Michael Martínez-Colón November 15, 2019
Puerto Rico Sea Grant Program- Annual Report 2018-2019 (Grant no. R-104-1-18)
Annual Report:
Title:
Benthic foraminifera and the FORAM Index: application and implementation in the coral reef monitoring plan in Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve System in Puerto Rico
Name and affiliation of researchers:
Michael Martínez-Colon: Florida A&M University
Charles Jagoe: Florida A&M University
Angel Dieppa-Ayala: Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Note to program officers: Due to delays in Federal Government assignment of funds and in paperwork processing (FAMU-Sea Grant), the research account at FAMU was initiated in November 2018. We proposed to undertake four sampling trips (March, June, September, and December).
1. March 2018: No account had been created. Dr. Martinez-Colon had an out-of-pocket expense of $850 (not reimbursable) for this sampling trip.
2. June 2018: No sampling trip was scheduled because no account was created and funds were not allocated/transferred to FAMU.
3. September 2018: FAMU’s Sponsored Research Office created an “emergency” account to cover field expenses.
4. November 2018: Account was created and funds were allocated/transferred to FAMU.
5. December 2018: Awarded Sea Grant funds were used to cover the sampling expenses.
6. A no-cost extension (until August 2021) has been approved.
Results and findings:
1) Given the weather/marine conditions at the times of sampling, modifications were made to the number of stations sampled.
- December 2018 sampling trip: 6 stations were not sampled. It was decided not to sample one transect in Cayo Caribe due to constant rough seas and it will become a safety issue when doing seasonal sampling if the Foram Index is implemented in Jobos Bay management plan.
- March 2019 sampling trip: 6 stations were not sampled
- June 2019: 4 stations were not sampled
- September 2019 sampling trip: all stations were sampled
The following results are based on samples collected from November 2018 and October 2019.
Puerto Rico Sea Grant Program- Annual Report 2018-2019 (Grant no. R-104-1-18)
Surface sediment samples.
A) Grain-size: The sediment textures throughout the fore reef are consistently dominated by coarse to very-coarse sand. In contrast, towards the lagoon side, mud is the dominant grain size closely followed by coarse sand.
B) Foraminifera: Foraminiferal density ranged from 4-78 individuals/gram of sediment among all fore reef sites and from 93-198 in all lagoon sites It was unexpected that the lagoonal sites has slightly higher densities. The Foram Index (FI) values range from 3.010 between the fore reef and lagoon with highest values towards the fore reef.
C) Water quality samples.
For Total Suspended Solids (TSS) the values range from 0.003 to 0.090 mg/mL between the fore reef and lagoon with highest values towards the fore reef side of the Cayo Barca.
For Ammonium the values range from BDL to 0.269 mg/L between the fore reef and lagoon with highest values towards the lagoon side of the reef. Cayo Morrillos had the lowest values while Cayo Barca is represented by the highest.
For Chlorophyll-a (chla-a) Cayo Barca exhibited the lowest values 0.03 mg/L (fore reef) and Cayo Caribe had the highest 0.21 mg/L (lagoon).
For temperature (T), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) (time dependent parameters), and salinity (S) (not time dependent) water column profiles, no significant change was observed within and between the fore reef and lagoon transects.
For nutrients (Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphate) the instrument at FAMU is still offline. We tried to fix the instrument and we replaced parts like the “mother board” by leveraging funds from a grant from Dr. Charles Jagoe (Co-PI). We have requested to PRSea Grant if we can use funds from Materials/Supplies to pay Shimadzu for equipment servicing.
Objectives
1. Objective 1: Determine seasonal variability of water quality characteristics in coral reefs. Objective partially achieved (65%). One more trip in December 2019 is scheduled.
Samples from November 2018 to October 2019 are being processed for chl-a, TSS, Ammonium, nutrients, and grain size. Two undergraduate students were hired from January-May 2019 to help in sample processing. In addition, three undergraduate students were hired from SeptemberOctober 2019 to help in sample processing.
2. Objective 2: Assess seasonal foraminiferal assemblages in coral reef-derived sediments, including foraminiferal density and diversity. Objective partially achieved (50%)
Michael Martínez-Colón November 15, 2019
Puerto Rico Sea Grant Program- Annual Report 2018-2019 (Grant no. R-104-1-18)
Samples from November 2018 to October 2019 are being processed for foraminifera. In order to fully accomplish this objective, all 2018 and 2019 data must be analyzed.
3. Objective 3: Analyze the effectiveness of the FORAM Index as a low-cost and high-impact biomonitor of water quality that can indicate the potential impacts of abiotic stressors in coral reefs.
Objective partially achieved (50%) This objective will be addressed once all data (field/lab) have been collected and analyzed from 2018 and 2019 data sets. From the November 2018 to October 2019 data, most sampling stations have a Foram Index value >4 which is indicative of conditions “conducive for growth”. Cayo Caribe is the eastern most and largest reef of the study area and is proximal to pharmaceutical and carbon processing plant which could be responsible for lower index values.
At the moment, no relation is observed between the recorded abiotic variables. The eventual analysis of nutrient data could provide more information on the reef conditions.
4. Objective 4: Establish the FORAM Index as a long-term water quality monitoring program in JBNERR.
Objective not achieved (0%). This objective will be addressed once all data (field/lab) have been collected and analyzed from 2018 and 2019
Other products
- June 2019 teacher workshop: 14 in-service school teachers from nearby school districts participated in the workshop. All teachers worked on Daily Reflective Diaries, field work, laboratory work, science education mini proposal development, and oral presentation.
Michael Martínez-Colón November 15, 2019
Puerto Rico Sea Grant Program- Annual Report 2018-2019 (Grant no. R-104-1-18)
Name: Angelique Rosa-Marín
Address: Florida A&M University, 1515 South MLK Blvd, Tallahassee, FL, 32307
Email: angelique1.rosamarin@famu.edu
Degree: MSc student
Amount Paid: The student is funded (tuition and salary) via the NOAA Center for Coastal Marine Ecosystems at FAMU. The student has received $3,313 to support her travel (September and December 2018) via Sea Grant funds.
Name: Marquise L. Cromartie
Address: Florida A&M University, 1515 South MLK Blvd, Tallahassee, FL, 32307
Email: marquise.cromartie@famu.edu
Degree: BS student
Amount Paid: The student has received $1,2018 (salary: March-April 2019) and $864 to support laboratory and field work travel (March 2019) via Sea Grant funds.
Name: Dontavius L. Keaton
Address: Florida A&M University, 1515 South MLK Blvd, Tallahassee, FL, 32307
Email: dontavius1.keaton@famu.edu
Degree: BS student
Amount Paid: The student has received $581 (salary: March-April 2019) and $864 to support his laboratory and field work travel (March 2019) via Sea Grant funds.
Name: Zakiya Peterson
Address: Florida A&M University, 1515 South MLK Blvd, Tallahassee, FL, 32307
Email: zakiya1.peterson@famu.edu
Degree: BS student
Amount Paid: The student has received $500 (salary: September-October 2019) to support her laboratory work via Sea Grant funds.
Name: Kyle Anderson
Address: Florida A&M University, 1515 South MLK Blvd, Tallahassee, FL, 32307
Email: kyle1.anderson@famu.edu
Degree: BS student
Amount Paid: The student has received $847 (salary: September-October 2019) to support her laboratory work via Sea Grant funds.
Name: Cristina M. Martinez-Saneaux
Address: Florida A&M University, 1515 South MLK Blvd, Tallahassee, FL, 32307
Email: cristina1.martinezsa@famu.edu
Degree: BS student
Amount Paid: The student has received $262 (salary: September-October 2019) to support her laboratory work via Sea Grant funds.
List thesis and dissertations by supported students
Implementation of the Foram Index (FI) in coral reefs at Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico (ongoing thesis work).
Michael Martínez-Colón November 15, 2019
Puerto Rico Sea Grant Program- Annual Report 2018-2019 (Grant no. R-104-1-18)
List presentations, technical reports and special awards
Presentations:
Martínez-Colón, M., Rosa-Marín, A., Jagoe, C., and Woodley Cherryl, 2019. Foram Index and its applicability in coral reef monitoring in Puerto Rico. Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean 39th Scientific Conference in Punta Cana-Dominican Republic.
Rosa-Marín, A. and Martínez-Colón, M., 2019. Environmental assessments in coral reefs at Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico. ASLO Aquatic Sciences in San Juan-PR.
Martínez-Colón, M., Rosa-Marín, A., Jagoe, C., and Woodley Cheryl, 2019. Implementation of the Foram Index in tropical coral reefs from Puerto Rico. The Micropaleontological Society
Foram-Nanno 2019 meeting in Fribourg, Switzerland.
List references for peer reviewed publications and submittals
None.
Impact/Accomplishment Statement
With each progress report the accomplishments, the goals, and objectives will be increasingly complete and when user groups and agencies begin to use the tools and findings of the project, impact will have been achieved. Following the National Sea Grant guidance an impact or accomplishment statement responds to 4 questions or concerns. Your input and answer to the following will define project utility. Respond as briefly as possible to each of these four “R’s” and add modifications as needed with each progress report.
1. RECAP - A one sentence recapitulation that captures the essence of the preceding three points. The recap will be the first item viewable on the national website after the title, so make certain to spell out abbreviations and acronyms and state the name of your program in the recap. This should be no more than 500 characters.
Foram Index values show that most of the fore reef and lagoonal sites between Cayo Caribe, Cayo Barca, Cayo Morrillo, and Cayo Pajaros are “conducive for reef growth”. In particular, the fore reef side of Cayo Caribe is an “environment not conducent for reef growth and unsuitable for recovery”.
2. RELEVANCE ‐ Using lay terms, describe the issue or problem statement and the appropriate scale (local, state, regional, national, or international). For example, consider:
• Why did our Program conduct this effort?
• What needs were originally expressed for this work?
• What was the situation/problem, and why was it a problem?
Coral reefs in Puerto Rico are negatively influenced by habitat encroachment and degradation. Standard assessment for coral reef health is to determine live coral cover however; there is a known time lag between stress exposure and coral responses. Implementing benthic foraminifers (shelled protists) and its associated FORAM-Index as an indicator of coral health will provide the stakeholders at Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve with a bioindicator that has a fast response and that will serve as an “early” warning system for coral reef monitoring.
3. RESPONSE - Provide an action statement. Consider:
• What did this project do?
• Who were the principal partners, collaborators, contributors?
• What were the key elements?
• Who was the target audience?
This research project is currently evaluating the application of benthic foraminifera (shelled protists) as a proxy of coral reef water quality. This is done in close collaboration and partnership with Aitza Pabon-Valentin (JBNERR Director), Angel Dieppa-Ayala (CoPI and JBNERR Research Coordinator), and Ernesto Olivares-Gomez (Education Coordinator). By engaging in a multi-year seasonal study, we aim to identify the optimal sampling sites as well as time of year in order to maximize the efforts of JBNERR personnel. If the results obtained in this study are meaningful, the Foram Index will be strongly considered to be implemented into current monitoring efforts at JBNERR
Given the technicalities of the budget transfer from Sea Grant to FAMU, the outreach component of the proposal was not done in summer 2018. The first workshop was done in summer 2019 in which in-service teachers were trained in a geo-environmental workshop related to estuarine ecosystems. The second workshop is scheduled for summer 2020.
4. RESULTS Describe the impact by replying to the questions: Who cares? So what? Consider:
• What is the social, and/or economic, and/or environmental payoff of our work?
• Who benefited?
• How?
- What happened as a result of the work described?
- What knowledge was gained?
- What skills were increased?
- Is the target audience doing anything differently? If so, who, what, and how?
- How much money was saved? Is more money being made?
- Were jobs created or retained?
- Were policies changed as a result?
- What were the end results (quantitative and qualitative)?
• How was information collected to verify the impacts (surveys, observation, etc.)?
• What was the scope of the impact (local, state, regional, national, or international)?
The results generated up to this point are in alignment with the purpose and objectives proposed for this research. No nitrate or phosphate data has been generated (instrument needs repair), and ammonia, chl-a, and TSS values are very low in all studied reefs. If needed, we will use SWMP data from one of the permanent JBNERR monitoring stations close to Cayo Caribe. The Foram Index values show that most of the studied reefs are “conducive for reef growth” although the fore reef side of Cayo Caribe is an “environment marginal for reef growth and unsuitable for recovery” , which translates to mesotrophic conditions. Although no relation is observed between the recorded abiotic variables and Foram Index, these preliminary results are of importance for the resource managers (primary stakeholders) since it is indicating that the conditions for Cayo Caribe are much stressed and they can take proactive action. As mentioned earlier, the proximity
Michael Martínez-Colón November 15, 2019
Puerto Rico Sea Grant Program- Annual Report 2018-2019 (Grant no. R-104-1-18)
of the Cayo Caribe to anthropogenic practices could be the cause of the current conditions of the area.
Once all the data is gathered and analyzed, discussions will take place in regards to the feasibility of the Foram Index and the possibility of amending current monitoring policies in Jobos Bay to use this index to monitor and assess coral health. During our sampling trips, knowledge transfer has occurred in terms of field sampling strategies. Angel Dieppa and Jobos Bay personnel have been engaged actively in sampling collection so if the Foram Index is implemented in their monitoring strategies they will be well prepared.
At this stage we need to be cautious on the scale of the Foram Index as our intent is to determine its feasibility and utility in current monitoring at a local scale in Jobos Bay. If results are promising, then we can expand at the state level by engaging the Dept. of Natural Resources and local NOAA offices.