scholarly journals Over three decades, a classic winner starts to lose in a Caribbean coral community

Ecosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Edmunds ◽  
Craig Didden ◽  
Karl Frank
Keyword(s):  
Coral Community ◽  
Caribbean Coral

scholarly journals Defining variation in pre-human ecosystems can guide conservation: An example from a Caribbean coral reef

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron O’Dea ◽  
Mauro Lepore ◽  
Andrew H. Altieri ◽  
Melisa Chan ◽  
Jorge Manuel Morales-Saldaña ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Human Impact ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Stable State ◽  
Coral Community ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Novel Ecosystem ◽  
Caribbean Coral ◽  
Time Substitution

AbstractThere is a consensus that Caribbean coral reefs are a pale shadow of what they once were, yet a reef’s pre-human state is typically assumed or estimated using space-for-time substitution approaches. These approaches may fail to account for past variation before human impact which could mislead conservation priorities and actions. In this study we use a suite of fossilised mid-Holocene (7.2-5.6 ka) fringing reefs in Caribbean Panama to define the Historical Range of Variation (HRV) in coral community structure before human-impact to provide context for the states of modern reefs in the same area. Using the abundances of coral taxa to quantify communities, we found that most of the modern coral communities exist in novel ecosystem states with no fossil precedence. We do however identify one modern reef that is indistinguishable in coral community structure from the mid-Holocene reefs. Reef-matrix cores show that the community on this reef has remained in a stable state for over 760 years, suggesting long-term resistance to the region-wide shift to novel states. Without historical context this robust and stable reef would be overlooked since it does not fulfil expectations of what a “pristine” coral reef should look like. This example illustrates how defining past variation using the fossil record can place modern degradation in historical context and improve conservation recommendations.

Early Miocene shallow-water corals from La Guajira, Colombia: part I, Acroporidae–Montastraeidae

2018 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Flórez ◽  
Paula Zapata-Ramírez ◽  
James S. Klaus
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Shallow Water ◽  
Coral Community ◽  
Shallow Waters ◽  
Remote Region ◽  
Southern Caribbean ◽  
Caribbean Coral ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Montastraea Cavernosa ◽  
First Time

AbstractWe document for the first time Miocene corals from the Siamaná and Jimol formations of the Cocinetas Basin in La Guajira Peninsula, northern Colombia. This is the first of two contributions dedicated to the description and detailed illustration of morphospecies collected during two scientific expeditions (2011, 2014) to the remote region. Here we report coral morphospecies attributed to the families Acroporidae, Agathiphylliidae, Astrocoeniidae, Caryophylliidae, Diploastraeidae, Merulinidae, and Montastraeidae. Eighteen species belonging to these seven families, included in nine genera, are described. Fifteen species are assigned to established taxa, while three remain in open nomenclature. Of the species identified, onlyMontastraea cavernosa(Linnaeus, 1767) exists today. The coral taxa described are typical of the Oligocene–Miocene transition and were important components of shallow-water reefs in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region during this period. The occurrence ofAgathiphylliaspp.,Antiguastrea, andDiploastreaspp. confirms the presence of these genera in the Miocene of the Southern Caribbean. Coral assemblages suggest that the La Guajira coral community thrived in calm and shallow waters.

scholarly journals Coverage Increases of Porites astreoides in Grenada Determined by Shifts in Size-Frequency Distribution

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 288
Author(s):  
Ryan G. Eagleson ◽  
John S. Lumsden ◽  
Lorenzo Álvarez-Filip ◽  
Christophe M. Herbinger ◽  
Ryan A. Horricks
Keyword(s):  
Coral Community ◽  
Scleractinian Corals ◽  
Area Measurement ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Size Frequency Distribution ◽  
Point Count ◽  
Porites Astreoides ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Caribbean

Despite coral community collapse, the mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides) is a species currently experiencing success throughout the Caribbean. The inshore reefs of Grenada were selected to study the influence of benthic factors on the abundance, size, and coverage of P. astreoides colonies. Surveys of reef communities along established 30 m transects were conducted at eight sites in 2014 and 2017 using a 0.5 m² quadrat. Coral Point Count was used to annotate the images, estimating the coverage of scleractinian corals, sponges, algae, and benthic substrates. Coverage, size, and abundance of P. astreoides colonies were quantified using the area measurement tool in ImageJ standardized against the quadrats. There were significant differences in benthic community assemblages between islands, selected sites, and between years. From 2014 to 2017 there was a significant decrease in the mean abundance of P. astreoides colonies and significant increases in mean colony size and coverage. The presence of P. astreoides colonies was significantly correlated with: rubble (−), sand (−); pavement (+); macroalgae (−); coralline algae (+); sponges (varying response); gorgonians (−); massive corals (+); and branching corals (−). P. astreoides follows similar recruitment patterns as other scleractinian corals. Observed changes in P. astreoides populations appear to indicate a recovery event following a disturbance, potentially tropical storm Chantal in 2013.

Coral community composition and carbonate production in an urbanized seascape

2021 ◽  
pp. 105322
Author(s):  
Chin Soon Lionel Ng ◽  
Yong Kit Samuel Chan ◽  
Nhung Thi Hong Nguyen ◽  
Yuichi Preslie Kikuzawa ◽  
Shu Qin Sam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Coral Community ◽  
Carbonate Production

scholarly journals Impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a deep-water coral community in the Gulf of Mexico

2012 ◽  
Vol 109 (50) ◽  
pp. 20303-20308 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. White ◽  
P.-Y. Hsing ◽  
W. Cho ◽  
T. M. Shank ◽  
E. E. Cordes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Coral Community ◽  
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽  
Water Coral
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