Hardbottom Sessile Macroinvertebrate Communities of the Apalachee Bay Region of Florida's Northeastern Gulf of Mexico

Hardbottom habitats in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico provide a variety of valuable ecological goods and services including functioning as nursery habitats and providing refuge for resident organisms. In this study, I identified the sessile macroinvertebrate (sponges, tunicates, corals, and byrozoans) species found on shallow hardbottom habitats in the Apalachee Bay and compared the sponges I identified with sponges in historical inventories of species occurring in the same region. Additionally, I investigated the spatial distributions of sessile macroinvertebrate communities across depth and environmental characteristics (salinity, temperature) and communicated the value of these communities to local stakeholders through educational posters and a photographic inventory website. Sponges were by far the most species rich and accounted for the greatest percent cover with the highest cover of all the macroinvertebrates. Ten species were found to be most prominent and were highly correlated with depth zones. Prominent sponge species were found at mid and deep sites, while 2 of the 3 prominent corals were found at shallower sites. Understanding the ecology of benthic communities is important to ensure their continued persistence of functional ecosystems as these communities are facing environmental hazards, such as oil spills, sea level rise, and habitat destruction.