Short-term decline of a Bahamian patch reef coral community: Rainbow Gardens Reef 1991-004

详细信息    查看全文

• 作者：Eric Pante ; Allison King and Phillip Dustan
• 关键词：Monitoring ; Stressor ; Temporal change ; Size ; structure ; Phenotypic conditions
• 刊名：Hydrobiologia
• 出版年：2008
• 出版时间：January, 2008
• 年：2008
• 卷：596
• 期：1
• 页码：121-132
• 全文大小：481.7 KB
• 刊物类别：Biomedical and Life Sciences
• 刊物主题：Life Sciences
  Hydrobiology
  Ecology
  
• 出版者：Springer Netherlands
• ISSN：1573-5117

文摘

Temporal changes in the stony coral assemblages of Rainbow Gardens Reef (Iguana Cay, Exumas, Bahamas), were revealed by comparing quantitative community descriptors recorded in 1991 and 2004. Mean percent live cover significantly dropped from 13% to 3% between 1991 and 2004 (?77%, P < 0.01). During that period, coral abundance (number of colonies) decreased from 295 to 240 (?18.6%, P < 0.01). The community was less rich, equally diverse, more even, and the spatial structure of the reef had become more homogeneous. Most large Montastrea annularis, Agaricia agaricites, Porites porites, and Porites astreoides colonies were absent in 2004. Colonies were also more prone to stress related to algal smoothering, excess sediment, and endolithic boring. No disease was recorded on stony corals in 2004. Examination of M. annularis skeletons revealed intense bioerosion and a bright yellow skeletal band that corresponded to 1998–1999. Reefs worldwide suffered an unprecedented period of coral bleaching during the 1998 El Ni?o event, which is likely to have played a role in the decline of Rainbow Gardens. Evidence suggests that the synergistic actions of bleaching, bioerosion, and storm action reduced Rainbow’s formerly discrete coral patches to rubble. These results attest to the state of crisis of Caribbean coral reefs: even shallow, and presumably eurythermic communities in remote localities can be sensitive to change. Other patch reefs in the vicinity of Rainbow Gardens do not seem as degraded suggesting that local, small-scale differences may be important components of reef resilience.