Impacts of dredging sediment derived on Caribbean corals Montastraea Cavernosa and Stephanocoenia Intersepta

Caribbean reef-building corals provide many vital ecosystem services and can be resilient to changing environmental conditions (Brandt, 2009; Smith et. al, 2013). But human population growth in Florida has led to increased dredging activity, elevating suspended sediment, and leading to increased turbidity levels. Therefore, biological response variables that can indicate the health of these key species are measured after being exposed to various levels of suspended sediments to inform the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for management. The biological response variables (symbiont chlorophyll concentration, symbiont density, and protein analysis of coral tissue) indicate the overall coral and algae symbiont health in response to various turbidity treatments conducted by the EPA. Results showed that turbidity amount and length of sediment exposure period significantly impacted all responses in Montastrea cavernosa. The turbidity amount and sediment exposure period only impacted the symbiont density for Stephanocoenia intersepta. Information collected from this project provided to the EPA will allow for coastal management to change and improve the management of development near corals.