Great Barrier Reef butterflyfish community structure: the role of shelf position and benthic community type

Coral Reefs ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 705-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Emslie ◽  
M. S. Pratchett ◽  
A. J. Cheal ◽  
K. Osborne
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenhui ZHAO ◽  
Yi HUANG ◽  
Steven T Siems ◽  
Michael J Manton

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
pp. 999 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Cvitanovic ◽  
A. S. Hoey

The removal of macroalgae by herbivores is fundamental to the long-term persistence of coral reefs. Variation in macroalgal browsing has been documented across a range of spatial scales on coral reefs; however, few studies have examined the factors that influence within-habitat rates of herbivory. The aim of the present study was to quantify herbivory on two species of Sargassum across three bays on an inshore island in the central Great Barrier Reef (GBR), and to determine whether these removal rates were related to the benthic composition or herbivorous fish communities. Removal rates of Sargassum differed significantly among bays, with removal rates in the southern bay (66.9–83.0% per 3 h) being approximately double that of the two other bays (29.2–38.5% per 3 h). The removal rates displayed a direct relationship with the benthic community structure, in particular the cover of macroalgae and live plate corals. Although it is difficult to determine whether these relationships are related to the availability of food resources or the structural complexity of the substratum, they highlight the potential influence of benthic composition on ecological processes. Quantifying and understanding the drivers of herbivory across a range of spatial scales is essential to the future management of coral reefs.


Coral Reefs ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. M. DeVantier ◽  
G. De’ath ◽  
E. Turak ◽  
T. J. Done ◽  
K. E. Fabricius

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
Paul E Kolenbrander ◽  
Patricia I Diaz ◽  
Nicholas S Jakubovics ◽  
Alexander H Rickard ◽  
Natalia I Chalmers ◽  
...  

Consider that The Great Barrier Reef is home to thousands of species of plants and animals with spatiotemporally predictable fish communities on coral reefs, and compare this with the fact that human oral bacteria develop spatiotemporally predictable dental plaque communities on enamel after each oral hygiene procedure. This reassembling of oral bacterial communities over a time interval of only a few hours offers an opportunity to investigate the role of communication in community architecture and composition.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya Fiddes ◽  
Matthew Woodhouse ◽  
Steve Utembe ◽  
Robyn Schofield ◽  
Joel Alroe ◽  
...  

Abstract. Coral reefs have been found to produce the sulfur compound dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a climatically relevant aerosol precursor predominantly associated with phytoplankton. Until recently, the role of coral reef-derived DMS within the climate system had not been quantified. A study preceding the present work found that DMS produced by corals had negligible long-term climatic forcing at the global-regional scale. However, at sub-daily time scales more typically associated with aerosol and cloud formation, the influence of coral reef-derived DMS on local aerosol radiative effects remains unquantified. The Weather Research and Forecasting – chemistry model (WRF-Chem) has been used in this work to study the role of coral reef-derived DMS at sub-daily time scales for the first time. WRF-Chem was run to coincide with an October 2016 field campaign over the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, against which the model was evaluated. After updating the DMS surface water climatology, the model reproduced DMS and sulfur concentrations well. The inclusion of coral reef-derived DMS resulted in no significant change in sulfate aerosol mass or total aerosol number. Subsequently, no direct or indirect aerosol effects were detected. The results suggest that the co-location of the Great Barrier Reef with significant anthropogenic aerosol sources along the Queensland coast prevents coral reef derived-aerosol from having a modulating influence on local aerosol burdens in the current climate.


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