Colonization of a nearshore artificial reef at Boca Raton (Palm Beach County), Florida

The Boca Raton artificial reef was designed to mitigate for the burial of nearshore rock habitat resulting from beach restoration. Seasonal recruitment and community development of the reef were studied from April 1988 to July 1990. Species diversity within the fish community reached an equilibrium 2-2.5 months following reef placement. Seasonality was recorded for juvenile, intermediate and adult life history stages. Encrusting invertebrates and algae exhibited preferences for vertical and horizontal substrates, respectively, while nonencrusting invertebrates exhibited no preference for surface orientation. No conspicuous seasonal trends were evident for the encrusting or non-encrusting invertebrates, except for Watersipora sp. and Botryllus schlosseri. Equilibrium was not attained by invertebrates or algae, nor was there evidence of true ecological succession beyond the earliest stages. Instead, the reef appeared to be maintained in an early stage of development as a result of frequent physical disturbance.