass (g) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 Piscivores graysby redspotted hawkfish spotted moray red lionfish spotted scorpionfish bar jack mahogany snapper schoolmaster nurseshark trumpetfish black hamlet Fish Biomass (g) 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000