Recovery of an Isolated Coral Reef System Following Severe Disturbance

Science ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 340 (6128) ◽  
pp. 69-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. Gilmour ◽  
Luke D. Smith ◽  
Andrew J. Heyward ◽  
Andrew H. Baird ◽  
Morgan S. Pratchett
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Initial Increase ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Reef System ◽  
Reef Recovery ◽  
Rates Of Growth ◽  
North Western ◽  
Severe Disturbance

Coral reef recovery from major disturbance is hypothesized to depend on the arrival of propagules from nearby undisturbed reefs. Therefore, reefs isolated by distance or current patterns are thought to be highly vulnerable to catastrophic disturbance. We found that on an isolated reef system in north Western Australia, coral cover increased from 9% to 44% within 12 years of a coral bleaching event, despite a 94% reduction in larval supply for 6 years after the bleaching. The initial increase in coral cover was the result of high rates of growth and survival of remnant colonies, followed by a rapid increase in juvenile recruitment as colonies matured. We show that isolated reefs can recover from major disturbance, and that the benefits of their isolation from chronic anthropogenic pressures can outweigh the costs of limited connectivity.

scholarly journals Seascape genomics as a new tool to empower coral reef conservation strategies: an example on north-western PacificAcropora digitifera

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Selmoni ◽  
Estelle Rochat ◽  
Gael Lecellier ◽  
Veronique Berteaux-Lecellier ◽  
Stéphane Joost
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Species ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Adaptive Potential ◽  
Reef System ◽  
Genotype Frequencies ◽  
Set Up

AbstractCoral reefs are suffering a major decline due to the environmental constraints imposed by climate change. Over the last 20 years, three major coral bleaching events occurred in concomitance of anomalous heat waves, provoking a severe loss of coral cover worldwide. The conservation strategies for preserving reefs, as they are implemented now, cannot cope with global climatic shifts. Consequently, researchers are advocating the set-up of preservation frameworks to reinforce coral adaptive potential. However, the main obstacle to this implementation is that studies on coral adaption are usually hard to generalize at the scale of a reef system.Here, we study the relationships between frequencies of genetic markers with that of environmental characteristics of the sea (seascape genomics), in combination with connectivity analysis, to investigate the adaptive potential of a flagship coral species of the Ryukyu Archipelago (Japan). By associating genotype frequencies with descriptors of historical environmental conditions, we discovered six genomic regions hosting polymorphisms that might promote resistance against thermal stress. Remarkably, annotations of genes in these regions were consistent with molecular roles associated with heat responses. Furthermore, we combined information on genetic and spatial distances between reefs to predict connectivity at a regional scale.The combination between the results of these analyses portrayed the adaptive potential of this population: we were able to identify reefs carrying potential adaptive genotypes and to understand how they disperse to neighbouring reefs. This information was summarized by objective, quantifiable, and mappable indices covering the whole region, which can be extremely useful for future prioritization of reefs in conservation planning. This framework is transferable to any coral species on any reef system, and therefore represents a valuable tool for empowering preservation efforts dedicated to the protection of coral reef in warming oceans.

scholarly journals Rapid increase in coral cover on an isolated coral reef, the Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve, north-western Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 1214 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Ceccarelli ◽  
Z. T. Richards ◽  
M. S. Pratchett ◽  
C. Cvitanovic
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Coastal Pollution ◽  
Percent Cover ◽  
Community Recovery ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
Coral Recovery ◽  
North Western

Against a background of coral reef ecosystem decline, understanding the propensity for coral communities to recover after acute disturbances is fundamental to forecasting and maintaining resilience. It may be expected that offshore reef ecosystems are less affected by anthropogenic disturbances compared with reefs closer to population centres, but that recovery may be slower on isolated reefs following disturbances. To test the hypothesis that community recovery is slow in isolated locations, we measured changes in coral cover and relative abundance of coral genera over a 4 year period (2005–09) at Ashmore Reef, north Western Australia, following severe bleaching. The percent cover of hard coral tripled, from 10.2% (±1.46 s.e.) in 2005 to 29.4% (±1.83 s.e.) in 2009 in all habitats (exposed and lagoonal) and depth zones (2–5 and 8–10 m), and the percent cover of soft corals doubled, from 4.5% (+0.63 s.e.) in 2005 to 8.3% (+1.4 s.e.) in 2009. Significant shifts in the taxonomic composition of hard corals were detected. Our results imply that coral recovery in isolated locations can occur rapidly after an initial delay in recruitment, presumably through the interacting effects of self-recruitment and reduced exposure to additive impacts such as coastal pollution.

scholarly journals Differential impacts of 2016 coral bleaching on coral reef benthic communities at Sekotong Bay, Lombok Barat, Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 570-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
IMAM BACHTIAR ◽  
TRI ARYONO HADI
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Bleaching ◽  
Soft Coral ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Coral Community ◽  
Coral Mortality ◽  
Reef Recovery ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Cascade Effects

Abstract. Bachtiar I, Hadi TA. 2019. Differential impacts of 2016 coral bleaching on coral reef benthic communities at Sekotong Bay, Lombok Barat, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 570-575. Coral bleaching has been a major causal factor of coral mortality worldwide in the last two decades and it is therefore threaten food security. Understanding post-bleaching recovery is therefore very crucial to formulate strategy in promoting natural coral reef recovery. The present study documented coral reef communities both in pre- and post-bleaching event in early 2016. The results show that coral bleaching variably reduced coral and soft-coral covers. Sponge and other fauna cover considerably fluctuated. Since the individual number of soft-coral, sponge and other fauna were small, there is likely no big impact of coral bleaching. Among 12 study sites, 11 sites showed significant reduction of coral cover but one site showed only little fluctuation. Overall mean reduction of coral cover was about 18%. Consequently, algal cover increased by about 24%. The present study revealed differential coral bleaching impact between outer- and inner- reefs. At outer reefs, coral community suffered more severe mass coral mortality than those at inner reefs. This disparity is likely owing to initial coral cover and species composition of the coral communities. In the second year, there is still no visible coral recruitment from larvae. Cascade effects of land-clearing and overfishing due to increasing tourism development is very likely to be additional major stress that pause post-bleaching coral reef recovery at Sekotong Bay, Lombok Island, Indonesia.

scholarly journals Thermal stress-related spatiotemporal variations in high-latitude coral reef benthic communities

Coral Reefs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1661-1673
Author(s):  
Nicholas P. Jones ◽  
Joana Figueiredo ◽  
David S. Gilliam
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Thermal Stress ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variations ◽  
Reef Recovery ◽  
Reef Tract

AbstractHigh-latitude coral reef communities have been postulated as the first areas to undergo reorganisation under climate change. Tropicalisation has been identified in some high-latitude communities and is predicted in others, but it is unclear how the resident benthic taxa are affected. We conducted a long-term (2007–2016) assessment of changes to benthic community cover in relation to thermal stress duration on the Southeast Florida Reef Tract (SEFRT). Thermal stress events, both hot and cold, had acute (thermal stress duration affected benthic cover that year) and chronic (thermal stress duration affected benthic cover the following year) impacts on benthic cover. Chronic heat stress was associated with declines in cover of the reef-building coral families Acroporidae, Montastraeidae, Meandrinidae, Mussidae and Siderastreidae, which coupled with the absence of cold stress and rising annual temperatures boosted macroalgae cover. Cover of smaller, weedy coral families, Poritidae, Agariciidae and Astrocoeniidae, was either unaffected or positively related to heat stress duration and rising mean temperature. Thermal stress was related to spatiotemporal variations in benthic cover on the SEFRT, likely enhanced by local stressors, such as elevated nutrients and sedimentation. Coral and octocoral cover declined within four of six sub-regions, sponge cover increased in half of the sub-regions, and macroalgae cover increased in four sub-regions during the study. Under current conditions, increased macroalgae and weedy coral cover are anticipated to inhibit reef recovery.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease at El Seco, a Mesophotic Reef System off Vieques Island, Puerto Rico

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey M. Williams ◽  
Jorge García-Sais ◽  
Jorge Sabater-Clavell
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Coral Disease ◽  
Tissue Loss ◽  
Coral Tissue ◽  
Stony Coral ◽  
Reef System ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
Mesophotic Reef

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are ecologically and functionally vital, as they are Essential Fish Habitats that function as refugia for corals and sponges of shallow-water reefs. Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is a relatively new lethal coral disease, first affecting coral reefs in Florida and has now spread through most of the Caribbean. SCTLD was observed in Puerto Rico in December 2019 in Culebra Island. Since then, SCTLD has appeared along the east coast of Puerto Rico, affecting primarily shallow reefs in San Juan, Culebra and Vieques Island, and Fajardo. During late June and July 2020, four mesophotic reef habitats were surveyed at El Seco (off Vieques Island), on the southeast coast of Puerto Rico. SCTLD was observed at colonized pavement (CPRT – 23–30 m), bank coral reef (BCR – 35–40 m), patch coral reef (PCR – 36–42 m), and rhodolith (Rhodo – 40–50 m) habitats. The mean percent substrate cover by sessile-benthic categories varied significantly between habitats (PERMANOVA, p < 0.001), with a higher mean (± SE) coral cover at BCR (26.95 ± 5.60%), followed by PCR (12.88 ± 3.88%). SCTLD was detected in all habitats, but the disease prevalence was significantly higher at BCR, ranging from 9.70 to 21.13% of colonies infected (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA, p < 0.007). Even though PCR habitats exhibited less coral cover, SCTLD prevalence was still elevated ranging from 6.66 to 15.07%. The deepest record of SCTLD at El Seco was 40.9 m. The majority (∼98%) of the corals infected with the disease were from the Orbicella complex spp. (faveolata/franksi). However, there were other infected species, such as Agaricia grahamae, A. lamarcki, Montastraea cavernosa, and Porites astreoides. As seen in the surveys conducted in 2011 and 2020, the loss of coral cover allows for the emergence of other benthic “detractors,” such as peyssonnelids, specifically Ramicrusta spp. Ramicrusta spp., an aggressive encrusting red alga known to take over available space and overgrow corals, significantly increased its substrate cover at the impacted reefs. Therefore, the severity and virulence of SCTLD will most likely have severe and long-lasting negative impacts on the coral communities at El Seco mesophotic reef system.

Coral reef condition in several dive points around Bunaken Island, North Sulawesi

2014 ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Robert Towoliu
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Live Coral ◽  
Core Zone ◽  
Integrated Management System ◽  
North Sulawesi ◽  
Live Coral Cover ◽  
Reef Condition

In order to know the coral reef conditions at several diving points around Bunaken Island, three dive locations (Ron’s point, Lekuan, and Tawara) were chosen as representative locations receiving pressures from snorkeling and SCUBA diving activities, while  core zone was representative of location for  no diving and fishing activities.  Results showed that location with diving activities had live coral cover  ranging from 16.89% to 45.78% at 3 and 10m depths, with condition range of bad to moderate, while the location for no diving and fishing activities (core zone) had live coral cover of 55.03% at 3m and 58.15% at 10m, respectively,  with good condition category.  The present study indicated that the diving activities have affected the coral reef condition, so that a sustainable integrated management system is needed to use the marine ecotourism potency without degrading the coral reef condition in Bunaken Island. Untuk mengetahui kondisi terumbu karang di beberapa lokasi penyelaman di Pulau Bunaken, tiga lokasi penyelaman(Ron’s point, Lekuan, dan Tawara) dipilih mewakili lokasi dengan tekanan aktivitas penyelaman snorkeling maupun SCUBA, sedangkan satu lokasi lainnya yaitu zona inti dipilih mewakili lokasi tanpa aktivitas penyelaman maupun aktivitas penangkapan ikan.  Hasil penelitian ini memperlihatkan bahwa lokasi dengan tekanan aktivitas penyelaman memiliki prosentase tutupan karang batu/hidup berkisar antara 16,89% - 45,78% pada kedalaman 3 dan 10m, dengan kategori kondisi terumbu karang buruk sampai cukup, sedangkan pada lokasi yang tidak memiliki aktivitas penyelaman memiliki prosentase tutupan karang batu/hidup sebesar 53,03% pada 3m dan 58,15% pada 10m dengan kategori kondisi terumbu karang adalah baik.  Hasil penelitian ini mengindikasikan bahwa aktivitas penyelaman snorkeling maupun SCUBA berdampak pada kondisi terumbu karang di Pulau Bunaken, sehingga sangat diperlukan system pengelolaan yang terpadu dan berkesinambungan dalam memanfaatkan secara maksimal potensi ekowisata bahari tanpa merusak ekosistem terumbu karang di Pulau Bunaken.

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.

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