Diversity and Evolution of Octocoral Animal Forests at Both Sides of Tropical America

Sánchez, Juan A.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-21012-4_39

Cited by 20 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 142 publications

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“…These values are consistent with previous studies reporting similar ranges (2.95-20.6 ind m −2 ) for octocoral densities recently estimated in the Caribbean (Privitera-Johnson et al, 2015), except for station 17 in Roncador that showed unusually higher density than those previously reported (68.5 ind m −2 ). Interestingly, Roncador mid-water reefs showed higher mean octocoral densities (see Supplementary Table 4) than those reported in many Caribbean regions (Etnoyer et al, 2010;Sánchez, 2016) and those (9 ind m −2 ) reported for SE Sulawesi assemblages (Rowley, 2018). It is widely known that habitat complexity significantly affects the assembly of benthic communities (Sánchez et al, 1997a) and in this study we see a dramatic decrease in habitat complexity through the measured rugosity index.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

“…This is a striking pattern because if hard coral cover continues to decrease and octocorals increase, or at least remain constant; it means that their relative abundance in the community increases as well, and such trend could dominate the community in a hypothetical phase shift scenario altering the functional and trophic structure of the reef community (Norström et al, 2009;Lenz et al, 2015). These growing gorgonian assemblages can also change in composition due to the relative abundance of associate predators (e.g., Cyphoma) or species susceptibility to diseases (Sánchez, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This rare coral patch formation composed mostly of Orbicella (instead of Acropora in the Indo-Pacific) species (O. annularis, O. faveolata and O. franksi) with some colonies attaining large sizes (Diaz et al, 1996a;Foster et al, 2013). This habitat includes a different community of benthic organisms and fish compared to the deepest, most exposed external environments of the atolls and barrier reefs of the area (Sánchez et al, 1997a;Díaz-Pulido et al, 2004;Velásquez and Sánchez, 2015;Sánchez, 2016;Gonzalez-Zapata et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Steady Decline of Corals and Other Benthic Organisms in the SeaFlower Biosphere Reserve (Southwestern Caribbean)

et al. 2019

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Coral reef decline persists as a global issue with ties to climate change and human footprint. The SeaFlower Biosphere reserve includes some of the most isolated oceanic coral reefs in the Southwestern Caribbean, which provide natural experiments to test global and/or basin-wide factors affecting coral reefs. In this study, we compared coral and other substrate cover (algae, cyanobacteria, and octocorals), along population densities of keystone urchin species from two atolls (Serrana and Roncador Banks), during 1995, 2003, and 2015/2016. We also surveyed benthic foraminifera as a water quality proxy for coral growth in the last period. A steady reduction in coral cover was clearly observed at Roncador's lagoon, but not at Serrana's reefs, with significant differences between 1995 and 2015/2016. Percent cover of fleshy algae decreased significantly also at Roncador between 1995 and 2003 but did not change notably from 1995 to 2016 at Serrana. However, both Banks exhibited a loss in crustose coralline algae from 2003 to 2015/2016. Likewise, a reduction in bottom complexity, measured as bottom rugosity, was evident between 1995 and 2003. Roncador Bank had unprecedented high octocoral densities, which increased almost threefold from 2003 to 2015. In contrast, urchin densities were low in Roncador; only Diadema antillarum increased from 2003 to 2016 in Serrana Bank. The Foraminifera in Reef Assessment and Monitoring (FORAM) Index (FI) in the two Banks was below the range expected for healthy coral reefs. Although both Banks follow a reduction in CCA and CA cover, Roncador Bank also faces an alarming decline in coral cover, urchins and bottom complexity (rugosity) in contrast to increases in octocoral densities and potential loss of resilience and eutrophication suggested by the FI index. These unexpected findings led us to consider and discuss potential outcomes, where these reefs deteriorate (i.e., erode and drown) providing ideal conditions for octocoral growth. Hence, it is of utmost urgency to start monitoring reef budgets, octocorals and nutrient sources.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Steady Decline of Corals and Other Benthic Organisms in the SeaFlower Biosphere Reserve (Southwestern Caribbean)

et al. 2019

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“…With little demographic information for most Carib bean octocorals, it is difficult to select potential mechanisms regulating their population size in an a priori fashion. One relatively new domain of reasoning that might facilitate this selection is the parallel that has been drawn between marine animal forests and terrestrial forests (Rossi et al 2017), and the inference that assemblages of arborescent octocorals are animal forests (Rossi et al 2017, Sanchez 2017. Multiple features support this inference, but the most striking involve the common creation of 3-dimensional frameworks with high structural complexity and the capacity to provide shelter to multiple species (Rossi et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation of population size of arborescent octocorals on shallow Caribbean reefs

Edmunds¹,

Lasker²

2019

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The coral reef crisis is defined by declining cover of scleractinians, but on Caribbean reefs it also is associated with increasing abundances of octocorals. The demographic causes of these increases are not understood, but parallels between marine 'forests' of octocorals, and terrestrial forests of trees (e.g. formation of a 3-dimensional framework providing habitat), suggests that insights into causation might be found by comparing the 2 types of forest. This study describes communities of octocorals in St. John, US Virgin Islands, and evaluates their dynamics for goodness of fit to a construct reflecting 2 processes structuring terrestrial forests: self-thinning and density-dependent recruitment. Octocorals (> 5 cm tall) were censused on 6 reefs (7−9 m depth) from 2014−2017, thus revealing differences among years in their density and height. At 5 sites, this variation was inconsistent with selfthinning, but at the 6th, there was a trend for densities to decline and height to increase, with these effects largely attributed to Eunicea spp.; this pattern is consistent with several processes, one of which is self-thinning. For recruits (≤5 cm tall), densities differed among sites and times, but neither density nor per capita recruitment were density-dependent. For Eunicea spp., the recruit density was positively associated with adult density in 2014, and per capita recruitment was inversely related to adult density in 3 of 4 years. These results highlight the challenges of inferring that common mechanisms structure animal and plant forests, and they underscore the complexity of processes contributing to the recent population growths of Caribbean octocorals.

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“…A noteworthy observation was the presence of Ostreobium at the basal portion of T. riisei cup-corals. The lower mesophotic reef is also the habitat of many unique black corals (e.g., Rhipidipathes colombiana and Tanacetipathes hirta) and hydrocorals (Stylaster duchassaingi) but the most abundant group are azoxanthellate octocorals mostly from the Plexauridae family (Sánchez, 2017;Sánchez et al, 2019a). The species replacement is enhanced by short terraces intertwined with abrupt steps at every 10 m starting at 60, 90, 100, and 115 m, at "Trampa Tortuga" reef in San Andrés Island.…”

Section: Dataset Outcomes and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corals in the Mesophotic Zone (40–115 m) at the Barrier Reef Complex From San Andrés Island (Southwestern Caribbean)

et al. 2019

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Diversity and Evolution of Octocoral Animal Forests at Both Sides of Tropical America

Cited by 20 publications

References 142 publications

Steady Decline of Corals and Other Benthic Organisms in the SeaFlower Biosphere Reserve (Southwestern Caribbean)

Steady Decline of Corals and Other Benthic Organisms in the SeaFlower Biosphere Reserve (Southwestern Caribbean)

Regulation of population size of arborescent octocorals on shallow Caribbean reefs

Corals in the Mesophotic Zone (40–115 m) at the Barrier Reef Complex From San Andrés Island (Southwestern Caribbean)

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