Recovery of an Isolated Coral Reef System Following Severe Disturbance

Gilmour, James; Smith, Luke; Heyward, Andrew; Baird, Andrew H.; Pratchett, Morgan S.

doi:10.1126/science.1232310

Cited by 469 publications

(438 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Despite its potential value for understanding coral growth under extreme conditions, this area has received little attention beyond conducting habitat surveys (Rosser and Veron 2011;Wilson and Blake 2011;Richards et al 2015). Instead, greater focus has been placed on the offshore reefs to the north of the Kimberley coast, such as Scott Reef, due to their potential as natural gas reserves (e.g., Cooper et al 2010;Gilmour et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience of coral calcification to extreme temperature variations in the Kimberley region, northwest Australia

et al. 2015

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We report seasonal changes in coral calcification within the highly dynamic intertidal and subtidal zones of Cygnet Bay (16.5°S, 123.0°E) in the Kimberley region of northwest Australia, where the tidal range can reach nearly 8 m and the temperature of nearshore waters ranges seasonally by *9°C from a minimum monthly mean of *22°C to a maximum of over 31°C. Corals growing within the more isolated intertidal sites experienced maximum temperatures of up to *35°C during spring low tides in addition to being routinely subjected to high levels of irradiance ([1500 lmol m -2 s -1 ) under near stagnant conditions. Mixed model analysis revealed a significant effect of tidal exposure on the growth of Acropora aspera, Dipsastraea favus, and Trachyphyllia geoffroyi (p B 0.04), as well as a significant effect of season on A. aspera and T. geoffroyi (p B 0.01, no effect on D. favus); however, the growth of both D. favus and T. geoffroyi appeared to be better suited to the warm summer conditions of the intertidal compared to A. aspera. Through an additional comparative study, we found that Acropora from Cygnet Bay calcified at a rate 69 % faster than a species from the same genus living in a backreef environment of a more typical tropical reef located 1200 km southwest of Cygnet Bay (0.59 ± 0.02 vs. 0.34 ± 0.02 g cm -2 yr -1 for A. muricata from Coral Bay, Ningaloo Reef; p \ 0.001, df = 28.9). The opposite behaviour was found for D. favus from the same environments, with colonies from Cygnet Bay calcifying at rates that were 33 % slower than the same species from Ningaloo Reef (0.29 ± 0.02 vs. 0.44 ± 0.03 g cm -2 yr -1 , p \ 0.001, df = 37.9). Our findings suggest that adaption and/or acclimatization of coral to the more thermally extreme environments at Cygnet Bay is strongly taxon dependent.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience of coral calcification to extreme temperature variations in the Kimberley region, northwest Australia

et al. 2015

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“…The accretion of crumbly A. tenuifolia skeletons on steep, unstable reef slopes cannot match the rate of reef building based on the upright, interlocking branches of A. cervicornis, leaving these coral reefs vulnerable to drowning in the face of rising sea levels caused by climate change. On shorter time scales, coral communities have returned to their pre-disturbance composition in some cases (Benzoni et al 2006;Burt et al 2008;Gilmour et al 2013), while in other cases, the composition has shifted (Berumen and Pratchett 2006;Burt et al 2008). In Moorea, loss of Acropora spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting rates of coral recovery and reassembly in coral communities on the Great Barrier Reef

2014

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Changes in the relative abundances of coral taxa during recovery from disturbance may cause shifts in essential ecological processes on coral reefs. Coral cover can return to pre-disturbance levels (coral recovery) without the assemblage returning to its previous composition (i.e., without reassembly). The processes underlying such changes are not well understood due to a scarcity of longterm studies with sufficient taxonomic resolution. We assessed the trajectories and time frames for coral recovery and reassembly of coral communities following disturbances, using modeled trajectories based on data from a broad spatial and temporal monitoring program. We studied coral communities at six reefs that suffered substantial coral loss and subsequently regained at least 50 % of their pre-disturbance coral cover. Five of the six communities regained their coral cover and the rates were remarkably consistent, taking 7-10 years. Four of the six communities reassembled to their pre-disturbance composition in 8-13 years. The coral communities at three of the reefs both regained coral cover and reassembled ten years. The trajectories of two communities suggested that they were unlikely to reassemble and the remaining community did not regain pre-disturbance coral cover. The communities that regained coral cover and reassembled had high relative abundance of tabulate Acropora spp. Coral communities of this composition appear likely to persist in a regime of pulse disturbances at intervals of ten years or more. Communities that failed to either regain coral cover or reassemble were in near-shore locations and had high relative abundance of Porites spp. and soft corals. Under current disturbance regimes, these communities are unlikely to re-establish their pre-disturbance community composition.

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“…Recent studies have shown that the differences in relative abundances of sharks between the unfished Rowley Shoals and the fished Scott Reefs have now remained unchanged for almost 20 years (Barley et al 2017b;Ruppert et al 2013), despite these reefs undergoing long cycles of disturbance and recovery in benthic communities during this time (Gilmour et al 2013). This suggests that the increase in abundance we recorded at Ashmore Reef was not likely to be the result of "bottom-up" natural process of disturbance that improved the conditions for shark survivorship and growth through time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for rapid recovery of shark populations within a coral reef marine protected area

Speed¹

2018

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There is limited evidence on the rate at which the shark populations of coral reefs can rebound from over-exploitation, the baselines that might signify when recovery has occurred and the role of no-take Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in aiding this process. We surveyed shark assemblages at Ashmore Reef in Western Australia using baited remote underwater video Stations in 2004 prior to enforcement of MPA status and then again in 2016 after eight years of strict enforcement. We found an increase in the relative mean abundance of Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos from 0.16 ± 0.06 individuals/hr -1 in 2004 to 0.74 ± 0.11 individuals/hr -1 in 2016, a change that was also accompanied by a shift in the assemblage of sharks to greater proportions of apex species (from 7.1% to 11.9%) and reef sharks (from 28.6% to 57.6%), and a decrease in the proportional abundance of lower trophic level species (from 64.3% to 30.5%). Abundances and trophic assemblage of sharks at Ashmore Reef in 2004 resembled those of the Scott Reefs, where targeted fishing for sharks still occurs, whereas in 2016, abundances and trophic structures had recovered to resemble those of the Rowley Shoals, a reef system that has been a strictly enforced MPA for over 25 years. The shift in abundance and community structure coincident with strict enforcement of the MPA at Ashmore Reef has occurred at a rate greater than predicted by demographic models, implying the action of compensatory processes in recovery. Our study shows that shark communities can recover rapidly after exploitation in a well-managed no-take MPA.

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Recovery of an Isolated Coral Reef System Following Severe Disturbance

Cited by 469 publications

References 29 publications

Resilience of coral calcification to extreme temperature variations in the Kimberley region, northwest Australia

Resilience of coral calcification to extreme temperature variations in the Kimberley region, northwest Australia

Contrasting rates of coral recovery and reassembly in coral communities on the Great Barrier Reef

Evidence for rapid recovery of shark populations within a coral reef marine protected area

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