Publisher Correction: Productive instability of coral reef fisheries after climate-driven regime shifts

Thermally induced mass coral bleaching is globally responsible for major losses of coral cover. Coral recovery from mass coral disturbances like the 2016 bleaching event hinges on successful recruitment of new coral colonies to the existing population. Juvenile corals as a life history stage represent survival and growth of new recruits. As such, habitat preferences of juvenile corals and how environmental parameters interact to drive coral recovery following a mass bleaching disturbance are important research areas. To expand our knowledge on this topic, we compared juvenile coral densities from before the 2016 bleaching event with those after the disturbance and identified abiotic and biotic characteristics of 21 reefs in the inner Seychelles that predict juvenile coral densities. Our results show that following the 2016 bleaching event, juvenile coral densities were significantly reduced by about 70%, with a particularly large decline in juvenile Acropora. Macroalgae present a large obstacle to survival of juvenile corals in a post-bleaching setting, but their influence varies as a function of herbivore biomass, reef structure, and reef type. Higher biomass of herbivorous fish weakens the negative effect of macroalgae on juvenile corals, and structural complexity on granitic reefs is a strong positive predictor of juvenile coral density. However, structural complexity on carbonate or patch reefs was negatively related to juvenile coral density, highlighting the importance of considering interactive terms in analyses. Our study emphasises the importance of habitat for juvenile coral abundance at both fine and seascape scales, adding to the literature on drivers of reef rebound potential following severe coral bleaching. Keywords Coral reef recovery Á Recruitment Á Coral bleaching Á Coral reef ecology Á Macroalgae Á Seychelles Topic Editor Morgan S. Pratchett

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Uncovering drivers of juvenile coral density following mass bleaching

Dajka

Wilson

Robinson

et al. 2019

Coral Reefs

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Measuring the long-term success of small-scale marine protected areas in a Philippine reef fishery

Bayley

Purvis

Nellas³

et al. 2020

Coral Reefs

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Tropical coral reefs are subject to multiple pressures from both natural and anthropogenic sources. These pressures have caused widespread declines in reef health, resulting in the increased use of spatial management tools such as marine protected areas (MPAs). MPAs have proven generally effective if well designed and enforced, but there are limited long-term studies investigating how the presence of small-scale MPAs affects fish populations and reef communities. Using a 12-year time series, we found that small-scale (10-50 ha) community-managed MPAs along the Danajon Bank of the Philippines preserved average fish biomass within their boundaries over time relative to surrounding fished reefs. Unprotected areas are, however, showing significant long-term biomass decline. MPAs were also found to preserve more key trophic groups and larger-bodied commercially targeted reef fish families. Fish biomass of piscivore, scavenger and invertivore trophic groups inside individual MPAs is, however, still declining at a similar rate as outside. Surprisingly, longterm benthic cover and growth form composition were not significantly affected overall by MPA presence, despite the sporadic use of highly destructive dynamite fishing in this region. Coral cover has remained historically low (21-28%) throughout the study, following widespread bleaching mortality. While management tempered overall abundance declines, we found that irrespective of MPA presence, there was a generalised decline of both large-and small-bodied fish size groups across the study region, most steeply within the 20-30 cm length fish, and a shift towards proportionally higher abundances of small (5-10 cm) fish. This indicates a combination of over-exploitation, inadequate MPA size and coverage for larger fish, and the lingering effects of the 1998 bleaching event. Generalised shifts in body size and trophic structure reported here could lead to future reductions in fishery productivity and stability and will be further exacerbated unless broader fishery regulations and enforcement is instated.

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Seven decades of transformation: evaluating the dynamics of coral reef fish communities in the Xisha Islands, South China Sea

Zhao,

Wang,

et al. 2024

Rev Fish Biol Fisheries

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Publisher Correction: Productive instability of coral reef fisheries after climate-driven regime shifts

Cited by 5 publications

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Uncovering drivers of juvenile coral density following mass bleaching

Uncovering drivers of juvenile coral density following mass bleaching

Measuring the long-term success of small-scale marine protected areas in a Philippine reef fishery

Seven decades of transformation: evaluating the dynamics of coral reef fish communities in the Xisha Islands, South China Sea

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