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Distribution, Abundance and Volume of Xestospongia muta at Selected Sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Bertin, Matt. Callahan, M. |
| Copyright Year | 2008 |
| Abstract | In 1994, the Florida Keys Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (CREMP) was initiated to provide status and trends data for the benthic reef resources of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). Forty sampling sites were selected within the FKNMS. Permanent station markers were installed in 1995 and annual sampling began in 1996. In 2007, an ongoing clionid sponge survey was expanded to include the barrel sponge, Xestospongia muta, at all CREMP monitoring stations. The Xestospongia muta sampling method was developed based on existing CREMP project station layout with three 1-meter-wide belt transects providing the maximum spatial coverage within each station. The distribution, abundance and volume of X. muta were analyzed sanctuary-wide, regionally and by habitat type for 103 sampling stations. Sanctuary-wide, 89% of abundance and 93% of volume were observed at offshore deep sites. At offshore shallow and patch sites 6% and 5% of total abundance and 5% and 2% of total volume were recorded respectively. Xestospongia muta was not observed at any hardbottom site sanctuary- wide. At the regional level, while sponges the Middle Keys had the greatest abundance and volume, the largest individual sponges were recorded in the Upper Keys. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=occ_icrs&filename=140&type=additional |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
