Establishing a Long term Monitoring Plan for Hallandale Beach, Florida Nearshore Coral Reef Habitats.

The city of Hallandale Beach, Florida adopted the “Our Local Coral Reef Protection Ordinance” in June of 2019, with plans to restore their coastline and protect the community from future storm surges. Ordinance No. 2019 1- 011 added sections 5 to 8 in Chapter 13 "Health and Sanitation" of the city of Hallandale Beach code of ordinances, which outline strategies to protect and restore the resilience of the nearshore coral reef. Complex coral reef systems bring higher biodiversity and will raise the economic value of the reef to tourism. The length of Hallandale Beach shoreline is approximately 0.80mi (4200ft). Acropora cervicornis (Staghorn coral), a critically endanger species, is said to be found ½ mile off the coast of Hallandale Beach and is an important reef-building species to be monitored. This proposal will establish a long-term monitoring plan and baseline for the nearshore coral reef based on the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocols. It will briefly outline procedures needed to accomplish the three different monitoring surveys and important indicators each SCUBA diver will be required to record. Corals are the primary builders of reef habitats and they benefit from the presence of reef fish and benthic organisms. Reef fish have different eating habits that promote positive structure changes such as, keeping turf algae in check clearing room for recruitment of polyps. Benthic promotors such as, crustose coralline algae and minimal turf algae encourage a healthy reef habitat. According to a map of Broward County, Florida reef structure created by Brain Walker, the linear reef inner begins about 0.80 mi (4200ft) and the liner reef middle ends at about 1.75mi (9240ft) from the shore. There appears to be no linear outer reef off the coast of Hallandale Beach. There is no previous baseline to compare future surveyed data or confirm presence and density of diver sighted Acropora cervicornis. Baselines are important historical data that enables the city to identify changes in the complexity of the reef structure and responses to climate change to make proactive decisions. An initial baseline of Hallandale’s reef will be made to be comparable with future monitoring data, as well as determine the effectiveness of the management plans in place. AGGRA protocols require a minimum of six divers and with the use of city vendors, equipment costs can be as low as 230 dollars. Without a coral reef, the city may face costly damages from natural disasters such as hurricanes. Coral Reefs provide protection against storm surges that without, coastal erosion would increase and leave the city without an offshore defense against high energy wave action. AGRRA protocols will be applied to create a basic level survey easily adaptable, this will provide community building and outreach opportunities through citizen science and volunteering.