Observations on Fijian coral reefs and the crown of thorns starfish

Robinson, Dwight E.

doi:10.1080/03036758.1971.10419344

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Early ecological models predicted that soft corals would increase in abundance and dominate the reef benthos following scleractinian mortality caused by, for example, crown-of-thorns outbreaks (Bradbury & Mundy 1989). A number of anecdotal studies lend some support to these predictions, reporting that species of the families Alcyoniidae (especially the genus Sinularia) have come to dominate coral reefs locally in the western Indian Ocean (Muhando & Mohammed 2002) and the Indo-Pacific (Robinson 1971, Nishihira & Yamazoto 1974, Endean et al 1988, Chou & Yamazato 1990, Fabricius 1998. Fox et al (2003) reported locally high abundances of the soft coral Xenia sp.…”

Section: Soft Coral Dominancementioning

confidence: 98%

Alternative states on coral reefs: beyond coral–macroalgal phase shifts

Norström¹,

Nyström²,

Lokrantz³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

525

402

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Degradation of coral reefs is often associated with changes in community structure where macroalgae become the dominant benthic life form. These phase shifts can be difficult to reverse. The debate on coral reef phase shifts has not focused on reports of coral reefs becoming dominated by other life forms following disturbance. A review of the primary and grey literature indicates that reefs dominated by corallimorpharia, soft corals, sponges and sea urchins can enter an alternative state as a result of a phase shift. Shifts can be triggered by pulse disturbances that cause largescale coral mortality, and may become stable as a result of positive feedback mechanisms. However, they may differ from the archetypical coral-macroalgae shift, depending on the factors driving the shift; whereas coral-macroalgae and coral-urchin shifts seem to be driven by loss of top-down control through overfishing, shifts to corallimorpharian, soft coral and sponge dominance seem more associated with changes in bottom-up dynamics. Understanding the differences and similarities in mechanisms that cause and maintain this variety of alternative states will aid management aimed at preventing and reversing phase shifts of coral reefs.

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Section: Soft Coral Dominancementioning

confidence: 98%

Alternative states on coral reefs: beyond coral–macroalgal phase shifts

Norström¹,

Nyström²,

Lokrantz³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

525

402

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The occupation of blasted coral rubble by soft coral, particularly Xenia spp., has also been observed in the Komodo and Bunaken National Parks in Indonesia (Fox et al ., 2003). Soft corals are early colonizers of coral reef substrates, are effective spatial competitors and are known to have dominated degraded coral reefs elsewhere including the Seychelles (Stobart et al ., 2005), Australia (Endean et al ., 1988) and Fiji (Robinson, 1971). Evidence from Indonesia suggests that despite the ability of soft corals to consolidate coral rubble, their presence also inhibits hard coral recruitment, growth and survival (Fox et al ., 2003, 2005), thereby preventing recovery on blasted reefs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial variation in the benthic community composition of coral reefs in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, Indonesia: updated baselines and limited benthic community shifts

et al. 2019

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Coral reefs have experienced extensive degradation across the world over the last 50 years as a result of a variety of stressors operating at a range of spatial and temporal scales. In order to assess whether declines are continuing, or if reefs are recovering, detailed baseline information is required from across wide spatial scales. Unfortunately, for some regions this information is not readily available, making future reef trajectories difficult to determine. Here we characterized the current benthic community state for coral reefs in the Wakatobi region of Indonesia, one of the most biodiverse marine regions in the world. We surveyed 10 reef sites (5, 10 and 15 m depth) to explore spatial variation in coral reef benthic communities and provide a detailed baseline. Previous data (2002–2011) were available for coral, sponges, algae and soft coral at six of our study sites. Using this information, we determined if any changes had occurred in dominance of these benthic groups. We found that benthic assemblage composition differed significantly over relatively small spatial scales (2–10 km) and hard coral cover was highly variable, ranging from 7–48% (average 19.5% ± 1.5 SE). While coral cover appears to have declined at all sites where data were available since 2002, we found little evidence for widespread increases in other benthic groups or regime shifts. Our study provides a comprehensive baseline dataset for the region that can be used in the future to determine rates of change in benthic communities.

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“…Even though alternative reef states with soft corals dominating the live benthic cover are not as common and widespread as coral-macroalgae phase shifts (e.g. Hughes, 1994), several studies have reported coral reefs in which the benthic community is dominated by soft corals locally in the Indo-Pacific (Robinson, 1971; Nishihira & Yamazoto, 1974; Endean, Cameron & DeVantier, 1988; Chou & Yamazato, 1990; Fabricius, 1998) and in the western Indian Ocean (Muhando & Mohammed, 2002). According to Fabricius (2011), shifts from hard to soft corals appear to be rare and restricted to productive, high-irradiance and wave-protected waters with strong currents, and zooxanthellate soft corals in particular are highly affected by NTU (Fabricius & De’ath, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance and physiology of dominant soft corals linked to water quality in Jakarta Bay, Indonesia

Baum

Januar

Ferse

et al. 2016

PeerJ

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Declining water quality is one of the main reasons of coral reef degradation in the Thousand Islands off the megacity Jakarta, Indonesia. Shifts in benthic community composition to higher soft coral abundances have been reported for many degraded reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific. However, it is not clear to what extent soft coral abundance and physiology are influenced by water quality. In this study, live benthic cover and water quality (i.e. dissolved inorganic nutrients (DIN), turbidity (NTU), and sedimentation) were assessed at three sites (< 20 km north of Jakarta) in Jakarta Bay (JB) and five sites along the outer Thousand Islands (20–60 km north of Jakarta). This was supplemented by measurements of photosynthetic yield and, for the first time, respiratory electron transport system (ETS) activity of two dominant soft coral genera, Sarcophyton spp. and Nephthea spp. Findings revealed highly eutrophic water conditions in JB compared to the outer Thousand Islands, with 44% higher DIN load (7.65 μM/L), 67% higher NTU (1.49 NTU) and 47% higher sedimentation rate (30.4 g m−2 d−1). Soft corals were the dominant type of coral cover within the bay (2.4% hard and 12.8% soft coral cover) compared to the outer Thousand Islands (28.3% hard and 6.9% soft coral cover). Soft coral abundances, photosynthetic yield, and ETS activity were highly correlated with key water quality parameters, particularly DIN and sedimentation rates. The findings suggest water quality controls the relative abundance and physiology of dominant soft corals in JB and may thus contribute to phase shifts from hard to soft coral dominance, highlighting the need to better manage water quality in order to prevent or reverse phase shifts.

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Observations on Fijian coral reefs and the crown of thorns starfish

Cited by 7 publications

References 4 publications

Alternative states on coral reefs: beyond coral–macroalgal phase shifts

Alternative states on coral reefs: beyond coral–macroalgal phase shifts

Spatial variation in the benthic community composition of coral reefs in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, Indonesia: updated baselines and limited benthic community shifts

Abundance and physiology of dominant soft corals linked to water quality in Jakarta Bay, Indonesia

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