Land use, water quality, and the history of coral assemblages at Bocas del Toro, Panamá

Aronson, Richard B.; Hilbun, Nancy L.; Bianchi, Thomas S.; Filley, Timothy R.; McKee, Brent A.

doi:10.3354/meps10765

Cited by 59 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…weedy Agaricia species), consistent with long‐term studies throughout the region (e.g. Aronson & Precht, ; Greenstein et al ., ; Aronson et al ., ). This process has been referred to as ‘biotic differentiation’, when disturbances, species invasions and extinctions can promote regions to become more dissimilar at local scales in the early stages of homogenization (Olden & Poff, ; Olden, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hierarchical spatial patterns in Caribbean reef benthic assemblages

Williams

Chollett

Roff

et al. 2015

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Coral assemblages on Caribbean reefs have largely been considered to be biogeographically homogeneous at a regional scale. We reassess this in three taxa (corals, sponges and octocorals) using three community attributes with increasing levels of information (species richness, composition and relative abundance) across hierarchical spatial scales, and identify the key environmental drivers associated with this variation.Location Caribbean Basin. MethodsWe assessed reefs along 546 transects positioned within the same forereef habitat (Orbicella reef) in 11 countries, using a consistent methodology and surveyors. Spatial variability in richness, composition and relative abundance was assessed at four hierarchical spatial scales -transects (metres), sites (kilometres), areas (tens of kilometres) and regions (hundreds of kilometres) -using permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA). The relevance of contemporary environmental factors in explaining the observed spatial patterns was also assessed using PERMANOVA.Results Consistent with previous studies, species richness of coral assemblages, commonly the focus of biogeographical studies, showed little variance at large spatial scales. In contrast, species composition and relative abundance showed significant variability at regional scales. Coral, sponge and octocoral assemblages each varied independently across spatial scales. Rugosity and wave exposure were key drivers of the composition and relative abundance of coral and octocoral assemblages.Main conclusions Caribbean reef assemblages exhibit considerable biogeographical variability at broad spatial scales (hundreds of kilometres) when more responsive community attributes were used. However, the high degree of variability within sites (kilometres) highlights the relevance of local ecological drivers such as rugosity and wave exposure in structuring assemblages. The high levels of within-site variability that is not explained by environmental variables may suggest a previously unrealized contribution of anthropogenic disturbance operating at local scales throughout the region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hierarchical spatial patterns in Caribbean reef benthic assemblages

Williams

Chollett

Roff

et al. 2015

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Changes in coral community structure were still evident nearly 4 y after the hypoxic event, with no apparent recovery in the cover of live coral (P > 0.10). Moreover, these changes occurred in an ecosystem where the coral community had already shifted toward more stress-tolerant species in recent centuries in association with human impacts, including fisheries exploitation and land-use change (30)(31)(32). The long-term effects of hypoxia are potentially different from, and more substantial than, those of other disturbances on coral reefs because hypoxia affects a broad range of taxa including consumers, habitat formers, and pathogens.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical dead zones and mass mortalities on coral reefs

Altieri

Harrison

Seemann

et al. 2017

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

253

236

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Degradation of coastal water quality in the form of low dissolved oxygen levels (hypoxia) can harm biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human wellbeing. Extreme hypoxic conditions along the coast, leading to what are often referred to as "dead zones," are known primarily from temperate regions. However, little is known about the potential threat of hypoxia in the tropics, even though the known risk factors, including eutrophication and elevated temperatures, are common. Here we document an unprecedented hypoxic event on the Caribbean coast of Panama and assess the risk of dead zones to coral reefs worldwide. The event caused coral bleaching and massive mortality of corals and other reef-associated organisms, but observed shifts in community structure combined with laboratory experiments revealed that not all coral species are equally sensitive to hypoxia. Analyses of global databases showed that coral reefs are associated with more than half of the known tropical dead zones worldwide, with >10% of all coral reefs at elevated risk for hypoxia based on local and global risk factors. Hypoxic events in the tropics and associated mortality events have likely been underreported, perhaps by an order of magnitude, because of the lack of local scientific capacity for their detection. Monitoring and management plans for coral reef resilience should incorporate the growing threat of coastal hypoxia and include support for increased detection and research capacity.biodiversity | coral bleaching | dissolved oxygen | hypoxia | water quality

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“…There is little evidence of these taxa being major players in Holocene reef building (Pandolfi & Jackson ); however, they have become opportunistic dominants following coral‐mortality events because they quickly move in after disturbances, in some cases increasing in both relative and absolute dominance (Aronson et al. ). Although Porites spp.…”

Section: Western Atlantic Coral Reefs Of the Pastmentioning

confidence: 99%