Graduation Year
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.)
Degree Granting Department
Marine Science
Major Professor
Cameron Ainsworth, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Christopher D. Stallings, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Pamela Hallock Muller, Ph.D.
Keywords
Ecopath with Ecosim, West Florida Shelf, Karenia brevis, HAB, trophic modeling
Abstract
Artificial reefs are attractive tools for fisheries management and reef conservation, as they can host large fish biomasses, including fisheries-important species, and they may supplement natural recruitment. Prior studies have established that artificial and natural reefs differ in habitat complexity and host both taxonomically and functionally distinct assemblages. These differences may impact how the reef types respond to environmental disturbance because ecosystem stability is dependent upon habitat structure, species composition, and trophic interactions. A question of management importance is whether artificial reefs host a less- or more-sensitive suite of species than natural reefs, and whether the assemblage is conducive to fast or slow recovery of the ecosystem following disturbance. Here underwater visual survey data collected in the eastern Gulf of Mexico was used to develop Ecopath models of artificial and natural reefs. The models were used to simulate three different scenarios to explore how the ecosystems responded to: (1) a pulse-disturbance, (2) a pulse-disturbance combined with increased fishing pressure, and (3) a natural variation scenario with repeated disturbances. Harmful algal blooms (HABs), a common environmental stressor in the Gulf of Mexico, was chosen as an example disturbance. Generally, model results yielded that the reef types differed in their response to environmental disturbance with a) natural reefs having increased resistance, b) artificial reefs having increased resilience, and c) natural reefs having longer recovery time periods. This research will better inform the use of artificial reefs as management tools.
Scholar Commons Citation
Raetzel, Tiff, "Artificial Reefs as Management Tools" (2024). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10667
