scholarly journals Analysis On Ecological Characteristics of Mississippian Coral Reefs in Langping, Guangxi

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dayong Yang ◽  
Honglun Chang ◽  
Xiao Liu ◽  
Peng Wan ◽  
Liming Shen
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
Hydrodynamic Conditions ◽  
Reef Development ◽  
Ecological Characteristics ◽  
Reef Communities ◽  
Coral Morphology ◽  
Building Environment

Abstract Several Late Viséan-Serpukhovian coral reefs were identified in Langping, Tianlin. To further understand of environment that was suitable for the development of reef-building communities and the construction of coral reefs in Langping, in this paper, part of the reef-building environmental and the ecological characteristics of coral reefs then were recovered by analyzing the development settings, palaeogeography, sedimentation of reefs, the response to hydrodynamic conditions of reef-building corals, effects of disturbance and non-reef-building organism on reef communities, and the influence of coral morphology on reef development. The sedimentary environment of Langping in Late Viséan-Serpukhovian is considered to be suitable for the development of benthic communities. The current appearance of reefs is determined by both coral populations ecological characteristics and reef-building environment.

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.

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.

6. Reef fish and other major predators

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Reef Fish ◽  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Symbiotic Relationships ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Reef Communities

Healthy reefs provide a habitat for an immense number of fish that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours. No other natural habitat in the ocean shows this diversity and abundance. About a quarter of all marine species may be found on coral reefs even though this habitat occupies only one or two per cent of the area of the earth. ‘Reef fish and other major predators’ describes the diverse feeding ecology of reef fishes; coral reef predators such as the colourful crown of thorns starfish, Acanthaster plancii; symbiotic relationships between different species of fish or with different invertebrates; and the dangers of overfishing in reef communities.

scholarly journals Ocean acidification accelerates dissolution of experimental coral reef communities

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Comeau ◽  
R. C. Carpenter ◽  
C. A. Lantz ◽  
P. J. Edmunds
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
High Pco2 ◽  
Back Reef ◽  
Percentage Cover ◽  
Tropical Coral ◽  
Reef Communities ◽  
Coral Reef Communities

Abstract. Ocean acidification (OA) poses a severe threat to tropical coral reefs, yet much of what is know about these effects comes from individual corals and algae incubated in isolation under high pCO2. Studies of similar effects on coral reef communities are scarce. To investigate the response of coral reef communities to OA, we used large outdoor flumes in which communities composed of calcified algae, corals, and sediment were combined to match the percentage cover of benthic communities in the shallow back reef of Moorea, French Polynesia. Reef communities in the flumes were exposed to ambient (~ 400 μatm) and high pCO2 (~ 1300 μatm) for 8 weeks, and calcification rates measured for the constructed communities including the sediments. Community calcification was reduced by 59% under high pCO2, with sediment dissolution explaining ~ 50% of this decrease; net calcification of corals and calcified algae remained positive but was reduced by 29% under elevated pCO2. These results show that, despite the capacity of coral reef calcifiers to maintain positive net accretion of calcium carbonate under OA conditions, reef communities might transition to net dissolution as pCO2 increases, particularly at night, due to enhanced sediment dissolution.

scholarly journals Poorly cemented coral reefs of the eastern tropical Pacific: Possible insights into reef development in a high-CO2 world

2008 ◽  
Vol 105 (30) ◽  
pp. 10450-10455 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. Manzello ◽  
J. A. Kleypas ◽  
D. A. Budd ◽  
C. M. Eakin ◽  
P. W. Glynn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Eastern Tropical Pacific ◽  
High Co2 ◽  
Reef Development

scholarly journals Impacts of bottom trawling on benthic trophic status and meiofauna in a deep-sea sedimentary environment (Gulf of Castellammare, southwestern Mediterranean Sea)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Pusceddu ◽  
Sarah Paradis ◽  
Davide Moccia ◽  
Pere Puig ◽  
Pere Masque ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Biochemical Composition ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Organic Detritus ◽  
Bottom Trawling ◽  
Sedimentary Environments ◽  
The Impact

<p>The impacts of bottom trawling on the structure of benthic communities can be relatively non-selective, hitting biodiversity as a whole. This holds true also in the deep sea, where the impacts of trawling can be more severe and long-lasting than in shallow-waters, due to the reduced capacity for recovery and greater vulnerability of deep-sea organisms. For years, our knowledge of the impact of trawling on deep-water ecosystems has remained limited and has focused mainly on fish stocks and hard bottom systems. More recently, a number of studies have addressed the impacts of bottom trawling in the deep-sea sedimentary environments, and very few of them have focused on the impacts on meiofauna, though it is a key faunal component of deep-sea ecosystems.</p><p>We investigated the impact of bottom trawling on the quantity, biochemical composition and nutritional value of sedimentary organic matter and meiofauna along the Sicilian Margin (Gulf of Castellammare, southwestern Mediterranean) at ca. 550 m depth, during the summer of 2016. Amount, biochemical composition and freshness of sedimentary OM, as well as the abundance and community composition of meiofauna were determined in sediment cores taken at both trawled and untrawled grounds. The continuous erosive processes in the trawled site have led, generally, to the depletion of OM contents (20-60% lower than those in the untrawled site), as well as to statistically significant differences from the untrawled site in its biochemical composition. Nevertheless, the upper 2 cm of the trawled site consisted of recently accumulated sediments, enriched in phytopigments, and bulk OM contents similar to those in the untrawled one, interpreted as a very recent input of fresh OM from the upper water column. The abundance of meiofauna in trawled grounds was significantly higher than that in untrawled ones, whereas no differences were observed between trawled and untrawled grounds deeper in the sediment. Differences in the meiofaunal community composition among sediment layers in each site were larger than those among sites.</p><p>As previously reported, deep bottom trawling in the Gulf of Castellammare erodes large volumes of sediment, exposing old compacted sediment that is depleted in OM. This erosive action generally prevents the accumulation of fresh sediment. However, the episodic short-lived deposition of fresh organic detritus between hauls can lead to a temporary accumulation of fresh and bioavailable OM which, in turn, can induce a positive response in meiofauna abundance.</p><p>These results pinpoint the need of considering the impacts of bottom trawling on the benthic communities of deep-sea sedimentary environments at temporal scales shorter than previously done.</p>

scholarly journals Benthic communities at two remote Pacific coral reefs: effects of reef habitat, depth, and wave energy gradients on spatial patterns

PeerJ ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. e81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gareth J. Williams ◽  
Jennifer E. Smith ◽  
Eric J. Conklin ◽  
Jamison M. Gove ◽  
Enric Sala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Wave Energy ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Reef Habitat ◽  
Habitat Depth

scholarly journals Integrating Oceanographic Data and Benthic Community Structure Temporal Series to Assess the Dynamics of a Marginal Reef

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Biscaia Zamoner ◽  
Anaide Wrublevski Aued ◽  
Luis Carlos Pinto Macedo-Soares ◽  
Vitor André Passos Picolotto ◽  
Carlos Alberto Eiras Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Wave Energy ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Oceanic Islands ◽  
Brazilian Province

Reefs are the richest marine ecosystems. Their benthic communities generate structural complexity and participate in nutrient cycles, providing habitat and food for many marine species. These ecosystems have been threatened by local and global anthropogenic impacts and changes in community structure have led to loss of biodiversity, ecosystem function and services worldwide. Most studies about these structural changes have been conducted in Caribbean and Indo-Pacific coral reefs. In the Southwestern Atlantic, where reefs are naturally algae-dominated, these efforts are incipient, especially at oceanic islands where local anthropic impacts tend to be lower, and natural and climate-induced fluctuations might be easily detected. We conducted the first temporal assessment of benthic communities and the influence of oceanographic parameters between 2013 and 2019 in Fernando de Noronha (FNA), the largest Brazilian oceanic archipelago. We annually sampled benthic communities in FNA’s shallow reefs (2–21 m) using photoquadrats, quantified and gathered organisms in major groups according to their functional roles. We also characterized and tested “sea surface temperature,” “marine heatwaves,” “diffuse attenuation coefficient,” and “wave energy” influence for the same period. The most abundant groups were epilithic algal matrix (EAM; mean annual coverage: 23–60%), macroalgae (15–35%) and calcifiers (15–29%), followed by cyanobacteria (1–37%), suspension/filter-feeders (<2%), zoanthids (<1%) and other invertebrates (<0.1%). EAM was negatively correlated with “marine heatwaves” and positively correlated with “wave energy,” while macroalgae and calcifiers showed opposite responses to “marine heatwaves” and “wave energy,” respectively. Cyanobacteria was positively correlated with “marine heatwaves.” The dominance of EAM and macroalgae was already described for reefs along the Brazilian Province and we demonstrated the persistence of this structure over the years in FNA, with the exception of 2019 when there was a substantial increase of cyanobacteria after a strong marine heatwave. Our results suggest a flickering dynamic between EAM and macroalgae, which vary according to the oceanographic conditions, reinforcing its distinct dynamics from most tropical coral reefs. However, the increase of cyanobacteria added to projections of more frequent and stronger marine heatwaves worldwide indicate possible structural changes in this community. Continued monitoring of community and oceanographic drivers is key for better understanding and predicting changes in important marginal reefs.

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