Heavy Metals Implications to Sediment Microbiome and Coral Response to Arsenic Dosing

Statistical analyses were performed on ecological indices on all port sediment core depths and reef sediment heavy metal data from Phase 1 of FDEP project (agreement
#C0FEDD). Analyses were also performed on the microbial community composition and the heavy metals. Surface sediment were collected on three separate occasions at six nearby coral reef sites adjacent to the port. The sediments were analyzed for 14 heavy metals using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The sediments were also processed for microbial profiling. Instrument platforms were positioned at the six coral reef sites with ST-30 sediment traps and Aqua TROLL sensors, and abiotic data (temperature, conductivity, pressure, dissolved oxygen, pH, and turbidity) were measured. Four static 96-h exposure assays were performed with two coral species, A. cervicornis and O. faveolata, which determined the acute and subacute threshold concentrations for 2 inorganic species of arsenic (arsenite and arsenate). Finally, regional data was collected and synthesized on the concentration and distribution of potentially toxic chemicals on Florida Coral Reef.