Acute Impacts of Hurricane Ian on Benthic Habitats, Water Quality, and Microbial Community Composition on the Southwest Florida Shelf

Tropical cyclones can severely disturb shallow, continental shelf ecosystems, affecting habitat structure, diversity, and ecosystem services. This study examines the impacts of Hurricane Ian on the Southwest Florida Shelf by assessing water quality, substrate type, and epibenthic and microbial community characteristics at eight sites (3 to 20 m in depth) before and after Ian’s passage in 2022. Hurricane Ian drastically changed substrate type and biotic cover, scouring away epibenthos and/or burying hard substrates in mud and sand, especially at mid depth (10 m) sites (92–98% loss). Following Hurricane Ian, the greatest losses were observed in fleshy macroalgae (58%), calcareous green algae (100%), seagrass (100%), sessile invertebrates (77%), and stony coral communities (71%), while soft coral (17%) and sponge communities (45%) were more resistant. After Ian, turbidity, chromophoric dissolved organic matter, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus increased at most sites, while total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and silica decreased. Microbial communities changed significantly post Ian, with estuary-associated taxa expanding further offshore. The results show that the shelf ecosystem is highly susceptible to disturbances from waves, deposition and erosion, and water quality changes caused by mixing and coastal discharge. More routine monitoring of this environment is necessary to understand the long-term patterns of these disturbances, their interactions, and how they influence the resilience and recovery processes of shelf ecosystems.