Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

PC11 Human Activities and Aquatic Ecosystems

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2001

Location: Southwest Hall

Boyer, J, N, Florida International University, Miami, USA, boyerj@fiu.edu

Jones, R, D, Florida International University, Miami, USA, serc@fiu.edu

INCREASING TOTAL PHOSPHORUS CONCENTRATIONS IN THE FLORIDA KEYS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY

Since 1995, a large scale monitoring program has allowed us to assemble broad view of status and trends of water quality in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and surrounding waters. The only significant trends observed were for total phosphorus (TP) where increases occurred in the Tortugas, Marquesas, Lower Keys, and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys. These trends were remarkably linear and ranged from 0.01-0.07 uM yr-1. No concurrent increases in phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a) were observed. The trend in TP was system wide and occurred outside the FKNMS on the SW Shelf as well. It is important to emphasize that this trend was a regional phenomena and was not due to local inputs from the Florida Keys alone. As a result of declining TP in Florida Bay, no increases were observed in the inner Shelf or in the passes through the Keys. This is a marked departure from the more alarmist thinking of some scientists and public that Florida Bay is source of nutrients to the reef and a major cause of reef decline.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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