Abstract
Benthic cyanobacteria of the genus Lyngbya can form prominent mats and blooms in tropical and subtropical coral reef and seagrass habitats worldwide. A Lyngbya bloom on the reef tract offshore of Broward County, Florida, was first noted in 2002, and although it is seasonally variable in its distribution and abundance, it has persisted and spread over the past 3 years. In this study, the most abundant species of Lyngbya found in the blooms have been identified and compared to other species of Lyngbya by morphological and molecular methods. The most common species of Lyngbya is consistent with the properties of Lyngbya confervoides C. Agardh. The 16S ribosomal DNA sequence shares 88–92% identity with other known Lyngbya sequences, suggesting that this bloom consists primarily of a new, previously unsequenced species of Lyngbya. The second most common Lyngbya in the bloom is consistent with Lyngbya polychroa. This persistent bloom is a concern because it smothers octocorals and other invertebrates and negatively impacts these southeastern Florida reefs.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Raphael Ritson-Williams, Frank Camacho, and Patrick Erwin for field and laboratory assistance. DNA sequencing support was provided by the UAB Center for AIDS Research. We thank Karen Lane and Amy Erickson for use of their photographs. This research was supported by the Smithsonian Marine Science Network, the Florida Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology (VP), and the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0209329 (RWT). This is contribution #624 from the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce.
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Communicated by Biological Editor K. Sullivan Sealey
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Paul, V.J., Thacker, R.W., Banks, K. et al. Benthic cyanobacterial bloom impacts the reefs of South Florida (Broward County, USA). Coral Reefs 24, 693–697 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-005-0061-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-005-0061-x