scholarly journals Recruitment hotspots and bottlenecks mediate the distribution of corals on a Caribbean reef

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 20210149
Author(s):  
Peter J. Edmunds
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Population Recovery ◽  
Coral Recruitment ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Tropical Reefs ◽  
Coral Abundance ◽  
Demographic Bottleneck

Recruitment hotspots are locations where organisms are added to populations at high rates. On tropical reefs where coral abundance has declined, recruitment hotspots are important because they have the potential to promote population recovery. Around St. John, US Virgin Islands, coral recruitment at five sites revealed a hotspot that has persistent for 14 years. Recruitment created a hotspot in density of juvenile corals that was 600 m southeast of the recruitment hotspot. Neither hotspot led to increased coral cover, thus revealing the stringency of the demographic bottleneck impeding progression of recruits to adult sizes and preventing population growth. Recruitment hotspots in low-density coral populations are valuable targets for conservation and sources of corals for restoration.

scholarly journals An unusual microbiome characterises a spatially-aggressive crustose alga rapidly overgrowing shallow Caribbean reefs

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Wilson ◽  
Chen-Ming Fan ◽  
Peter J. Edmunds
Keyword(s):  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Large Subunit ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Scleractinian Corals ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Marker Genes ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Crustose Coralline Algae ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Tropical Reefs

AbstractSeveral species of crustose coralline algae (CCA) and their associated microbial biofilms play important roles in determining the settlement location of scleractinian corals on tropical reefs. In recent decades, peyssonnelid algal crusts (PAC) have become spatial dominants across large areas of shallow Caribbean reefs, where they appear to deter the recruitment of scleractinians. Our genetic investigations of PAC in St. John, US Virgin Islands, amplifying the large-subunit ribosomal RNA and psbA protein D1 marker genes, revealed them to be identical to Ramicrusta textilis previously reported overgrowing corals in Jamaica. Specimens of PAC sampled from the Honduras were likewise identical, confirming that this crustose alga inhabits the easternmost and westernmost regions of the Caribbean. We also analysed 16S rDNA tag amplicon libraries of the biofilms associated with PAC and sympatric CCA, which is favoured for coral settlement. Our results show that the microbial communities on PAC (vs. CCA) are characterized by significantly lower numbers of the epibiotic bacterial genus Pseudoalteromonas, which facilitates the recruitment and settlement of marine invertebrates. From these data, we infer that PAC are therefore unlikely to be attractive as settlement sites for coral larvae. Given the significant ecological change anticipated on these reefs due to increasing cover of PAC, there is an urgent need to further investigate competitive interactions between PAC and scleractinian corals, and elucidate the role of PAC and their associated microbiomes in accentuating phase shifts from coral to algae on tropical reefs.

Coral assemblages and physico-chemical characteristics of the Whitsunday Islands: evidence of recent community changes

1999 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 427 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. van Woesik ◽  
T. Tomascik ◽  
S. Blake
Keyword(s):  
Scleractinian Coral ◽  
Coral Species ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Coral Recruitment ◽  
Coral Abundance ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
River Mouths ◽  
Negative Relationships

Benthic communities were assessed and 22 environmental variables were monitored at seven leeward localities (L1ŒL7) in the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia. L1 was near the Proserpine and O’Connell river mouths and L7 ~80 km north of the river mouths. Distinct physico Œchemical and biological gradients were evident. Sparse scleractinian coral communities, dominated by faviids, Montipora spp. and encrusting Porites colonies, were present at L1, L2 and L3, whereas diverse reef-building communities, dominated by Acropora spp., were more common at and beyond L4. The number of coral recruits (age <6 months) did not differ significantly among localities, suggesting that coral recruitment was near random and that the environment shapes the adult community from those recruits. The study demonstrates strong negative relationships between chlorophyll a and the following: percentage coral cover, coral species richness and coral abundance. The reef-building capacities of the coral communities and the extent of Holocene reef development were inconsistent at L2 and L3, which is interpreted as a sign of anthropogenic effects.

scholarly journals Coral disease following massive bleaching in 2005 causes 60% decline in coral cover on reefs in the US Virgin Islands

Coral Reefs ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 925-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Miller ◽  
E. Muller ◽  
C. Rogers ◽  
R. Waara ◽  
A. Atkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Cover ◽  
Coral Disease ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
The Us

Seasonal changes in phytoplankton community structure in a bioluminescent lagoon, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
JL Pinckney ◽  
C Tomas ◽  
DI Greenfield ◽  
K Reale-Munroe ◽  
B Castillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Phytoplankton Community Structure ◽  
Us Virgin Islands

scholarly journals Ocular Findings and Visual Function in Children Examined during the Zika Health Brigade in the US Virgin Islands, March 2018

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
S. Grace Prakalapakorn ◽  
Lucas Bonafede ◽  
Linda Lawrence ◽  
Daniel Lattin ◽  
Nicola Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Function ◽  
Retrospective Chart Review ◽  
The United States ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Neurologic Examination ◽  
Zikv Infection ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Ocular Findings ◽  
Ocular Structure ◽  
The Us

Among children born with laboratory-confirmed Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, visual impairment (VI) can occur despite normal ocular structure. The objective of this report is to describe ocular findings and visual function among children examined during the Department of Health Zika Health Brigade (ZHB) in the United States Virgin Islands in March 2018. This analysis is based on a retrospective chart review of children eligible to participate in the ZHB (i.e., part of the US Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry) and who were examined by ophthalmologists. Eighty-eight children attended the ZHB. This report includes 81 children [48 (59.3%) males] whose charts were located [average gestational age = 37.6 weeks (range: 27.6–41.3) and average adjusted age at examination = 9.1 months (range: 0.9–21.9)]. Of those examined, 5/81 (6.2%) had microcephaly at birth, 2/81 (2.5%) had a structural eye abnormality, and 19/72 (26.4%) had VI. Among children with normal ocular structure and neurologic examination, 13/51 (25.5%) had VI. Despite a low incidence of abnormal ocular structure and microcephaly, about a quarter of children examined had VI. Our findings emphasize that ophthalmological examinations should be performed in all children with suspicion for antenatal ZIKV infection, even children with normal ocular structure and neurologic examination.

scholarly journals Asynchrony of Gambierdiscus spp. Abundance and Toxicity in the U.S. Virgin Islands: Implications for Monitoring and Management of Ciguatera

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 413
Author(s):  
Justin D. Liefer ◽  
Mindy L. Richlen ◽  
Tyler B. Smith ◽  
Jennifer L. DeBose ◽  
Yixiao Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Benthic Dinoflagellates ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The U.S

Ciguatera poisoning (CP) poses a significant threat to ecosystem services and fishery resources in coastal communities. The CP-causative ciguatoxins (CTXs) are produced by benthic dinoflagellates including Gambierdiscus and Fukuyoa spp., and enter reef food webs via grazing on macroalgal substrates. In this study, we report on a 3-year monthly time series in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands where Gambierdiscus spp. abundance and Caribbean-CTX toxicity in benthic samples were compared to key environmental factors, including temperature, salinity, nutrients, benthic cover, and physical data. We found that peak Gambierdiscus abundance occurred in summer while CTX-specific toxicity peaked in cooler months (Feb–May) when the mean water temperatures were approximately 26–28 °C. These trends were most evident at deeper offshore sites where macroalgal cover was highest year-round. Other environmental parameters were not correlated with the CTX variability observed over time. The asynchrony between Gambierdiscus spp. abundance and toxicity reflects potential differences in toxin cell quotas among Gambierdiscus species with concomitant variability in their abundances throughout the year. These results have significant implications for monitoring and management of benthic harmful algal blooms and highlights potential seasonal and highly-localized pulses in reef toxin loads that may be transferred to higher trophic levels.

scholarly journals Potential Habitat of Acropora spp. on Reefs of Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 242-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine E. Wirt ◽  
Pamela Hallock ◽  
David Palandro ◽  
Kathleen Semon Lunz
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Potential Habitat ◽  
The Us
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