2006 final report of the Sarasota and Tampa Bay artificial reef evaluation of the influence of reef number and artificial habitat on fish colonization.

Abstract

In March of 2006 a multiyear project was initiated to monitor the colonization of artificial reef habitats by finfish and invertebrate populations in Sarasota Bay and Tampa Bay, Florida. Five artificial reef systems located in southeastern Tampa Bay and central Sarasota Bay were used to evaluate the effect of artificial reef location and number on colonization. Seasonal surveys were conducted on each of the systems to assess temporal effects on colonization. The Bulkheads(BH) and Southeast Tampa Bay (SETB) reef systems are located in Tampa Bay, Whale Key (WK), Bayshore North (BSN), and Bayshore South (BSS) reef systems are located in Sarasota Bay. The ultimate goal of this project was to attempt to define the effect of artificial reef size and placement on species assemblages within Sarasota and Tampa Bays. This report summarizes the results of 320 survey dives conducted from March 2006 - March 2007.