Shifts in coral-assemblage composition do not ensure persistence of reef functionality

Álvarez‐Filip, Lorenzo; Carricart‐Ganivet, Juan P.; Horta‐Puga, Guillermo; Iglesias-Prieto, Roberto

doi:10.1038/srep03486

Cited by 184 publications

(175 citation statements)

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“…Finally, the most recent surveys carried out between 2006 and 2012 (this study) indicate that fast-growing species that form small colonies (e.g. P. astreoides) dominate the assemblages, coinciding with similar reports elsewhere in the Caribbean (Green et al 2008, Álvarez-Filip et al 2013. Additionally, the high dominance of only two species is reflected in the evenness and dominance index, without showing significant spatial or temporal changes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

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Spatiotemporal variations of live coral cover in the northern Mesoamerican Reef System, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Barranco-Servin¹,

Carriquiry²,

Rodríguez‐Zaragoza³

et al. 2016

Sci. Mar.

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Summary:Evaluating the response of coral assemblages to different disturbances is important because variations in species composition may have consequences for ecosystem functioning due to their different functional roles in coral reefs. This study evaluates changes in diversity, structure and composition of coral assemblages of the coral reefs of two national parks in the northern sector of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System spanning the period from 2006 to 2012, just after the impact of two hurricanes in the area. Coral assemblages in the Cancún National Park included fewer species and lower live coral coverage (<15%) than those recorded in Cozumel. In the Cancún National Park, the species with the highest coral cover was Porites astreoides (more than 40% relative cover), and no significant temporal changes were observed in live coral cover and species composition. On the other hand, in the Cozumel National Park the dominant species were Agaricia agaricites, Siderastrea siderea and Porites astreoides, and the coral reefs showed an increase in live coral cover from 16% in 2006 to 29% in 2012. The dynamics of coral assemblages differed between the two parks: while there is an apparent stability in the current composition of the Cancún reefs, the Cozumel reefs show an increase in the abundance of the aforementioned dominant species. However, it is possible that the population characteristics of the species that dominate the coral assemblages in both national parks, such as those of fast population growth and of small colony size, do not entirely fulfill the main function of accretion and habitat heterogeneity, and more research is therefore needed to test this hypothesis.Keywords: coral assemblages; resilience; ecosystem functioning; coral reefs; Caribbean; Mexico. Variación espacio-temporal de la cobertura de coral del norte del Sistema Arrecifal Mesoamericano, Península de Yucatán, MéxicoResumen: Evaluar la respuesta de las comunidades de coral a diferentes perturbaciones es importante ya que las variaciones en la composición de las especies pueden tener consecuencias en el funcionamiento del ecosistema, debido a los diferentes roles funcionales que cada especie tiene dentro de él. En este estudio se evaluaron los cambios en la diversidad, estructura y composición de las comunidades en los arrecifes de dos Parques Nacionales ubicados en el sector norte del Sistema Arrecifal Mesoamericano, durante el periodo 2006-2012, justo después del impacto de dos huracanes en la zona. En el Parque Nacional Cancún se registraron pocas especies de coral y una cobertura de coral vivo baja (<15%) sin cambios temporales significativos; la especie más dominante en este parque fue Porites astreoides con más del 40% de cobertura relativa. Por otro lado, los arrecifes de coral del Parque Nacional de Cozumel mostraron un incremento en la cobertura de coral del 16% en 2006 a 29% en 2012; las especies dominantes, y que incrementaron su cobertura en este periodo, fueron Agaricia agaricites, Siderastrea siderea y P. astreoides. Aunque ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…Orbicella spp., Acropora palmata). Therefore, the direction of change in the structure of species assemblages towards smaller colonies and reduced structural complexity could affect the ecosystem functioning (Álvarez-Filip et al 2011, Álvarez-Filip et al 2013, Perry et al 2014.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal variations of live coral cover in the northern Mesoamerican Reef System, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Barranco-Servin¹,

Carriquiry²,

Rodríguez‐Zaragoza³

et al. 2016

Sci. Mar.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Shifts in coral reef assemblage have been reported from other coral reefs, e.g., the Caribbean or in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (AlvarezFilip et al, 2013;Inoue et al, 2013;Enochs et al, 2015). Such shifts in reef community may result in lower calcification rates of corals and a loss of coral framework rugosity (Alvarez-Filip et al, 2013). Following these evidences from different study sites all over the globe, a shift in reef community composition around P. Panambungan is conceivable.…”

Section: Facies Patterns-geographical Variability or Phase Shifts In mentioning

confidence: 91%

Sediment Composition and Facies of Coral Reef Islands in the Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia

et al. 2017

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Sedimentological and geomorphological characteristics of coral reef islands are strongly related to past and recent boundary conditions such as the hydrodynamic regime, wind directions, sea-level fluctuations, and the ecological footprint of the surrounding reef complexes. Alterations in the physical, chemical, and biological boundary controls may affect the stability of reef islands. Additionally, these factors are of importance in the context of future climate change. Such alterations through time may well be documented within the sedimentary record of reef islands and a better knowledge on its effects could help to improve our understanding of island responses to future changes of the status quo. However, detailed studies on the sedimentology and geomorphology of reef islands from southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia, are still rare. Here we report on the sedimentary composition and related facies zonation of four uninhabited coral reef islands in the Spermonde Archipelago. Sediment samples from onshore-and reef-flat environments were analyzed in regard to their grain size, component assemblages and facies distribution. Our results show that the analyzed island sediments are characterized by medium-to coarse-grained sand fractions and are well to poorly sorted. Across all islands examined, the surface sediment is predominately composed of materials identified as scleractinian coral and coralline red algae fragments, with minor additions from bivalves, gastropods and foraminifers. Importantly, statistical analyses of the variations in the percentage of these components allow for a clear sedimentary distinction of the four study sites into three outer shelf islands, situated closer to the open marine Makassar Strait, and one inner shelf island. On the inner shelf island, additional subsurface sedimentological analyses indicate a potential shift in major sediment contributors through time, preserved as coral-dominated accumulations within the subsurface samples, and coralline red algae-dominated deposits on top. These findings highlight the practical use of detailed sedimentological studies for the reconstruction of environmental changes in the Spermonde Archipelago.

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“…3a). In a global coral-reef landscape characterized by declining coral cover, reduced growth and calcification, and negative trajectories of reef accretion, mitigating and reversing anthropogenic climate change are critical steps to ensuring the continuity of coral populations, reef-framework accretion, and the ecosystem services that coral reefs provide [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] .…”

Section: Hiatusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic and biotic thresholds of coral-reef shutdown

et al. 2015

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Climate change is now the leading cause of coral-reef degradation and is altering the adaptive landscape of coral populations 1,2 . Increasing sea temperatures and declining carbonate saturation states are inhibiting short-term rates of coral calcification, carbonate precipitation and submarine cementation [3][4][5] . A critical challenge to coral-reef conservation is understanding the mechanisms by which environmental perturbations scale up to influence long-term rates of reef-framework construction and ecosystem function 6,7 . Here we reconstruct climatic and oceanographic variability using corals sampled from a 6,750-year core from Pacific Panamá. Simultaneous reconstructions of coral palaeophysiology and reef accretion allowed us to identify the climatic and biotic thresholds associated with a 2,500-year hiatus in vertical accretion beginning ∼4,100 years ago 8 . Stronger upwelling, cooler sea temperatures and greater precipitation-indicators of La Niña-like conditions-were closely associated with abrupt reef shutdown. The physiological condition of the corals deteriorated at the onset of the hiatus, corroborating theoretical predictions that the tipping points of radical ecosystem transitions should be manifested sublethally in the biotic constituents 9 . Future climate change could cause similar threshold behaviours, leading to another shutdown in reef development in the tropical eastern Pacific.Climatic and oceanographic variability have played a dominant role in the development of reefs throughout the Phanerozoic eon 10 , and the recent past is no exception. In Panamá and several other locations in the Pacific, coral reefs stopped accreting vertically for 2,500 years, beginning ∼4,100 cal yr BP (ref. 8; calibrated 14 C calendar years before 1950; Fig. 1a). Correlations with regional palaeoclimate proxies suggest that enhanced variability of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was the ultimate cause of reef shutdown in the tropical eastern Pacific 8 (TEP). Climatic shifts at that time led to environmental and cultural impacts on a global scale 11,12 .In this study we investigated the long-term impacts of environmental variability on coral physiology and reef development in the TEP to ascertain the climatic, oceanographic and biotic controls on ecosystem state in the past. We quantified the range of environmental conditions that corals experienced during the past ∼6,750 years to determine whether significant changes in climate or oceanography were associated with changes in coral physiology or reef accretion. We then evaluated the environmental and physiological thresholds that characterized the catastrophic phase shift to the hiatus.In Pacific Panamá, El Niño-like periods are characterized by a warm, dry climate and a reduction in seasonal upwelling. Those conditions are reversed during La Niña-like periods (Supplementary Discussion and Supplementary Fig. 1). Contemporary environmental variability is high at Contadora Island, a site in Pacific Panamá that is exposed to intense seasonal upwelling and ...

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Shifts in coral-assemblage composition do not ensure persistence of reef functionality

Cited by 184 publications

References 41 publications

Spatiotemporal variations of live coral cover in the northern Mesoamerican Reef System, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Spatiotemporal variations of live coral cover in the northern Mesoamerican Reef System, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Sediment Composition and Facies of Coral Reef Islands in the Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia

Climatic and biotic thresholds of coral-reef shutdown

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