Impact of a Catastrophic Hurricane on Island Populations

Spiller, David A.; Losos, Jonathan B.; Schoener, Thomas W.

doi:10.1126/science.281.5377.695

Cited by 166 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…islands in the Bahamas. population theory accurately predicted four responses of spider and lizard populations to a hurricane (Spiller et al 1998). Responses were contingent on the severity of the storm, body size and dispersal ability.…”

Section: Population Dynamics and Contingent Theory Overviewmentioning

confidence: 89%

Are There General Laws in Ecology?

Lawton¹

1999

Oikos

1,292

1,049

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Section: Population Dynamics and Contingent Theory Overviewmentioning

confidence: 89%

Are There General Laws in Ecology?

Lawton¹

1999

Oikos

1,292

1,049

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The effect of Hurricane Lili on San Salvador appears to have been transient and may have actually benefited the macroalgae. Unfortunately, we do not have the data necessary to perform a comparative analysis of the degree of exposure to hurricane damage similar to that reported for terrestrial communities affected by Hurricane Lili (39).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid transition in the structure of a coral reef community: The effects of coral bleaching and physical disturbance

Ostrander

Armstrong

Knobbe

et al. 2000

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

137

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Coral reef communities are in a state of change throughout their geographical range. Factors contributing to this change include bleaching (the loss of algal symbionts), storm damage, disease, and increasing abundance of macroalgae. An additional factor for Caribbean reefs is the aftereffects of the epizootic that reduced the abundance of the herbivorous sea urchin, Diadema antillarum. Although coral reef communities have undergone phase shifts, there are few studies that document the details of such transitions. We report the results of a 40-month study that documents changes in a Caribbean reef community affected by bleaching, hurricane damage, and an increasing abundance of macroalgae. The study site was in a relatively pristine area of the reef surrounding the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. Ten transects were sampled every 3-9 months from November 1994 to February 1998. During this period, the corals experienced a massive bleaching event resulting in a significant decline in coral abundance. Algae, especially macroalgae, increased in abundance until they effectively dominated the substrate. The direct impact of Hurricane Lili in October 1996 did not alter the developing community structure and may have facilitated increasing algal abundance. The results of this study document the rapid transition of this reef community from one in which corals and algae were codominant to a community dominated by macroalgae. The relatively brief time period required for this transition illustrates the dynamic nature of reef communities.

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“…The dramatic increase in hurricanes over the past decade means that such data are becoming increasingly common (e.g., refs. 12,18,29,32,33,[42][43][44]. This increase could continue if the elevated North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures were to be resulting, in part, from long-term climate change (ref.…”

Section: Presence and Absence Of Posthurricane Temporal Trends In Commu-mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonsynchronous recovery of community characteristics in island spiders after a catastrophic hurricane

Schoener

Spiller

2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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We monitored spiders on 41 Bahamian islands for 4 years before and then 4 years after the catastrophic Hurricane Floyd passed directly over the site, inundating the study islands with its storm surge. The respective recoveries of major community properties after this annihilation were far from synchronous. Before the hurricane, the species-area relation was generally strong and the slope showed no temporal trend. After the hurricane, the slope increased from near zero (7 months later) to a value about equal to its prehurricane state. The lizard effect (difference in spider abundance or species richness between islands with and without the lizard Anolis sagrei) was generally strong before the hurricane; 7 months after, the lizard effect on abundance was weak and the effect on richness had vanished. In subsequent years, the lizard effect on abundance became strong again, but the effect on species richness remained weak. The strength of the lizard effect on both abundance and richness over the 8 years was strongly positively related to the density of lizards measured on a subset of the study islands. Twelve months after the hurricane, species richness averaged over all islands rebounded to the last prehurricane value, but abundance attained only about half that value; this finding was remarkably similar to results found in an earlier study of spiders impacted by Hurricane Lili (1996) in a different Bahamian region. Nonetheless, in the next 3 years, species richness failed to increase further, part of its long-term decline at the study site.

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Impact of a Catastrophic Hurricane on Island Populations

Cited by 166 publications

References 16 publications

Are There General Laws in Ecology?

Are There General Laws in Ecology?

Rapid transition in the structure of a coral reef community: The effects of coral bleaching and physical disturbance

Nonsynchronous recovery of community characteristics in island spiders after a catastrophic hurricane

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