Noise pollution on coral reefs? — A yet underestimated threat to coral reef communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 112129
Author(s):  
Christine Ferrier-Pagès ◽  
Miguel C. Leal ◽  
Ricardo Calado ◽  
Dominik W. Schmid ◽  
Frédéric Bertucci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Reef Communities ◽  
Coral Reef Communities

scholarly journals Four-year monthly sediment deposition on turbid southwestern Atlantic coral reefs, with a comparison of benthic assemblages

2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clovis Barreira e Castro ◽  
Bárbara Segal ◽  
Fábio Negrão ◽  
Emiliano Nicolas Calderon
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Sediment Deposition ◽  
Southwestern Atlantic ◽  
Benthic Assemblages ◽  
Deposition Rates ◽  
Reef Communities ◽  
High Sedimentation ◽  
Coral Reef Communities

High sedimentation is often related to stress in coral reef communities. Most southwestern Atlantic reefs are characterized by high sedimentation. However, there are no temporal series of sediment deposition rates. We evaluated sediment deposition, the sediment carbonate composition and coral and zoanthid covers on six reefs in Brazil over four-years. Sediment deposition rates varied from near zero to 233 mg cm-2 day-1, with peaks between August and December, and yearly averages ranging from nine to 104 mg cm-2 day-1. Deposition rates presented site-specific correlations with wind, indicating that resuspension must be a major factor. The presence of carbonates varied from 38% to 90%, with two sites showing seasonal differences. Benthic communities were fairly similar among sites, but the analyses suggested particular frequencies at each site. There was no significant correlation between sediment and benthic communities. However, Palythoa caribaeorum usually occur in high sediment deposition areas. Our results did not corroborate previous data that suggested that a 10 mg cm-2 day-1 would be a "critical limit for coral survival". Some coral reefs may be associated with high sedimentation environments including carbonatic fractions, but which does not per se hinder the development of southwestern Atlantic coral reef communities.

Dimethylated sulfur compounds in coral-reef ecosystems

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Deschaseaux ◽  
Graham Jones ◽  
Hilton Swan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Sulfur Compounds ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Reef Communities ◽  
Coral Reef Ecosystems ◽  
Coral Reef Communities

Environmental contextDimethylated sulfur compounds can exert multiple biological and environmental effects including climate regulation. Climate change and other anthropogenic factors are predicted to affect coral-reef ecosystems where these sulfur compounds are particularly abundant. We review the processes that regulate the production of dimethylated sulfur compounds in coral reefs and the potential consequences of environmental changes on their biogenic cycle in such fragile ecosystems under future climate change scenarios. AbstractDimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and its main breakdown products dimethylsulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) are biogenic species in the marine environment. In coral reefs, these dimethylated sulfur compounds (DSCs) have been reported at greater concentrations than in other marine ecosystems, which is most likely attributable to the extraordinary large biodiversity of coral reef communities (e.g. corals, macroalgae, coralline algae, invertebrates) and to the unique ability of zooxanthellate corals to synthesise DMSP from both the animal host and algal symbionts. Besides the various biological functions that have been attributed to DSCs, including thermoregulation, osmoregulation, chemoattraction and antioxidant response, DMS is suspected to take part in a climate feedback loop that could help counteract global warming. Nowadays, anthropogenic effects such as pollution, overfishing, increased sedimentation and global climate change are imminently threatening the health of coral reef communities around the world, with possible consequences on the natural cycle of DSCs within these ecosystems. This review provides insight into the biogeochemistry of DSCs in coral reefs and discusses the implications of projected changes in DSC production in these increasingly stressed ecosystems under future climate change scenarios. It shows that DSC dynamics will incontestably be affected in the near future, with possible feedback consequences on local climate.

North-south gradient of incidence, distribution and variations of coral reef communities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Marimuthu ◽  
J. S. Yogesh Kumar ◽  
C. Raghunathan ◽  
N. V. Vinithkumar ◽  
R. Kirubagaran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Andaman And Nicobar Islands ◽  
Reef Communities ◽  
Nicobar Islands ◽  
Coral Reef Communities

Detection of changes in coral reef communities using Landsat-5 TM and Landsat-7 ETM+ data

2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Palandro ◽  
Serge Andréfouët ◽  
Frank E Muller-Karger ◽  
Phillip Dustan ◽  
Chuanmin Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Reef Communities ◽  
Landsat 7 ◽  
Landsat 5 Tm ◽  
Coral Reef Communities

scholarly journals Measuring Sound at a Cold-Water Coral Reef to Assess the Impact of COVID-19 on Noise Pollution

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence H. De Clippele ◽  
Denise Risch
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Level Height ◽  
Water Coral

This study compares the noise levels at the cold-water coral Tisler reef, before and after the closure of the border between Norway and Sweden, which occurred as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tisler reef is a marine protected area located under a ferry “highway” that connects Norway and Sweden. Cold-water coral reefs are recognised as being important hotspots of both biodiversity and biomass, they function as breeding and nursing grounds for commercially important fish and are essential in providing ecosystem functions. Whilst studies have shown that fishery, ocean warming, and acidification threaten them, the effects of noise pollution on cold-water coral reefs remains unstudied. To study the severity of noise pollution at the Tisler reef, a long-term acoustic recorder was deployed from 29 January 2020 until 26 May 2020. From 15 March COVID-19 lockdown measures stopped passenger vessel traffic between Norway and Sweden. This study found that the overall noise levels were significantly lower after border closure, due to reduced ferry traffic, wind speeds, and sea level height. When comparing the median hourly noise levels of before vs. after border closure, this study measured a significant reduction in the 63–125 Hz 1/3 octave band noise levels of 8.94 ± 0.88 (MAD) dB during the day (07:00:00–19:59:59) and 1.94 ± 0.11 (MAD) dB during the night (20:00:00–06:59:59). Since there was no ferry traffic during the night, the drop in noise levels at night was likely driven by seasonal changes, i.e., the reduction in wind speed and sea level height when transitioning from winter to spring. Taking into account this seasonal effect, it can be deduced that the COVID-19 border closure reduced the noise levels in the 63–125 Hz 1/3 octave bands at the Tisler reef by 7.0 ± 0.99 (MAD) dB during the day. While the contribution of, and changes in biological, weather-related and geophysical sound sources remain to be assessed in more detail, understanding the extent of anthropogenic noise pollution at the Tisler cold-water coral reef is critical to guide effective management to ensure the long-term health and conservation of its ecosystem functions.

scholarly journals Experimental reef communities persist under future ocean acidification and warming

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Jury ◽  
Keisha Bahr ◽  
Evan Barba ◽  
Russell Brainard ◽  
Annick Cros ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Functional State ◽  
Reef Communities ◽  
Paris Climate Agreement

Abstract Coral reefs are among the most sensitive ecosystems affected by ocean acidification and warming, and are predicted to shift from net accreting calcifier-dominated systems to net eroding algal-dominated systems over the coming decades. Here we present a long-term experimental study examining the responses of entire mesocosm coral reef communities to acidification (-0.2 pH units), warming (+ 2°C), and combined future ocean (-0.2 pH, + 2°C) treatments. We show that under future ocean conditions, net calcification rates declined yet remained positive, corals showed reduced abundance yet were not extirpated, and community composition shifted while species richness was maintained. Our results suggest that under Paris Climate Agreement targets, coral reefs could persist in an altered functional state rather than collapse.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document