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The Impact of Benthic Organisms to Improve Water Quality in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida

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Abstract

The Living Docks restoration program was implemented in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), Florida, with the goal of affixing oyster restoration mats to dock pilings to promote the growth of filter feeding benthic organisms which can help improve local water quality. However, the relationship between IRL water quality parameters and the presence of filter feeders on the mats is not entirely clear. This study investigates the presence of benthic organisms on eight Living Docks which were deployed throughout the central part of the IRL. Environmental factors (e.g., water salinity, turbidity, pH, and temperature) were collected from the closest available water station to each dock. The main goal was to identify the presence and overall change in percent cover of specific benthic organism(s), those which are known filter feeders, in relationship to environmental parameters. Among functional groups which were identified, barnacles, biofilms, encrusting bryozoans (EBs), oysters, and sponges demonstrated significantly higher cover than the others. Barnacles were higher in abundance at specific dock locations and an increased water pH (up to 8.1), turbidity, and temperature. EB presence was positively impacted by salinity but did not respond to changes in turbidity or temperature within the measured ranges. Oysters were not observed to be impacted by any of the factors within measured ranges. Sponges had sustained abundance in half of the docks in this study. However, they did not respond to any of the environmental factors within measured ranges in different seasons. Results from this study can help target future Living Dock locations which will provide the best environment for the recruitment of filter feeding organisms.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are not openly available and are available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The data analysis and modeling were conducted as part of REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) program funded by NSF (Grant 1950768). The Living Docks program and portions of the data collection were funded by the Indian River Research Institute at the Florida Institute of Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA

    Alain Despeignes, Sandra Rech, Kelli Hunsucker, Ryan T. White, Robert J. Weaver & Nezamoddin N. Kachouie

  2. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA

    Alyssa Sharma

  3. Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI, USA

    Rebecca Beltran

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  1. Alain Despeignes
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  2. Alyssa Sharma
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  3. Rebecca Beltran
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Correspondence to Nezamoddin N. Kachouie.

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Appendix

Appendix

Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17

Fig. 8
figure 8

Impact of salinity, turbidity, temperature, and pH on EB’s growth at different dock locations

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Fig. 9
figure 9

Impact of salinity, turbidity, temperature, and pH on sponge’s growth at different dock locations

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Fig. 10
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Impact of salinity, turbidity, temperature, and pH on oyster’s growth at different dock locations for

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Fig. 11
figure 11

Impact of salinity, turbidity, temperature, and water pH on EB’s growth regardless of dock locations

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Fig. 12
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Impact of salinity, turbidity, temperature, and water pH on sponge’s growth regardless of dock locations

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Fig. 13
figure 13

Impact of salinity, turbidity, temperature, and water pH on oyster’s growth regardless of dock

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Fig. 14
figure 14

Barnacle growth among docks in relation to environmental factors

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Fig. 15
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EB growth among docks in relation to environmental factors

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Fig. 16
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Sponge growth among docks in relation to environmental factors

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Fig. 17
figure 17

Oyster growth among docks in relation to environmental factors

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Despeignes, A., Sharma, A., Beltran, R. et al. The Impact of Benthic Organisms to Improve Water Quality in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 546 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06528-w

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