Over three decades, a classic winner starts to lose in a Caribbean coral community

AbstractThere is a consensus that Caribbean coral reefs are a pale shadow of what they once were, yet a reef’s pre-human state is typically assumed or estimated using space-for-time substitution approaches. These approaches may fail to account for past variation before human impact which could mislead conservation priorities and actions. In this study we use a suite of fossilised mid-Holocene (7.2-5.6 ka) fringing reefs in Caribbean Panama to define the Historical Range of Variation (HRV) in coral community structure before human-impact to provide context for the states of modern reefs in the same area. Using the abundances of coral taxa to quantify communities, we found that most of the modern coral communities exist in novel ecosystem states with no fossil precedence. We do however identify one modern reef that is indistinguishable in coral community structure from the mid-Holocene reefs. Reef-matrix cores show that the community on this reef has remained in a stable state for over 760 years, suggesting long-term resistance to the region-wide shift to novel states. Without historical context this robust and stable reef would be overlooked since it does not fulfil expectations of what a “pristine” coral reef should look like. This example illustrates how defining past variation using the fossil record can place modern degradation in historical context and improve conservation recommendations.

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Early Miocene shallow-water corals from La Guajira, Colombia: part I, Acroporidae–Montastraeidae

Journal of Paleontology ◽

10.1017/jpa.2018.45 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 93 (1) ◽

pp. 1-24 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Paola Flórez ◽

Paula Zapata-Ramírez ◽

James S. Klaus

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Shallow Water ◽

Coral Community ◽

Shallow Waters ◽

Remote Region ◽

Southern Caribbean ◽

Caribbean Coral ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Montastraea Cavernosa ◽

First Time

AbstractWe document for the first time Miocene corals from the Siamaná and Jimol formations of the Cocinetas Basin in La Guajira Peninsula, northern Colombia. This is the first of two contributions dedicated to the description and detailed illustration of morphospecies collected during two scientific expeditions (2011, 2014) to the remote region. Here we report coral morphospecies attributed to the families Acroporidae, Agathiphylliidae, Astrocoeniidae, Caryophylliidae, Diploastraeidae, Merulinidae, and Montastraeidae. Eighteen species belonging to these seven families, included in nine genera, are described. Fifteen species are assigned to established taxa, while three remain in open nomenclature. Of the species identified, onlyMontastraea cavernosa(Linnaeus, 1767) exists today. The coral taxa described are typical of the Oligocene–Miocene transition and were important components of shallow-water reefs in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region during this period. The occurrence ofAgathiphylliaspp.,Antiguastrea, andDiploastreaspp. confirms the presence of these genera in the Miocene of the Southern Caribbean. Coral assemblages suggest that the La Guajira coral community thrived in calm and shallow waters.

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Patterns of coral community structure of subtropical reefs in the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve, Eastern Australia

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps111067 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 111 ◽

pp. 67-76

Author(s):

VJ Harriott ◽

SDA Smith ◽

PL Harrison

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Marine Reserve ◽

Coral Community ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Subtropical Reefs

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Regionally isolated populations of an imperiled Caribbean coral, Acropora palmata.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1028348.337153 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

John Pandolfi

Keyword(s):

Acropora Palmata ◽

Isolated Populations ◽

Caribbean Coral

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Thresholds and the resilience of Caribbean coral reefs.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1095900.550848 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Frédéric Guichard

Keyword(s):

Coral Reefs ◽

Caribbean Coral ◽

Caribbean Coral Reefs

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Geographic differences in vertical connectivity in the Caribbean coral Montastraea cavernosa despite high levels of horizontal connectivity at shallow depths.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.718499739.793499413 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew Baird ◽

Joana Figueiredo

Keyword(s):

Caribbean Coral ◽

Geographic Differences ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Montastraea Cavernosa

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Coverage Increases of Porites astreoides in Grenada Determined by Shifts in Size-Frequency Distribution

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13070288 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 288

Author(s):

Ryan G. Eagleson ◽

John S. Lumsden ◽

Lorenzo Álvarez-Filip ◽

Christophe M. Herbinger ◽

Ryan A. Horricks

Keyword(s):

Coral Community ◽

Scleractinian Corals ◽

Area Measurement ◽

Coralline Algae ◽

Measurement Tool ◽

Size Frequency Distribution ◽

Point Count ◽

Porites Astreoides ◽

The Mean ◽

The Caribbean

Despite coral community collapse, the mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides) is a species currently experiencing success throughout the Caribbean. The inshore reefs of Grenada were selected to study the influence of benthic factors on the abundance, size, and coverage of P. astreoides colonies. Surveys of reef communities along established 30 m transects were conducted at eight sites in 2014 and 2017 using a 0.5 m² quadrat. Coral Point Count was used to annotate the images, estimating the coverage of scleractinian corals, sponges, algae, and benthic substrates. Coverage, size, and abundance of P. astreoides colonies were quantified using the area measurement tool in ImageJ standardized against the quadrats. There were significant differences in benthic community assemblages between islands, selected sites, and between years. From 2014 to 2017 there was a significant decrease in the mean abundance of P. astreoides colonies and significant increases in mean colony size and coverage. The presence of P. astreoides colonies was significantly correlated with: rubble (−), sand (−); pavement (+); macroalgae (−); coralline algae (+); sponges (varying response); gorgonians (−); massive corals (+); and branching corals (−). P. astreoides follows similar recruitment patterns as other scleractinian corals. Observed changes in P. astreoides populations appear to indicate a recovery event following a disturbance, potentially tropical storm Chantal in 2013.

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