Disturbance Response Monitoring

On Sept. 25, the Florida Keys Aquatic Preserve, in partnership with DEP Parks officially started Disturbance Response Monitoring (DRM) surveys for the season in the Big Pine area, within the Coupon Bight Aquatic Preserve. These surveys are designed to monitor coral reef health during and after a disturbance, and each year trained divers survey corals during peak annual temperatures. Surveys are conducted from the northern extent of the reef tract in Martin County down to the Dry Tortugas. DRM is enormously valuable in that it is the largest unified monitoring program for the entire Florida’s Coral Reef. This collaborative effort is becoming increasingly important as threats to the Florida reef system continually grow.