How do long sediment-laden algal turfs affect coral recruitment on Florida’s Coral Reef?

This project evaluated the impact of long sediment-laden algal turf (LSAT) on coral recruitment on Florida’s Coral Reef. LSATs are a proportion of the benthic sediment that is bound within algal turfs. Results indicated that LSAT covered approximately 42% of FCR’s seafloor, creating challenging conditions for settlement and survival of corals. Researchers found a significant negative relationship between juvenile coral presence and LSAT abundance and sediment thickness. The high abundance of LSAT region-wide might be related to the levels of sedimentation, which appeared to increase gradually from north to south. The experimental removal of sediment revealed that plots with turf algae gained on average one mm more sediment than turf-free plots. However, turf grew quickly and started accumulating sediment as well. More research is being conducted to understand the seasonal changes LSAT abundance and its impact on coral recruitment.