Environmental data from FCE LTER Caribbean Karstic Region (CKR) study in Yucatan, Belize and Jamaica during Years 2006, 2007 and 2008

Several studies have shown that within the Florida Coastal Everglades, periphyton mat properties, (incuding biomass, nutrient and organic content, and community composition) vary predictably in response to water quality.The Florida Coastal Everglades (FCE) wetland system is very similar with respect to climate, geology, hydrology and vegetation, to wetlands found in Jamaica, the Yucatan region of Mexico and parts of Belize. This study was therefore conducted to ascertain (i) the level of similarity between the periphyton diatom communities from karstic wetland sites in Belize, Mexico, Jamaica and comparable sites within the FCE, (ii) the relationship between periphyton biomass, TP levels and diatom community composition at these sites, and (iii) the feasibility of employing diatoms as indicators of water quality at these sites, using models relating diatom community composition to water quality from comparable sites within the FCE. Multiple wetland sites in Jamaica, the Yucatan region of Mexico and parts of Belize were visited between 2006 and 2008, during wet and dry seasons. At each site physico-chemical data were collected along with periphyton samples. The periphyton samples were processed in accordance with standard methods to obtain biomass, organic content and TP measures, and to identify and enumerate diatom and soft algae species. Various aspects of the diatom communities were then compared to previously compiled data on diatom communities from various parts of the FCE. SIMI analysis was used to determine the level of similarity between the systems and Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling was used to identify relationships between diatom communities and water quality.已有多项研究表明，在佛罗里达海岸大沼泽地（Florida Coastal Everglades）内，周丛生物膜（periphyton mat）的各项属性——包括生物量、营养物质与有机质含量以及群落组成——会随水质变化呈现可预测的差异。佛罗里达海岸大沼泽地湿地系统（FCE）在气候、地质、水文与植被特征方面，与牙买加、墨西哥尤卡坦地区以及伯利兹部分区域的湿地高度相似。因此本研究旨在明确三个核心目标：其一，对比伯利兹、墨西哥、牙买加的喀斯特湿地点位与佛罗里达海岸大沼泽地内对应点位的周丛硅藻群落相似性水平；其二，探究上述点位的周丛生物膜生物量、总磷（Total Phosphorus, TP）水平与硅藻群落组成之间的关联；其三，借助佛罗里达海岸大沼泽地内对应点位的硅藻群落组成-水质关联模型，验证利用硅藻作为上述点位水质指示生物的可行性。2006年至2008年间，研究团队在雨季与旱季对牙买加、墨西哥尤卡坦地区及伯利兹部分区域的多处湿地点位开展了野外考察与采样工作。在每个点位，研究人员均采集了周丛生物膜样本与理化数据，并按照标准方法对样本进行处理：测定其生物量、有机质含量与总磷水平，同时完成硅藻与软藻类物种的鉴定与计数。随后，研究人员将硅藻群落的各项特征与此前汇编的佛罗里达海岸大沼泽地各区域硅藻群落数据进行对比分析。本研究采用SIMI分析确定各湿地系统间的相似性水平，并采用非度量多维标度（Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling, NMDS）分析硅藻群落与水质之间的关联。