Puerto Rico

Appeldoorn, Richard S.; Alfaro, Mónica; Ballantine, David L.; Bejarano, Ivonne; Ruiz, Héctor; Schizas, Nikolaos V.; Schmidt, W. E.; Sherman, Clark; Weil, Ernesto

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-92735-0_7

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Similarly, the longsnout butterflyfish Prognathodes aculeatus, an observed but uncommon fish species in shallow waters of the Caribbean reefs, was one of the common fish species in San Andrés MCE. This species is also one of the common species in the mesophotic fish communities along the Tropical Western Caribbean (Loya et al, 2019), being one of the five species that best characterized the fish assemblage at 70 m depth in Puerto Rico (Appeldoorn et al, 2019).…”

Section: Dataset Outcomes and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity and Ecological Units of the Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems in San Andrés Island, SeaFlower Biosphere Reserve

2020

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Section: Dataset Outcomes and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity and Ecological Units of the Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems in San Andrés Island, SeaFlower Biosphere Reserve

2020

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“…Agaricia consists of seven species (Hoeksema and Cairns 2020b), with only one species, A. undata, not previously recorded as a host. This coral is best known for its predominantly mesophotic bathymetrical range, from 17 to 87 m in the Colombian Caribbean (Gonzalez-Zapata et al 2018), from 60 to 90 m at Curaçao (Bongaerts et al 2015), and from 70 to 90 m at Puerto Rico (Appeldoorn et al 2016(Appeldoorn et al , 2019. Here we report the first record of A. undata as host for the gall crab Opecarcinus hypostegus and discuss its possible evolutionary and ecological relevance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

The scleractinian Agaricia undata as a new host for the coral-gall crab Opecarcinus hypostegus at Bonaire, southern Caribbean

García-Hernández

Gier

Moorsel³

et al. 2020

Symbiosis

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The Caribbean scleractinian reef coral Agaricia undata (Agariciidae) is recorded for the first time as a host of the coral-gall crab Opecarcinus hypostegus (Cryptochiridae). The identity of the crab was confirmed with the help of DNA barcoding. The association has been documented with photographs taken in situ at 25 m depth and in the laboratory. The predominantly mesophotic depth range of the host species suggests this association to be present also at greater depths. With this record, all seven Agaricia species are now listed as gall-crab hosts, together with the agariciid Helioseris cucullata. Within the phylogeny of Agariciidae, Helioseris is not closely related to Agaricia. Therefore, the association between Caribbean agariciids and their gallcrab symbionts may either have originated early in their shared evolutionary history or later as a result of host range expansion. New information on coral-associated fauna, such as what is presented here, leads to a better insight on the diversity, evolution, and ecology of coral reef biota, particularly in the Caribbean, where cryptochirids have rarely been studied.

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“…Many WP outbreaks at MCEs seemed to be positively associated with high thermal anomalies (Menza et al, 2007;Weil, 2019). Corals more susceptible to diseases at MCEs are Agaricia lamarcki, A. agaricites, Mycetophyllia aliciae, Montastraea cavernosa, Stephanocoenia intersepta, Siderastrea siderea, Orbicella franksi, Porites astreoides, A. undata, and A. grahamae (Smith et al, 2010(Smith et al, , 2019Weil and Rogers, 2011;Appeldoorn et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease at El Seco, a Mesophotic Reef System off Vieques Island, Puerto Rico

2021

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Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are ecologically and functionally vital, as they are Essential Fish Habitats that function as refugia for corals and sponges of shallow-water reefs. Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is a relatively new lethal coral disease, first affecting coral reefs in Florida and has now spread through most of the Caribbean. SCTLD was observed in Puerto Rico in December 2019 in Culebra Island. Since then, SCTLD has appeared along the east coast of Puerto Rico, affecting primarily shallow reefs in San Juan, Culebra and Vieques Island, and Fajardo. During late June and July 2020, four mesophotic reef habitats were surveyed at El Seco (off Vieques Island), on the southeast coast of Puerto Rico. SCTLD was observed at colonized pavement (CPRT – 23–30 m), bank coral reef (BCR – 35–40 m), patch coral reef (PCR – 36–42 m), and rhodolith (Rhodo – 40–50 m) habitats. The mean percent substrate cover by sessile-benthic categories varied significantly between habitats (PERMANOVA, p < 0.001), with a higher mean (± SE) coral cover at BCR (26.95 ± 5.60%), followed by PCR (12.88 ± 3.88%). SCTLD was detected in all habitats, but the disease prevalence was significantly higher at BCR, ranging from 9.70 to 21.13% of colonies infected (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA, p < 0.007). Even though PCR habitats exhibited less coral cover, SCTLD prevalence was still elevated ranging from 6.66 to 15.07%. The deepest record of SCTLD at El Seco was 40.9 m. The majority (∼98%) of the corals infected with the disease were from the Orbicella complex spp. (faveolata/franksi). However, there were other infected species, such as Agaricia grahamae, A. lamarcki, Montastraea cavernosa, and Porites astreoides. As seen in the surveys conducted in 2011 and 2020, the loss of coral cover allows for the emergence of other benthic “detractors,” such as peyssonnelids, specifically Ramicrusta spp. Ramicrusta spp., an aggressive encrusting red alga known to take over available space and overgrow corals, significantly increased its substrate cover at the impacted reefs. Therefore, the severity and virulence of SCTLD will most likely have severe and long-lasting negative impacts on the coral communities at El Seco mesophotic reef system.

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Puerto Rico

Cited by 14 publications

References 26 publications

Biodiversity and Ecological Units of the Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems in San Andrés Island, SeaFlower Biosphere Reserve

Biodiversity and Ecological Units of the Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems in San Andrés Island, SeaFlower Biosphere Reserve

The scleractinian Agaricia undata as a new host for the coral-gall crab Opecarcinus hypostegus at Bonaire, southern Caribbean

Prevalence of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease at El Seco, a Mesophotic Reef System off Vieques Island, Puerto Rico

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