Dataset title: Macroalgae Production in Florida Bay (FCE LTER), South Florida, USA, May 2007 - April 2023 Dataset ID: LT_PP_Collado_001 Research type: Long-term Dataset Creator Name: Dr. Ligia Collado-Vides Position: Project Collaborator Organization: Southeast Environmental Research Center Address: Department of Biological Sciences FIU 11200 SW 8th Street OE 167 Miami, FL 33199 USA Phone: 305-348-2274 Fax: 305-348-4096 Email: colladol@fiu.edu URL: https://marinemacroalgae.fiu.edu/ Metadata Provider Organization: Florida Coastal Everglades LTER Address: Florida International University 11200 SW 8th Street OE 148 Miami, FL 33199 USA Phone: 305-348-6054 Email: fcelter@fiu.edu URL: http://fcelter.fiu.edu Dataset Abstract Benthic primary production in Florida Bay is mainly driven by mangroves, seagrass, peryphiton, and macroalgae. The nutrient dynamics and salinity regimes at Florida Bay are strongly influenced by marine waters from the Gulf of Mexico, oceanic waters from the Atlantic Ocean and fresh waters from the Everglades creating a complex estuary with oligohaline ecotones. Marine and groundwater are sources of P and are expected to decline with increased freshwater inflow (Childers et al. 2006a; Price et al. 2006). The Taylor Slough ecotone, (TS/Ph), which flows into the Bay, is characterized by small tidal influence and clear seasonal variability in water source and quality (Davis et al. 2003; Sutula et al. 2001), receives P from shallow groundwater inputs (Price et al. 2006).Therefore the amount of freshwater inputs from the Everglades will affect salinity, water residence times, and the sources, availability, and flux of organic and inorganic nutrients on Florida Bay. As a consequence gradients of N and P concentrations are characteristic in the Bay with expected low concentration of P and high N on the fresh water end, contrasting with higher levels of P and lower of N towards the marine section of the Bay. This gradient in P concentrations is expected to reflect in differences in both primary production and biomass along the TS/Ph ecotone. One of the Everglades LTER scientist general hypothesis is "that increasing inputs of freshwater will enhance oligotrophy in nutrient-poor coastal systems, as long as the inflowing water has low nutrient content; this dynamic will be most pronounced in the oligohaline ecotone" (LTER program). In this context we expect to have a differential production of calcareous macroalgae along the TS-Ph transect which reflect the P gradient with low productivity towards the fresh water influenced sites close to the Everglades increasing towards the marine section of the Bay. We document the primary production of calcareous green macroalgae along the TS-Ph transect including three contrasting environments at Florida Bay. The transect include site TS-Ph 9 located near Duck Key in oligotrophic northeastern Florida Bay; TS-Ph 10 is located near Bob Allen Keys in the oligotrophic center Florida Bay and TS-Ph 11 is located near Sprigger Bank at the western open boundary between Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.In order to survey the temporal and spatial variability in production of calcareous marine macroalgae, a monitoring survey was started in 2007 on the three TS-Ph transect. In each site 3 hazard selected quadrats were sampled for biomass, CaCO3 production and species ID, and abundance using Braun Blanquet Index. Surveys are conducted bimonthly.Results show a significant difference on production with a high abundance and biomass at Sprigger Bank (Ts-Ph11) compared with lower values at Bob Allan Key and Duck Key. Seasonal changes show a higher production in summer compared with winter periods. The long term trend shows a decline on production in Sprigger Bank. Thalli CaCO3 content has a linear relation with biomass (carbon content) indicating a constant relationship between CaCO3 fixation and algae size-biomass. As a general trend we document a higher calcareous green macroalgae production towards the marine sites, consistent with the fact that the TS-Ph transect shows an enhanced productivity in the TS/Ph toward the marine end of the Bay (Fourqurean et al., 1992). A decline in calcareous green macroalgae at Sprigger Bank is reported based on 4 years of survey, which might have consequences on sand production for this site, moreover this will eventually change the sediment characteristics of this site. Our long term data set is a base line that will allow us detect potential changes in CaCO3 fixation by calcareous green macroalgae as a consequence of predicted acidification of the oceans. Geographic Coverage Study Extent Description The Study Extent of this dataset includes the FCE Florida Bay research sites within Everglades National Park, South Florida Bounding Coordinates Geographic description: FCE LTER Site TS/Ph9 West bounding coordinate: -80.490 East bounding coordinate: -80.490 North bounding coordinate: 25.177 South bounding coordinate: 25.177 Geographic description: FCE LTER Site TS/Ph10 West bounding coordinate: -80.681 East bounding coordinate: -80.681 North bounding coordinate: 25.025 South bounding coordinate: 25.025 Geographic description: FCE LTER Site TS/Ph11 West bounding coordinate: -80.938 East bounding coordinate: -80.938 North bounding coordinate: 24.913 South bounding coordinate: 24.913 FCE LTER Sites: TS/Ph9, TS/Ph10 and TS/Ph11 Temporal Coverage Start Date: 2007-05-07 End Date: 2023-04-01 Data Table Entity Name: LT_PP_Collado_001.csv Entity Description: Macroalgae Biomass found in Florida Bay Quadrants Object Name: LT_PP_Collado_001.csv Data Format Number of Header Lines: 1 Attribute Orientation: column Field Delimiter: , Number of Records: Attributes Attribute Name: SITENAME Attribute Label: sitename Attribute Definition: Name of LTER site Storage Type: text Measurement Scale: Name of LTER site Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Date Attribute Label: date Attribute Definition: Collection date Storage Type: datetime Measurement Scale: Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: QuadrantNumber Attribute Label: ID number Attribute Definition: Quadrant ID Number Storage Type: Measurement Scale: Quadrant ID Number Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: DryWeight Attribute Label: dry weight Attribute Definition: Dry Weight of Macroalgae per quadrant Storage Type: data Measurement Scale: Units: gramsPerSquareMeter Precision: 0.001 Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999.000 (Value will never be recorded ) Attribute Name: CaCO3 Attribute Label: concentration Attribute Definition: Calcium Carbonate per quadrant Storage Type: data Measurement Scale: Units: gramsPerSquareMeter Precision: 0.001 Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999.000 (Value will never be recorded ) Attribute Name: Biomass Attribute Label: biomass Attribute Definition: Macroalgae biomass per quadrant Storage Type: data Measurement Scale: Units: gramsPerSquareMeter Precision: 0.001 Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999.000 (Value will never be recorded or samples in processing) Methods Sampling Description TS-Ph transect including three contrasting environments at Florida Bay is evaluated. The transect include site TS-Ph 9 located near Duck Key in oligotrophic northeastern Florida Bay; TS-Ph 10 is located near Bob Allen Keys in the oligotrophic center Florida Bay and TS-Ph 11 is located near Sprigger Bank at the western open boundary between Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. In each site 3 random quadrats are sampled. First abundance is estimated using a Braun-Blanquet index, then all calcareous green macroalgae are collected. In the lab material is cleaned and identified at the species level following taxonomic keys (Littler and Littler 2000). All material of quadrat is then left in the oven for 48 hours at 68 degrees C. Dry weight is calculated and reported. The same dry material is then burned in a furnace at 500 degrees C for 3 hours; ashes are weighted and reported as CaCO3, biomass is estimated as Dry weight minus ashes. Method Step Description In each site 3 hazard selected quadrats are sampled, abundance is estimated using Braun Blanquet Index. Then all calcareous green macroalgae are collected. In the lab samples are cleaned and species ID at species level. Samples are then dried at 68 degrees C for 48 hours. Dry samples are weighted and mass value is recorded. Dry samples are then burned in a furnace for 3 hours at 500 degrees C. Ashes are weighted and CaCO3 production is recorded. Mass minus CaCo3 is recorded as biomass value. Surveys are conducted bimonthly at three sites (TS/PH.9, 10 and 11). Instrumentation Balance, oven, furnace Quality Control data are entered by students, evaluated for trend, detecting spikes or valleys, then supervised by PI Distribution Online distribution: https://pasta.lternet.edu/package/data/eml/knb-lter-fce/1112/10/259d22e24c782c3f1d3bd80a9115580d Intellectual Rights This information is released under the Creative Commons license - Attribution - CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The consumer of these data ("Data User" herein) is required to cite it appropriately in any publication that results from its use. The Data User should realize that these data may be actively used by others for ongoing research and that coordination may be necessary to prevent duplicate publication. The Data User is urged to contact the authors of these data if any questions about methodology or results occur. Where appropriate, the Data User is encouraged to consider collaboration or co-authorship with the authors. The Data User should realize that misinterpretation of data may occur if used out of context of the original study. While substantial efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of data and associated documentation, complete accuracy of data sets cannot be guaranteed. All data are made available "as is." The Data User should be aware, however, that data are updated periodically and it is the responsibility of the Data User to check for new versions of the data. The data authors and the repository where these data were obtained shall not be liable for damages resulting from any use or misinterpretation of the data. Thank you. Dataset Keywords primary production macroalgae biomass marine freshwater FCE FCE LTER Florida Coastal Everglades LTER ecological research long-term monitoring productivity macroalgae Florida Bay CaCO3 Calcium Carbonate macroalgae production production nutrients transects processes FCE LTER Data Submission Date: 2023-10-11 Maintenance This is a long-term primary production dataset, and data collection has ended as of April 2023. This dataset replaces all previous versions of LT_PP_Collado_001 original and all previous versions (v1-v2). The FCE program is discontinuing its practice of versioning data as of March 2013. Dataset Contact Name: Ligia Collado-Vides Position: Southeast Environmental Research Center Collaborator Organization: Southeast Environmental Research Center Address: Department of Biological Sciences FIU 11200 SW 8th Street OE 167 Miami, FL 33199 USA Phone: 305-348-2274 Fax: 305-348-4096 Email: colladol@fiu.edu URL: https://marinemacroalgae.fiu.edu/ Position: Information Manager Organization: Florida Coastal Everglades LTER Address: Florida International University 11200 SW 8th Street OE 148 Miami, FL 33199 USA Email: fcelter@fiu.edu URL: http://fcelter.fiu.edu Dataset Submission Date 2023-10-11 Information Management Notes This is a long-term primary production dataset and subsequent data wil be appended. Data collection ended in April 2023.