OFR 00-166: SHARQ Infested Waters

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U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Open-File Report 00-166

Author: Kimberly Yates

View other reports pertaining to Ecosystem Function & Structure

SHARQ Infested Waters

Submersible Habitat for Analyzing Reef Quality (S.H.A.R.Q.) is designed to isolate a mass of water overlying the ocean bottom enabling 24 hour monitoring of temporal geochemical changes associated with benthic activity and in situ alteration of chemical and physical parameters for experimentation on the effects of environmental quality on coral reefs. Arrows indicate water flow.

Currently, USGS researchers are collaborating with scientists from USGS Biological Resources Division, NOAA, and the University of Miami to determine relations between coral reef metabolism and environmental conditions, and to develop methods for monitoring reef metabolism as an indication of reef health.

In addition to investigations of coral reef metabolism, the SHARQ has been used to study bottom-dwelling, or benthic, communities in Florida Bay and marine "whitings" in the Bahamas.

Florida Bay is a shallow body of water that lies between the Florida Keys and the southernmost coast of Florida. During the last century humans have altered the landscape of South Florida and changed the Florida Bay environment. As a result, land and water use managers have undertaken a program to restore Florida Bay to a more natural state.

USGS researchers (in collaboration with Everglades National Park, the South Florida Water Management District, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the University of Miami) are using the SHARQ to determine baseline metabolism rates of many benthic communities in addition to coral reefs, such as seagrass beds and algal mats, and to measure carbonate sediment production in Florida Bay. As new water management practices are put in place and restoration efforts progress, continued monitoring of these benthic communities will reveal their response to environmental changes in the Bay. Managers will then be able to assess whether the changes in the marine communities are what were intended, and to evaluate the success of efforts to restore the Bay to a more natural state.