Click
here to close Hello! We notice that
you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Echinobase
and may cause the site to display incorrectly. We suggest using a
current version of Chrome,
FireFox,
or Safari.
Sci Rep
2018 May 09;81:7338. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-25414-8.
Show Gene links
Show Anatomy links
Recruitment Drives Spatial Variation in Recovery Rates of Resilient Coral Reefs.
Holbrook SJ
,
Adam TC
,
Edmunds PJ
,
Schmitt RJ
,
Carpenter RC
,
Brooks AJ
,
Lenihan HS
,
Briggs CJ
.
???displayArticle.abstract???
Tropical reefs often undergo acute disturbances that result in landscape-scale loss of coral. Due to increasing threats to coral reefs from climate change and anthropogenic perturbations, it is critical to understand mechanisms that drive recovery of these ecosystems. We explored this issue on the fore reef of Moorea, French Polynesia, following a crown-of-thorns seastar outbreak and cyclone that dramatically reduced cover of coral. During the five-years following the disturbances, the rate of re-establishment of coral cover differed systematically around the triangular-shaped island; coral cover returned most rapidly at sites where the least amount of live coral remained after the disturbances. Although sites differed greatly in the rate of return of coral, all showed at least some evidence of re-assembly to their pre-disturbance community structure in terms of relative abundance of coral taxa and other benthic space holders. The primary driver of spatial variation in recovery was recruitment of sexually-produced corals; subsequent growth and survivorship were less important in shaping the spatial pattern. Our findings suggest that, although the coral community has been resilient, some areas are unlikely to attain the coral cover and taxonomic structure they had prior to the most recent disturbances before the advent of another landscape-scale perturbation.
Figure 1. Spatial variation in mean (±SE) percent cover of live coral at 10 m depth at 6 fore reef sites around Moorea (n ~ 40 quadrats year−1 site−1), showing: (1) almost complete loss of coral cover at all 6 sites, and (2) strong spatial variation in rate of return of coral cover. Map of Moorea was based on an original image (ISS006-E-39837) provided courtesy of the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center (https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov) and was modified using Adobe Photoshop Elements v14.1 and Microsoft PowerPoint 2016.
Figure 2. Spatial pattern in mean (±SE) density of coral recruits (colonies ≤3 cm diameter) at 10 m depth around Moorea based on diver surveys of 25 m2 plots. The magnitude of coral recruitment following 2010 varied sharply among sites, and the pattern mirrors the pattern of variation in recovery of live coral cover (Fig. 1). Map of Moorea was based on an original image (ISS006-E-39837) provided courtesy of the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center (https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov) and was modified using Adobe Photoshop Elements v14.1 and Microsoft PowerPoint 2016.
Figure 3. Relationship between the cumulative number of Pocillopora recruits per m2 from 2011 to 2014 and the rate of return of coral cover at 6 sites around Moorea. Line shows fit from least squares linear regression. N = 48,203 recruits observed during the time period at the six sites.
Figure 4. Variation among sites around Moorea in annual mean (±SE) survivorship (a) and mean (±SE) growth rates (b) of Pocillopora recruits. Variation in survivorship and growth did not match the spatial pattern in return of cover of live coral; these mechanisms appear insufficient to explain the observed variation among sites in return of coral.
Figure 5. Variation in coral reef community structure between 2005 and 2015, during which corallivory by COTS and Cyclone Oli depressed coral cover close to zero by 2010. Variation in community structure is shown for one site on each side of the island (LTER 1 – north shore, LTER 6 – west shore, and LTER 3 – east shore) to illustrate spatial variation in rate of recovery. (a) Mean cover (±SE, n = 36–40 quadrats) of scleractinians and Millepora at the three sites. (b–d) NMDS plots based on analysis of community structure with (b) functional groups (c) coral taxa, and (d) algal taxa. Circles are scaled to show mean cover in each year of (b) scleractinians and Millepora, (c) Pocillopora spp. and (d) turf algae. Green = first year of analysis and red = last year of analysis.
Adam,
How will coral reef fish communities respond to climate-driven disturbances? Insight from landscape-scale perturbations.
2014, Pubmed,
Echinobase
Adam,
How will coral reef fish communities respond to climate-driven disturbances? Insight from landscape-scale perturbations.
2014,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase
Adam,
Herbivory, connectivity, and ecosystem resilience: response of a coral reef to a large-scale perturbation.
2011,
Pubmed
Beldade,
Spatial patterns of self-recruitment of a coral reef fish in relation to island-scale retention mechanisms.
2016,
Pubmed
Bellwood,
Coral recovery may not herald the return of fishes on damaged coral reefs.
2012,
Pubmed
Colgan,
Coral Reef Recovery on Guam (Micronesia) After Catastrophic Predation by Acanthaster Planci.
1987,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase
Diaz-Pulido,
Doom and boom on a resilient reef: climate change, algal overgrowth and coral recovery.
2009,
Pubmed
Gaines,
Spatial variation in larval concentrations as a cause of spatial variation in settlement for the barnacle, Balanus glandula.
1985,
Pubmed
Gilmour,
Recovery of an isolated coral reef system following severe disturbance.
2013,
Pubmed
Graham,
Predicting climate-driven regime shifts versus rebound potential in coral reefs.
2015,
Pubmed
Holbrook,
Coral Reef Resilience, Tipping Points and the Strength of Herbivory.
2016,
Pubmed
Hughes,
Rising to the challenge of sustaining coral reef resilience.
2010,
Pubmed
Kayal,
Predator crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) outbreak, mass mortality of corals, and cascading effects on reef fish and benthic communities.
2012,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase
Lotze,
Recovery of marine animal populations and ecosystems.
2011,
Pubmed
Penin,
High spatial variability in coral bleaching around Moorea (French Polynesia): patterns across locations and water depths.
2007,
Pubmed
Polidoro,
Ecology. Dynamics of coral reef recovery.
2013,
Pubmed
Roff,
Global disparity in the resilience of coral reefs.
2012,
Pubmed