Tolerance of Brazilian brain coral Mussismilia braziliensis to sediment and organic matter inputs

Loiola, Miguel; Oliveira, Marília de Dirceu Machado de; Kikuchi, Ruy Kenji Papa de

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.10.033

Cited by 28 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…We investigated the microbial community associated with the MBL over the Brazilian endemic reef coral Mussismilia braziliensis in response to light availability. This genus forms ~70% of the reef structure in the Abrolhos and is highly adapted to high turbidity stress periodically observed in the region due to continental runoff and sediment resuspension (Leão and Kikuchi, 2005; Segal et al, 2012; Loiola et al, 2013). Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria , and Actinomycetes are the main groups associated to M. braziliensis (Reis et al, 2009; Castro et al, 2010; Garcia et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial Community Associated with the Reef Coral Mussismilia braziliensis's Momentum Boundary Layer over a Diel Cycle

et al. 2017

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Corals display circadian physiological cycles, changing from autotrophy during the day to heterotrophy during the night. Such physiological transition offers distinct environments to the microbial community associated with corals: an oxygen-rich environment during daylight hours and an oxygen-depleted environment during the night. Most studies of coral reef microbes have been performed on samples taken during the day, representing a bias in the understanding of the composition and function of these communities. We hypothesized that coral circadian physiology alters the composition and function of microbial communities in reef boundary layers. Here, we analyzed microbial communities associated with the momentum boundary layer (MBL) of the Brazilian endemic reef coral Mussismilia braziliensis during a diurnal cycle, and compared them to the water column. We determined microbial abundance and nutrient concentration in samples taken within a few centimeters of the coral's surface every 6 h for 48 h, and sequenced microbial metagenomes from a subset of the samples. We found that dominant taxa and functions in the coral MBL community were stable over the time scale of our sampling, with no significant shifts between night and day samples. Interestingly, the two water column metagenomes sampled 1 m above the corals were also very similar to the MBL metagenomes. When all samples were analyzed together, nutrient concentration significantly explained 40% of the taxonomic dissimilarity among dominant genera in the community. Functional profiles were highly homogenous and not significantly predicted by any environmental variables measured. Our data indicated that water flow may overrule the effects of coral physiology in the MBL bacterial community, at the scale of centimeters, and suggested that sampling resolution at the scale of millimeters may be necessary to address diurnal variation in community composition.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial Community Associated with the Reef Coral Mussismilia braziliensis's Momentum Boundary Layer over a Diel Cycle

et al. 2017

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“…Our search for literature suggested that research on the effects of sediments has focused largely on physiological, individual‐level responses of corals to sediment disturbances, in line with the general view of the literature that sediments interfere severely in the energy balance of corals (Erftemeijer, Riegl, et al, ; Fabricius, ; Riegl & Branch, ; Rogers, ). In contrast, some studies have now shown that variation in morphological and structural characteristics proves that some coral species are more resilient than others (Anthony, ; Loiola, Oliveira, & Kikuchi, ; Sofonia & Anthony, ), reducing the extent of photophysiological stress in more resilient species. Our meta‐analysis is consistent with the current literature, indicating that any potential ability of some species to benefit from sediments (e.g., obtaining alternative sources of energy) was swamped by more pronounced negative effects of sediments, such as tissue injuries associated with the increased energy expenditure of the species and a decrease in the photosynthetic activity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

A meta‐analysis reveals global patterns of sediment effects on marine biodiversity

Magris

Ban

2019

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim Sediment disturbances are important threats affecting marine biodiversity, but the variety of biological responses has not yet been synthesized. Here, we collate all available information to compare the extent of impacts across different taxonomic groups, habitat types and pathways of impact (light attenuation, suspended sediment and sedimentation). Location Global. Time period Data collected from 1979 to 2017. Major taxa studied Corals, fishes, seagrasses, sponges, macroalgae, ascidians, bryozoans, crustaceans, echinoderms, molluscs and polychaetes. Methods We used meta‐analyses to evaluate the effects of sediments across 842 observations found in 110 publications. We also evaluated some of the biological and methodological factors that could explain the variable effects observed in different studies. Results We found a significant negative effect of sediments on behavioural responses of species, reproduction and recruitment processes, the morphology of organisms, physiology, community abundance and diversity, and species interactions. In contrast, the overall effect on the abundance of individual species was statistically non‐significant and there was a strong positive effect on abundance for sponge and polychaete species. Many individual studies described physiological effects on coral reefs, but the effects on the diversity of soft‐bottom and coral reef communities were particularly detrimental. Phototrophic species were generally more negatively impacted by sediments than heterotrophs, driven by strong physiological responses in crustose coralline algae and seagrasses. Additionally, species with limited mobility were more vulnerable to sediment disturbances than highly mobile species. Sedimentation alone triggered more consistently negative effects on most biological responses than light depletion and suspended sediments. We found evidence for increased impacts on community diversity when more than one pathway of impact was present, indicating that these disturbances can disrupt whole ecosystems. Main conclusions Our meta‐analysis provided, for the first time, strong quantitative support of negative effects of sediments on marine biodiversity. Taxonomic groups, habitat types and life‐history characteristics were most influential in determining the biological responses to sediment disturbances, highlighting the importance of an ecosystem‐based approach when fully accounting for the impacts of sediments.

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“…Brazilian coral reefs have peculiar features as relatively low coral diversity, high sedimentation rates and elevated turbidity due to abundant river flow into shore. These conditions have been considered marginal for coral optimal growth, so these reefs are known as marginal coral reefs (Leão et al, 2003;Suggett et al, 2012;Loiola et al, 2013). A small number of studies have conducted spongivorous fish stomach content analysis in rock (Andréa et al, 2007;Batista et al, 2012) or coral reefs (Reis et al, 2013) in Brazil and spongivorous feeding behavior was not previously investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spongivory by Fishes on Southwestern Atlantic Coral Reefs: No Evidence of Top-Down Control on Sponge Assemblages

et al. 2018

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Predator-prey dynamics can affect assemblage structure and ecosystem processes representing a central theory in ecology. In coral reef ecosystems, recent evidences have suggested that sponge assemblages in regions with high diversity, like the Caribbean, are controlled by reef fishes (i.e., top-down control); however, this has been poorly studied in low diversity coral reefs. This study investigated the influence of fish predators on sponge assemblage structure in South Atlantic coral reefs, systems with high endemism and relatively low hermatypic coral diversity. We investigates (i) whether sponge cover is negatively correlated to spongivorous fish density, (ii) potential spongivory effects on competitive interactions between sponges and hermatypic corals, and (iii) foraging preferences of spongivorous fishes. Benthic cover and spongivorous fish density were assessed by photo sampling and visual census, respectively. We did not observe a negative correlation of the total density of spongivorous fish with total sponge cover. However, a significant negative correlation between density of fish species Pomacanthus arcuatus and cover of sponge species Scopalina ruetzleri was found. Spongivorous fish consumed preferentially the sponges Desmapsamma anchorata, Niphates erecta, Aplysina cauliformis, and S. ruetzleri, the first two species considered palatable and the second two with chemically defense mechanism. An increase to angelfish density was not related with the number of coral-sponge encounters. Thus, the effects of spongivorous fishes on sponges cover and competitive interactions with hermatypic corals is weaker in Southwestern Atlantic than previously reported in Caribbean coral reefs. We discuss how local human impacts (e.g., fishing and nutrients input) can influence the observed patterns.

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Tolerance of Brazilian brain coral Mussismilia braziliensis to sediment and organic matter inputs

Cited by 28 publications

References 60 publications

Bacterial Community Associated with the Reef Coral Mussismilia braziliensis's Momentum Boundary Layer over a Diel Cycle

Bacterial Community Associated with the Reef Coral Mussismilia braziliensis's Momentum Boundary Layer over a Diel Cycle

A meta‐analysis reveals global patterns of sediment effects on marine biodiversity

Spongivory by Fishes on Southwestern Atlantic Coral Reefs: No Evidence of Top-Down Control on Sponge Assemblages

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