E. LOOE KEY REEF AREA 



Looe Key Reef has recently been described in the Looe Key Reef Resource 

 Inventory prepared by the Florida Reef Foundation and conducted by Antonius 

 in 1978. (See app. B, Site Analysis Research Methods.) According to a 

 draft fishery management plan for coral and coral reef resources prepared 

 for the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (1979), 

 Looe Key Reef: ". . .is better known scientifically than most others in 

 South Florida" because of the resource inventory. 



The inventory divides the Looe Key Reef area, from an ecological/topo- 

 graphical point of view into five zones: (See Figure 5) 



A Patch Reef area between Hawk Channel and the Looe Key 

 Reef Flat; 



The Reef Flat, triangular in shape, with the Looe Key 

 marker in the southeast corner; 



The Fore Reef, facing Florida Straits to the south 

 consisting on a spur and groove system; 



A Deep Reef area with a drop-off, southwest of 

 the Fore Reef; 



A Deep Ridge, separated from the Deep Reef by 

 an estimated 1 km of sand bottom; 



The proposed Looe Key marine sanctuary area encompasses all five zones. 



All major taxa of reef-dwelling organisms are represented on Looe Key. 

 Inventory data indicate the existence of several hundred species of marine 

 organisms, joined together in the intricate functional web of the reef eco- 

 systan. Ecological diversity on Looe Key reef manifests itself in the exis- 

 tence of distinct natural communities or associations within the reef eco- 

 system. It is apparent that exchanges of energy and information occur between 

 the various associations, and between the reef biota proper and the adjacent 

 seagrass beds. Both demersal and pelagic fishes move freely throughout the 

 entire ecosystem, and large invertebrates, such as the spiny lobster, are 

 known to travel considerable distances. 



1. Dominant Species of the Looe Key Area* 



a. Patch Reef 



A flat and relatively shallow area of about 8 m in depth stretches from 

 Hawk Channel south to the Looe Key Reef Flat. The area is dominated by a 

 mixed association of marine spermatophytes and green algae. The seagrasses 

 include: turtle grass ( Thalassia testudinum ) and manatee grass ( Syringoduim 



* See Appendix B for complete list. 



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