Occurrence of aggressive mechanisms during interactions between soft corals (Octocorallia : Alcyoniidae) and other corals on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Griffith
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Soft Coral ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Soft Corals ◽  
Acanthaster Planci ◽  
Coral Reef Community ◽  
Reef Community ◽  
Coral Colony ◽  
Factors Influencing

This study found that on two reefs of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, most coral colonies within 10 cm of a soft coral colony were interacting to the detriment of one or both colonies. Soft corals were more likely to interact with neighbouring hard corals than with other soft corals. The relative infrequency of ties indicated that two coral colonies were rarely equal competitively. Allelopathy and simple overgrowth were the major aggressive mechanisms of alcyoniids. Soft corals tended to simply overgrow neighbouring hard corals but used allelochemicals more frequently when the neighbour was another soft coral. Other factors influencing the type of aggressive mechanism used included the size of the neighbouring colony. The importance of this to a coral reef community after events such as Acanthaster planci infestations is discussed.

scholarly journals Coral Reef Community Composition in the Context of Disturbance History on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. e101204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A. J. Graham ◽  
Karen M. Chong-Seng ◽  
Cindy Huchery ◽  
Fraser A. Januchowski-Hartley ◽  
Kirsty L. Nash
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Disturbance History ◽  
Coral Reef Community ◽  
Reef Community

scholarly journals Benthic and coral reef community field data for Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2002–2018

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Roelfsema ◽  
Eva M. Kovacs ◽  
Kathryn Markey ◽  
Julie Vercelloni ◽  
Alberto Rodriguez-Ramirez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Benthic Community ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Coral Reef Community ◽  
Reef Community ◽  
Composition Point

AbstractThis paper describes benthic coral reef community composition point-based field data sets derived from georeferenced photoquadrats using machine learning. Annually over a 17 year period (2002–2018), data were collected using downward-looking photoquadrats that capture an approximately 1 m2 footprint along 100 m–1500 m transect surveys distributed along the reef slope and across the reef flat of Heron Reef (28 km2), Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Benthic community composition for the photoquadrats was automatically interpreted through deep learning, following initial manual calibration of the algorithm. The resulting data sets support understanding of coral reef biology, ecology, mapping and dynamics. Similar methods to derive the benthic data have been published for seagrass habitats, however here we have adapted the methods for application to coral reef habitats, with the integration of automatic photoquadrat analysis. The approach presented is globally applicable for various submerged and benthic community ecological applications, and provides the basis for further studies at this site, regional to global comparative studies, and for the design of similar monitoring programs elsewhere.

Predation on soft corals (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
JK Griffith
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Soft Coral ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Soft Corals ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Bite Marks ◽  
First Time ◽  
Predation Rates

Quantitative evidence on predation rates on soft corals is presented for the first time. These measured predation rates were low. Less than 1% of the soft coral colonies present in mapped areas at Heron Island and Beaver Reefs had bite marks. Evidence suggests that over 51% of these bite marks were more than two months old. Predators included the mollusc Ovula ovum and two species of chaetodontid fishes that have not been recorded before as feeding on soft corals.

scholarly journals SPECIES DIVERSITY OF THE EPIBENTHOS IN A HIGHLY DISTURBED CORAL REEF COMMUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINES

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Edgardo D. Gomez
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Average Depth ◽  
Soft Corals ◽  
Coral Reef Community ◽  
Reef Community ◽  
The Poor

Baseline studies on the marine benthic communities around the proposed site of the first nuclear power plant in the Philippines have indicated a highly disturbed coral reef community. The areas studied are all subtidal, mostly starting just below the littoral and having an average depth of five meters. The study consisted in taking a census with SCUBA of the epibiota in quadrats on transects laid out perpendicular to the shoreline. Results of the sampling during the dry season indicate a predominantly algal (Padina) community of low species diversity. Many of the conspicuous components of Philippine coral reefs are either absent or are present only in small numbers, e.g., hard and soft corals, crinoids, tridacnids, and colorful serpulids. Dynamite fishing is no doubt a major factor responsible for the condition of the dead reefs. Weather and erosion of the land areas with the resulting siltation have probably contributed to the poor condition of the reef communities as well.

A MODEL OF ALLELOCHEMICAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SOFT AND SCLERACTINIAN CORALS ON THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

1993 ◽  
Vol 01 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.L. ANTONELLI ◽  
P.W. SAMMARCO ◽  
J.C. COLL
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Soft Coral ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Scleractinian Corals ◽  
Toxic Effects ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Soft Corals ◽  
Allelopathic Interactions ◽  
Community Production

The mathematical theory of Volterra-Hamilton systems developed for modelling allelopathic interactions in sessile communities, is utilized here to model cost of terpene production of colonizing soft corals and their highly toxic effects on scleractinian corals of the Great Barrier Reef. The central question asked is what strategies of hard corals, if any, would enable them to survive colonization. Several detailed results are obtained relating quantitative measures of terpene production (v), soft coral encroachment (µ), allelopathic vigour (–K) and community production stability. The model predicts that any factor which reduces soft coral encroachment (which includes direct toxic effects) has survival value. Thus, spatial shapes and distributions of scleractinians or refuge in space, in themselves, may constitute viable “cost-effective” competitive defenses. It is unlikely, however, that scleractinian corals could evolve in such a way as to specifically neutralize terpenes directly, according to this model, although their species-specifically variable resistance to their effects can be accounted for.

Management of Water Quality in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Woodley
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Management Issue ◽  
Reef System ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
World Heritage List ◽  
The World ◽  
Coral Reef System

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is recognised and appreciated worldwide as a unique environment and for this reason has been inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Reef is economically-important to Queensland and Australia, supporting substantial tourism and fishing industries. Management of the Great Barrier Reef to ensure conservation of its natural qualities in perpetuity is achieved through the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The maintenance of water quality to protect the reef and the industries which depend on it is becoming an increasingly important management issue requiring better knowledge and possibly new standards of treatment and discharge.

scholarly journals Post-bleaching mortality of a remote coral reef community in Seychelles, Western Indian Ocean

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Elena Gadoutsis ◽  
Clare A.K. Daly ◽  
Julie P. Hawkins ◽  
Ryan Daly
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Western Indian Ocean ◽  
Coral Reef Community ◽  
Reef Community

Significance of pelagic bacteria as a trophic resource in a coral reef lagoon, One Tree Island, Great Barrier Reef

1986 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. A. S. Linley ◽  
K. Koop
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Tree Island ◽  
Reef Lagoon ◽  
Trophic Resource ◽  
Coral Reef Lagoon
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