Quarterdeck 3.3

Part 1
Down under . . . out yonder

Texas A&M Scientists immersed in history, protection, and research at the Flower Gardens

by Stephen R. Gittings

Also see Love on the Rocks to find out about the fascinating coral spawning phenomenon!

The Flower Garden Banks, two topographic highs in the northwest Gulf of Mexico, host the northernmost coral reefs on the North American continental shelf. To protect their unique biological characteristics and their aesthetic, ecological, commercial, and recreational value, the area (41.7 square nautical miles) was designated a National Marine Sanctuary in 1992 by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. There are twelve marine sanctuaries in U.S. waters: Stellwagen Bank, the Monitor, Gray's Reef, the Florida Keys, the Flower Garden Banks, the Olympic Coast, Cordell Bank, the Gulf of the Farallones, Monterey Bay, the Channel Islands, Fagatele Bay, and the Hawaiian Island Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuaries.

[35K] Map showing location of the Flower Gardens.

At the turn of the century, only a few long-line fishermen knew the bounties of what they called the Flower Gardens. The name for these oases 100 miles southeast of Galveston came from the colorful corals and sponges visible from the surface, pieces of which the fishermen sometimes landed, fouled on fishing hooks. The reefs appeared on nautical charts in the 1930s, but in 1950 the first detailed contour chart of the area was produced, marking the beginning of the age of exploration for the Flower Gardens. Only one Flower Gardens publication preceded 1950. Three were published in the 1950s, four in the 1960s, nearly three dozen in the 1970s, and over 50 in the 1980s.

The earliest research at the Flower Gardens focused on geology. Henry Stetson first proved the existence of corals on the salt domes that form the banks in 1953. The advent of scuba around this time stimulated diving and collecting expeditions in the 1960s, led by the late Dr. Thomas Pulley, of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. They confirmed that the banks harbored viable, growing coral reefs-the northernmost in North America.

In the 1970s more diving along with the use of submersibles and sophisticated instrumentation by Texas A&M oceanographers Drs. Tom Bright, Dick Rezak, Dave McGrail, and their many graduate students enabled detailed biological, geological, and physical examination of the banks. With increasing development of offshore oil and gas leases, the Bureau of Land Management, and later the Minerals Management Service (MMS), funded these studies through the 1970s and early 1980s.

Monitoring promotes research

The first measurements of coral cover and other important parameters now used to monitor the condition of the Flower Gardens' reefs were made in the 1970s. A formal monitoring program, much of which is still in progress, was developed later by Tom Bright in conjunction with the MMS, Continental Shelf Associates, Inc., and Mobil Oil, which was planning to drill next to the East Bank.

The results of the monitoring efforts have been gratifying. No substantial changes in coral cover, diversity, growth rates, or other indicators of health, have occurred since the first measurements in the early 1970s. In fact, the reefs of the Flower Gardens appear to be among the healthiest anywhere by all standards.

The monitoring program has enabled regular visits to the banks by scientists and made a variety of supplemental research and pilot studies possible. Coral diseases, which constitute severe threats to some of the world's reefs, are being studied at the Flower Gardens by Rob Zimmerman, of Texas A&M. Strangely, very few of the known coral diseases occur there. One malady, which we call "ridge mortality," may be unique to the Flower Gardens. Others that are prevalent elsewhere have not been observed at the Flower Gardens.

Why study diseases? As Thomas Mann put it, "The actual enemy is the unknown." Presently, the rate of incidence of coral diseases at the Flower Gardens is less than 2%. A concern is that incidence will increase if environmental conditions deteriorate. We know that diseases can kill coral colonies hundreds of years old in a matter of months. Yet because we know so little about coral disease etiology, progression, or control, we remain unprepared to deal with epidemics. It is only with understanding that an effective arsenal of management tools can be developed.

Continued . . .

URL=http://oceanography.tamu.edu/Quarterdeck/QD3.3/Gittings/gittings-a.html
Updated December 20, 1995