Estimating surface area of sponges and gorgonians as indicators of habitat availability on Caribbean coral reefs
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PRIMARY RESEARCH PAPER
Estimating surface area of sponges and gorgonians as indicators of habitat availability on Caribbean coral reefs Deborah L. Santavy • Lee A. Courtney • William S. Fisher • Robert L. Quarles • Stephen J. Jordan
Received: 7 May 2012 / Revised: 4 October 2012 / Accepted: 22 October 2012 / Published online: 22 November 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht (outside the USA) 2012
Abstract A rapid method to estimate the threedimensional (3D) surface area (SA) of marine gorgonians and sponges from field measurements of colony height, diameter, and morphology was developed as an indicator of habitat availability for fish and invertebrates. Colony characteristics for sponges and gorgonians were compiled from field measurements, expert judgment, and taxonomic literature, and employed to generate 3D images using computeraided design software. The images were used to test various statistical models and geometric surrogates that best estimated SA using only height and diameter measurements. A morphological classification system was devised using shapes and relative proportions of sponges and gorgonians which are commonly found in shallow waters (\25 m depth) of the Central Western Atlantic Ocean. Regression models (linear, quadratic, or cubic) were found to be more robust than geometric
Handling editor: I. A. Nagelkerken
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10750-012-1359-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. D. L. Santavy (&) L. A. Courtney W. S. Fisher R. L. Quarles S. J. Jordan Gulf Ecology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Dr., Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA e-mail: [email protected]
surrogates, exhibiting greater accuracy at range extremes. Statistical models explained over 90% of the variation in SA and forecast errors of less than 20%. The best models for estimating SA are presented for eight sponge and nine gorgonian morphologies. Application of these methods with existing estimators for stony corals SA can be used as an indicator of structural habitat availability, which is an important ecosystem service of coral reefs. Keywords Marine sponges Gorgonians 3D Surface area Structural habitat availability Fish habitat Ecosystem services
Introduction Coral reefs provide the infrastructure for diverse marine communities and many ecosystem services that contribute substantially to human economic and social values (MEA, 2005). Among others, reef environments offer potential benefits from commercial and subsistence fisheries, tourism and recreation, shoreline protection and erosion control, and unique biochemicals for future scientific and pharmaceutical products. As reefs degrade, these services are compromised and ecological, economic, and social values decline. Increasing attention has been paid to quantification of ecosystem services, including those of coral reefs, as a means to better understand
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