Lagniappe II
Coral Reef Restoration Monitoring Report
Monitoring Events 2001 to 2010
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Monroe County, Florida
Authors:
Hatsue Bailey and Scott Donahue
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
This document presents the results of a restoration and four subsequent monitoring events
designed to track the recovery of coral habitat restored after injury involving a nearshore
patch reef within the boundaries of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
(FKNMS). The Lagniappe II, a 12 m cabin cruiser, ran aground on a patch reef near Boca
Chica Key in August 2002. The damage to the reef involved a path of injury which
impacted approximately 35 m2 of living coral. The majority of the resulting coral
fragments were quickly triaged and used for subsequent restoration activities that
attempted to recreate the benthic structure as it had existed prior to the grounding. The
majority of the stony coral injured consisted of Montastraea faveolata, a primary reef
building species in the Florida Keys.
Structural restoration was completed in October
2002 and permanent transect lines were established for long-term, digital photographic
comparisons of restoration and adjacent "un-impacted" reference areas in order to track
patterns of recovery. Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe) was used to
analyze coral benthic coverage. Monitoring occurred at zero, two, seven, and eight years
after the restoration was completed. Results showed that by 2010 the mean percent cover
of coral was generally lower in the control transect than in the restored transect. The
methodology used to restore the injury at the Lagniappe II vessel grounding site supports
the intended restoration objectives of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.
Keywords: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, vessel grounding, damage assessment, coral,
macroalgae, monitoring, Coral Point Count analysis
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