What are the main abiotic factors that affect the Florida keys ecosystem?
Abiotic factors include all nonliving physical characteristics within an environment. Examples of abiotic factors include things such as soil type, air temperature and the amount of rainfall an area receives. The Florida Keys is an archipelago of 1,700 islands off the tip of Florida. Many abiotic factors influence the coral reefs and islands that make up the Florida Keys.HurricanesAccording to the FOSS Web, a science curriculum website, each year the chances of a hurricane hitting the Florida Keys is between 13 to 16 percent. These violent storms can damage coral reef systems through high winds and large waves. The most serious damage a hurricane does is through stirring up sediment which then reduces the amount of light that can filter through the water column. Sediment may also settle on coral polyps and smother the coral to death.CurrentsMany of the coral reefs located in the Florida Keys are temperature tolerant of water temperature. These reefs survive because of the current present within the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys. Currents that are present include the Loop Current and the Florida Current, which merge with the Gulf Stream. These currents bring warm water up from South America, the Caribbean and the Florida Bay.SunlightThe Florida Keys receives fairly direct sunlight since it is closer to the equator than most of the rest of the United States. This direct sunlight can penetrate down into the water column to up to 80 meters, or 260 feet, and is known as the photic zone. Coral reefs can only survive in photic zones.Water QualityWater quality is the description of the condition of the water, according to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Water quality conditions include the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water. The water in the Florida Keys is clean and low in nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus. The water quality is affected when pollution and contamination, such as run-off from land or sewage, enters the water. This change can harm native corals and seagrasses because other species of animals and plants enter the ecosystem. These plants and animals can force out the corals and seagrasses from the area.