Growth form-dependent response to physical disturbance and thermal stress in Acropora corals

Muko, Soyoka; Arakaki, Seiji; Nagao, Masayuki; Sakai, Kazuhiko

doi:10.1007/s00338-012-0967-z

Cited by 25 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…determining the ability of corals to compete for space and light, and to repair structural damage caused by humans, storms, grazers and bioeroders (e.g. Chen et al, 2012;Ferrari et al, 2012;Muko et al, 2012), but can also have profound repercussions on the recovery and resilience of coral reef systems (Hoegh-Guldberg et al, 2007;Roff & Mumby, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional decline in growth rates of massive Porites corals in Southeast Asia

Tanzil

Brown

Dunne

et al. 2013

Global Change Biology

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This study reports the first well-replicated analysis of continuous coral growth records from warmer water reefs (mean annual sea surface temperatures (SST) >28.5 °C) around the Thai-Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Based on analyses of 70 colonies sampled from 15 reefs within six locations, region-wide declines in coral calcification rate (ca. 18.6%), linear extension rate (ca. 15.4%) and skeletal bulk density (ca. 3.9%) were observed over a 31-year period from 1980 to 2010. Decreases in calcification and linear extension rates were observed at five of the six locations and ranged from ca. 17.2-21.6% and ca. 11.4-19.6%, respectively, whereas decline in skeletal bulk density was a consequence of significant reductions at only two locations (ca. 6.9% and 10.7%). A significant link between region-wide growth rates and average annual SST was found, and Porites spp. demonstrated a high thermal threshold of ca. 29.4 °C before calcification rates declined. Responses at individual locations within the region were more variable with links between SST and calcification rates being significant at only four locations. Rates of sea temperature warming at locations in the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) (ca. 1.3 °C per decade) were almost twice those in the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean) (ca. 0.7 °C per decade), but this was not reflected in the magnitude of calcification declines at corresponding locations. Considering that massive Porites spp. are major reef builders around Southeast Asia, this region-wide growth decline is a cause for concern for future reef accretion rates and resilience. However, this study suggests that the future rates and patterns of change within the region are unlikely to be uniform or dependent solely on the rates of change in the thermal environment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional decline in growth rates of massive Porites corals in Southeast Asia

Tanzil

Brown

Dunne

et al. 2013

Global Change Biology

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“…Acropora's have high susceptibility to bleaching (Loya et al 2001;Marschall and Baird 2000) and breakage during storms (Muko et al 2013), which, in combination with their suboptimal performance while competiting with turf algae (this study) makes branching Acropora corals especially vulnerable to this seemingly large variety of external stressors. A decrease in the abundance of branching corals would lead to a reduced three-dimensional structure of the reef, with far-reaching effects for other reef organisms, for example fishes, that depend on the shelter provided by the complex structures typical of branching corals (Lirman 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Competitive interactions between corals and turf algae depend on coral colony form

Swierts

Vermeij

2016

Preprint

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Turf algae are becoming more abundant on coral reefs worldwide, but their effects on other benthic organisms remain poorly described. To describe the general characteristics of competitive interactions between corals and turf algae, we determined the occurrence and outcomes of coral – turf algal interactions among different coral growth forms (branching, upright, massive, encrusting, plating, and solitary) on a shallow reef in Vietnam. In total, the amount of turf algal interaction, i.e., the proportion of the coral boundary directly bordering turf algae, was quantified for 1276 coral colonies belonging to 27 genera and the putative outcome of each interaction was noted. The amount of turf algal interaction and the outcome of these interactions differed predictably among the six growth forms. Encrusting corals interacted most often with turf algae, but also competed most successfully against turf algae. The opposite was observed for branching corals, which rarely interacted with turf algae and rarely won these competitive interactions. Including all other growth forms, a positive relationship was found between the amount of competitive interactions with neighboring turf algae and the percentage of such interaction won by the coral. This growth form dependent ability to outcompete turf algae was not only observed among coral species, but also among different growth forms in morphologically plastic coral genera (Acropora, Favia, Favites, Montastrea, Montipora, Porites) illustrating the general nature of this relationship.

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“…Acropora spp. exhibit rapid growth but also have a high mortality potential (Yap, Alino, & Gomez, 1992), because they are vulnerable to coral bleaching (Loya et al, 2001;Marshall & Baird, 2000), predation by A. planci (Birkeland & Lucas, 1990), and physical damage, for example, from storms, due to their particularly fragile, branching morphology Muko et al, 2013;Woodley et al, 1981).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitions in coral communities over 17 years in the Sekisei Lagoon and adjacent reef areas in Okinawa, Japan

Muko

Suzuki

Saitō

et al. 2019

Ecological Research

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Long‐term monitoring reveals coral community responses to multiple disturbances that allow us to track their trajectories. We assessed the status of coral communities between 2000 and 2017 in the Sekisei Lagoon and adjacent areas in Okinawa, Japan, using an analysis of monitoring data collected from 196 research sites. Using categorical clustering, we ranked the coral cover in the sites according to five groups: (a) high, (b) intermediate, (c) low, (d) rapidly increasing and (e) unrecovered coral cover. We also identified the composition of assemblage types that were categorized according to the dominant species, and calculated the mean number of Acropora spp. juveniles for each group. Severe declines in the coral cover ranking were observed in response to bleaching events in 2007 and 2016. Although the coral cover rank of the other groups slowly returned to previous levels after the 2007 event, group 5, which accounted for 31% of all sites, did not. Group 5 sites were mainly located in the middle and southern area of the Sekisei Lagoon and along the Ishigaki Island, and were dominated by the Acropora spp., that are more susceptible to disturbances. The intermediate number of Acropora juveniles may also have hindered the recovery of corals in group 5 sites. Our study demonstrated that the coral community composition, in particular the proportion of Acropora spp. and juvenile recruitment, influenced the trajectory of coral cover and, therefore, should be considered when predicting the response of coral communities to climate change scenarios.

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Growth form-dependent response to physical disturbance and thermal stress in Acropora corals

Cited by 25 publications

References 42 publications

Regional decline in growth rates of massive Porites corals in Southeast Asia

Regional decline in growth rates of massive Porites corals in Southeast Asia

Competitive interactions between corals and turf algae depend on coral colony form

Transitions in coral communities over 17 years in the Sekisei Lagoon and adjacent reef areas in Okinawa, Japan

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