Comparisons of Nearshore Artificial and Natural Reef Fish Assemblages in Southeast Florida Using Three Visual Census Methods With Snorkel Gear

Comparisons of Nearshore Artificial and Natural Reef Fish Assemblages in Southeast Florida Using Three Visual Census Methods With Snorkel Gear

The nearshore environment of Broward and Palm Beach counties are characterized by the presence of both natural and artificial reefs. The natural reef area surveyed in this experiment is located in northern Broward County just south of Commercial Blvd. The natural reef is a composed of a mix of hardbottom and sabellarid worm rock habitats. The artificial reef surveyed in this experiment is located in southern Palm Beach County, immediately south of Boca Raton Inlet. This reef consists of large, concrete boulders scattered over an area of a tenth of a mile. The two goals of this study were to compare the fish assemblages between nearshore artificial and natural reefs, as well as compare threevisualcensustechniquesusingsnorkelgear. Thecensusmethodologiesusedwerea point count, transect and rover count. Three sample sites were chosen at each study area (artificial and natural). All three visual survey methodologies were conducted at each site. Dr. Paul Arena trained each student researcher in fish identification and methodology procedures before survey data were collected.