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.

多项研究表明，在佛罗里达滨海大沼泽地（Florida Coastal Everglades, FCE）中，周丛生物垫（periphyton mat）的各项属性——包括生物量、营养与有机质含量以及群落组成——会随水质变化呈现出可预测的差异。该佛罗里达滨海大沼泽地湿地系统在气候、地质、水文与植被特征上，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。因此本研究旨在达成三个目标：其一，明确伯利兹、墨西哥、牙买加的喀斯特湿地点位与FCE内对应点位的周丛生物硅藻群落之间的相似程度；其二，阐明上述点位中周丛生物生物量、总磷（Total Phosphorus, TP）水平与硅藻群落组成之间的关联；其三，借助基于FCE内对应点位建立的“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，研究团队于雨季与旱季两个时段，对牙买加、墨西哥尤卡坦地区以及伯利兹部分区域的多处湿地点位开展了实地考察。在每个采样点位，研究人员同步采集了物理化学数据与周丛生物样本。研究人员按照标准方法对周丛生物样本进行处理，以获取生物量、有机质含量与TP水平的检测数据，并完成硅藻与软藻类物种的鉴定与计数。随后，研究人员将本次研究得到的硅藻群落各项特征，与此前已整理的FCE不同区域的硅藻群落数据进行对比分析。本研究采用相似性指数分析（SIMI）来确定各湿地系统间的相似程度，并通过非度量多维标度（Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling, NMDS）分析来揭示硅藻群落与水质之间的关联。