Assessing the Biological Performance of Living Docks—A Citizen Science Initiative to Improve Coastal Water Quality through Benthic Recruitment within the Indian River Lagoon, Florida
Like many estuaries worldwide, the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), has seen a decline in resources and overall water quality due to human activities. One method to help restore water quality and benthic habitats is to construct and deploy oyster restoration mats on dock pilings, known as the Living Docks...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-06-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/6/823 |
| _version_ | 1797485705270657024 |
|---|---|
| author | Morgan Gilligan Kelli Hunsucker Sandra Rech Alyssa Sharma Rebecca Beltran Ryan T. White Robert Weaver |
| author_facet | Morgan Gilligan Kelli Hunsucker Sandra Rech Alyssa Sharma Rebecca Beltran Ryan T. White Robert Weaver |
| author_sort | Morgan Gilligan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Like many estuaries worldwide, the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), has seen a decline in resources and overall water quality due to human activities. One method to help restore water quality and benthic habitats is to construct and deploy oyster restoration mats on dock pilings, known as the Living Docks program. This community-driven program was founded to promote the growth of filter-feeding benthic organisms and improve local water quality. The purpose of this study was to assess the growth and performance at four of the Living Dock locations and to provide feedback to the citizens who were involved in the initial process and deployments. Four docks were biologically assessed for temporal changes during three-time points throughout the year, as denoted by changes in temperature in October, February, and June. The back of each mat was also analyzed for organism cementation to the piling. The presence of filter-feeding organisms was found to vary both spatially and temporally, especially for the eastern oyster (<i>Crassostrea virginica</i>), encrusting bryozoan (<i>Schizobrachiella verrilli)</i>, sponges (<i>Demospongiae</i>), and barnacles (<i>Amphibalanus amphitrite, Amphibalanus eburneus</i>). A greater diversity in the sessile benthic flora and fauna was seen during the June sampling period. Cementation on the pilings was due to a combination of barnacles and sponge growth. Cementation was observed to increase from October and decrease for all but one dock for the June sampling period. The results demonstrate this restoration project to be successful in promoting the growth of benthic organisms, while also providing understanding into seasonal trends amongst species. Hopefully, the positive output will encourage more community members and citizen scientists to participate in the ongoing effort to help restore water quality in the IRL. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:22:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a85c9c36aed74df09ffa2f6ca8790eea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:22:43Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-a85c9c36aed74df09ffa2f6ca8790eea2023-11-23T17:23:33ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122022-06-0110682310.3390/jmse10060823Assessing the Biological Performance of Living Docks—A Citizen Science Initiative to Improve Coastal Water Quality through Benthic Recruitment within the Indian River Lagoon, FloridaMorgan Gilligan0Kelli Hunsucker1Sandra Rech2Alyssa Sharma3Rebecca Beltran4Ryan T. White5Robert Weaver6Research Department, Florida Oceanographic Society, Stuart, FL 34996, USAIndian River Lagoon Research Institute, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USAIndian River Lagoon Research Institute, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USAIndian River Lagoon Research Institute, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USAIndian River Lagoon Research Institute, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USAIndian River Lagoon Research Institute, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USAIndian River Lagoon Research Institute, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USALike many estuaries worldwide, the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), has seen a decline in resources and overall water quality due to human activities. One method to help restore water quality and benthic habitats is to construct and deploy oyster restoration mats on dock pilings, known as the Living Docks program. This community-driven program was founded to promote the growth of filter-feeding benthic organisms and improve local water quality. The purpose of this study was to assess the growth and performance at four of the Living Dock locations and to provide feedback to the citizens who were involved in the initial process and deployments. Four docks were biologically assessed for temporal changes during three-time points throughout the year, as denoted by changes in temperature in October, February, and June. The back of each mat was also analyzed for organism cementation to the piling. The presence of filter-feeding organisms was found to vary both spatially and temporally, especially for the eastern oyster (<i>Crassostrea virginica</i>), encrusting bryozoan (<i>Schizobrachiella verrilli)</i>, sponges (<i>Demospongiae</i>), and barnacles (<i>Amphibalanus amphitrite, Amphibalanus eburneus</i>). A greater diversity in the sessile benthic flora and fauna was seen during the June sampling period. Cementation on the pilings was due to a combination of barnacles and sponge growth. Cementation was observed to increase from October and decrease for all but one dock for the June sampling period. The results demonstrate this restoration project to be successful in promoting the growth of benthic organisms, while also providing understanding into seasonal trends amongst species. Hopefully, the positive output will encourage more community members and citizen scientists to participate in the ongoing effort to help restore water quality in the IRL.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/6/823benthic communitiesbenthic ecologybiodiversitycitizen scienceestuariesfilter feeders |
| spellingShingle | Morgan Gilligan Kelli Hunsucker Sandra Rech Alyssa Sharma Rebecca Beltran Ryan T. White Robert Weaver Assessing the Biological Performance of Living Docks—A Citizen Science Initiative to Improve Coastal Water Quality through Benthic Recruitment within the Indian River Lagoon, Florida Journal of Marine Science and Engineering benthic communities benthic ecology biodiversity citizen science estuaries filter feeders |
| title | Assessing the Biological Performance of Living Docks—A Citizen Science Initiative to Improve Coastal Water Quality through Benthic Recruitment within the Indian River Lagoon, Florida |
| title_full | Assessing the Biological Performance of Living Docks—A Citizen Science Initiative to Improve Coastal Water Quality through Benthic Recruitment within the Indian River Lagoon, Florida |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the Biological Performance of Living Docks—A Citizen Science Initiative to Improve Coastal Water Quality through Benthic Recruitment within the Indian River Lagoon, Florida |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the Biological Performance of Living Docks—A Citizen Science Initiative to Improve Coastal Water Quality through Benthic Recruitment within the Indian River Lagoon, Florida |
| title_short | Assessing the Biological Performance of Living Docks—A Citizen Science Initiative to Improve Coastal Water Quality through Benthic Recruitment within the Indian River Lagoon, Florida |
| title_sort | assessing the biological performance of living docks a citizen science initiative to improve coastal water quality through benthic recruitment within the indian river lagoon florida |
| topic | benthic communities benthic ecology biodiversity citizen science estuaries filter feeders |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/6/823 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT morgangilligan assessingthebiologicalperformanceoflivingdocksacitizenscienceinitiativetoimprovecoastalwaterqualitythroughbenthicrecruitmentwithintheindianriverlagoonflorida AT kellihunsucker assessingthebiologicalperformanceoflivingdocksacitizenscienceinitiativetoimprovecoastalwaterqualitythroughbenthicrecruitmentwithintheindianriverlagoonflorida AT sandrarech assessingthebiologicalperformanceoflivingdocksacitizenscienceinitiativetoimprovecoastalwaterqualitythroughbenthicrecruitmentwithintheindianriverlagoonflorida AT alyssasharma assessingthebiologicalperformanceoflivingdocksacitizenscienceinitiativetoimprovecoastalwaterqualitythroughbenthicrecruitmentwithintheindianriverlagoonflorida AT rebeccabeltran assessingthebiologicalperformanceoflivingdocksacitizenscienceinitiativetoimprovecoastalwaterqualitythroughbenthicrecruitmentwithintheindianriverlagoonflorida AT ryantwhite assessingthebiologicalperformanceoflivingdocksacitizenscienceinitiativetoimprovecoastalwaterqualitythroughbenthicrecruitmentwithintheindianriverlagoonflorida AT robertweaver assessingthebiologicalperformanceoflivingdocksacitizenscienceinitiativetoimprovecoastalwaterqualitythroughbenthicrecruitmentwithintheindianriverlagoonflorida |