Florida’s west coast is a 170,000 km2 bedrock shelf (west Florida shelf, WFS) comprised of north-south discontinuous carbonate outcroppings extending more than 200 km from the intertidal zone to a depth of 200 m. These outcrops support diverse benthic communities, which contribute to a multi-billion dollar recreational and commercial fishing industry, yet only about 5% of their extent has been studied in detail. Benthic communities shift over a 6.5° geographic range, but the locations of these shifts are not well-defined. Previous studies have suggested a break in biogeographic regions at Tampa Bay, south at Cape Romano, and north at Cedar Key. The goal of this study was to map and investigate the shallow WFS marine hardbottom north and south of Tampa Bay, FL to identify differences in benthic communities and identify ecoregion boundaries. Habitat mapping yielded 295.89 km2 of hardbottom which differed in extent between Sarasota and Pasco counties. Benthic surveys tabulated 4,079 stony coral colonies of nine species and 1,918 soft corals. Stony corals were dominated by Siderastrea radians, Oculina robusta, Solenastrea hyades, and Cladocora arbuscula less than 10 cm in diameter. Distinct differences in these communities were evident from south to north. The main community shift indicated an ecoregion boundary at, or very near, the mouth of Tampa Bay. Another shift associated with the Bahamas Fracture Zone (BFZ) occurred at the Pinellas and Pasco County border. The outputs of this work provide the first detailed benthic habitat map of the area, a detailed survey of the composition of hardbottom benthic communities in the region, identify Tampa Bay as a coastal benthic biogeographic transition, and illustrate the influence of the BFZ on coastal communities. These findings illustrate a need for additional WFS benthic research and mapping to give a more comprehensive understanding of coral community biogeography in the context of future warming conditions and the potential tropicalization. Unifying seafloor mapping data, mapping new areas with high probability of hardbottom resources, and collecting benthic community data over broader scales will refine community biogeographic zonation. This is a necessary precursor to any long-term community monitoring to detect spatial shifts in communities and population modeling.

中文翻译：

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浅水珊瑚群落支持佛罗里达州墨西哥湾沿岸中西部海洋生态区的分离

佛罗里达州的西海岸是一个 170,000 平方公里的基岩陆架（西佛罗里达陆架，WFS），由南北不连续的碳酸盐露头组成，从潮间带延伸超过 200 公里，深度为 200 米。这些露头支持多样化的底栖群落，为价值数十亿美元的休闲和商业捕鱼业做出了贡献，但只有约 5% 的范围得到了详细研究。底栖群落在 6.5° 的地理范围内移动，但这些移动的位置并不明确。之前的研究表明，坦帕湾、罗马诺角南部和锡达基北部的生物地理区域出现了中断。本研究的目标是绘制和调查佛罗里达州坦帕湾北部和南部的浅 WFS 海洋硬底，以确定底栖群落的差异并确定生态区边界。栖息地测绘产生了 295.89 平方公里的硬底，其范围在萨拉索塔和帕斯科县之间有所不同。底栖调查列出了 9 个物种的 4,079 个石珊瑚群和 1,918 个软珊瑚。石珊瑚主要由 Siderastrea radians、Oculina Robusta、Solenastrea hyades 和 Cladocora arbuscula 主导，直径小于 10 厘米。这些社区的明显差异从南到北都很明显。主要的社区转移表明在坦帕湾口或非常靠近坦帕湾口处有一个生态区边界。与巴哈马断裂带 (BFZ) 相关的另一个转变发生在 Pinellas 和 Pasco 县边界。这项工作的成果提供了该地区第一个详细的底栖栖息地图，详细调查了该地区硬底底栖群落的组成，将坦帕湾确定为沿海底栖生物地理过渡，并说明 BFZ 对沿海社区的影响。这些发现表明需要进行额外的 WFS 底栖研究和制图，以便在未来变暖条件和潜在热带化的背景下更全面地了解珊瑚群落生物地理学。统一海底测绘数据，测绘具有高概率硬底资源的新区域，并在更广泛的范围内收集底栖群落数据，将完善群落生物地理分区。这是任何长期社区监测的必要前提，以检测社区和人口建模的空间变化。这些发现表明需要进行额外的 WFS 底栖研究和制图，以便在未来变暖条件和潜在热带化的背景下更全面地了解珊瑚群落生物地理学。统一海底测绘数据，测绘具有高概率硬底资源的新区域，并在更广泛的范围内收集底栖群落数据，将完善群落生物地理分区。这是任何长期社区监测的必要前提，以检测社区和人口建模的空间变化。这些发现表明需要进行额外的 WFS 底栖研究和制图，以便在未来变暖条件和潜在热带化的背景下更全面地了解珊瑚群落生物地理学。统一海底测绘数据，测绘具有高概率硬底资源的新区域，并在更广泛的范围内收集底栖群落数据，将完善群落生物地理分区。这是任何长期社区监测的必要前提，以检测社区和人口建模的空间变化。在更广泛的范围内收集底栖群落数据将完善群落生物地理分区。这是任何长期社区监测的必要前提，以检测社区和人口建模的空间变化。在更广泛的范围内收集底栖群落数据将完善群落生物地理分区。这是任何长期社区监测的必要前提，以检测社区和人口建模的空间变化。