Identification of Scleractinian Coral Recruits Using Fluorescent Censusing and DNA Barcoding Techniques

The identification of coral recruits has been problematic due to a lack of definitive morphological characters being available for higher taxonomic resolution. In this study, we tested whether fluorescent detection of coral recruits used in combinations of different DNA-barcoding markers (cytochrome oxidase I gene [COI], open reading frame [ORF], and nuclear Pax-C intron [PaxC]) could be useful for increasing the resolution of coral spat identification in ecological studies. One hundred and fifty settlement plates were emplaced at nine sites on the fringing reefs of Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan between April 2011 and September 2012. A total of 248 living coral spats and juveniles (with basal areas ranging from 0.21 to 134.57 mm²) were detected on the plates with the aid of fluorescent light and collected for molecular analyses. Using the COI DNA barcoding technique, 90.3% (224/248) of coral spats were successfully identified into six genera, including Acropora, Isopora, Montipora, Pocillopora, Porites, and Pavona. PaxC further separated I. cuneata and I. palifera of Isopora from Acropora, and ORF successfully identified the species of Pocillopora (except P. meandrina and P. eydouxi). Moreover, other cnidarian species such as actinarians, zoanthids, and Millepora species were visually found using fluorescence and identified by COI DNA barcoding. This combination of existing approaches greatly improved the taxonomic resolution of early coral life stages, which to date has been mainly limited to the family level based on skeletal identification. Overall, this study suggests important improvements for the identification of coral recruits in ecological studies.     

Microstructural characteristics of the stony coral genus Acropora useful to coral reef paleoecology and modern conservation

Identification of fossil corals is often limited due to poor preservation of external skeleton morphology, especially in the genus Acropora which is widespread across the Indo‐Pacific. Based on skeleton characteristics from thin section, we here develop a link between the internal skeleton structure and external morphology. Ten characteristics were summarized to distinguish Acropora and five related genera, including the type and differentiation of corallites, the skeleton nature of corallites (septa, columellae, dissepiments, wall), and calcification centers within septa. Acropora is distinctive for its dimorphic corallites: axial and radial. Isopora is similar to Acropora but possess more than a single axial corallites. Montipora and Astreopora (family Acroporidae) have monomorphic corallites and a synapticular ring wall, with clustered calcification center in the former and medial lines in the latter. Pocillopora and Porties are classified by distinctive dissepiments, columellae and septa. These microstructural skeleton characteristics were effective in the genus identification of fossil corals from drilled cores in the South China Sea. Eighteen detailed characteristics (ten of axial corallites, four of radial corallites, and four of coenosteum) were used in the Acropora species classification. The axial corallites size and structure (including corallite diameter, synapticular rings, and septa), the septa of radial corallites, and the arrangement of coenosteum were critical indicators for species identification. This identification guide can help paleoenvironmental and paleoecological analyses and modern coral reef conservation and restoration.     

Mesophotic communities of the insular shelf at Tutuila, American Samoa

An investigation into the insular shelf and submerged banks surrounding Tutuila, American Samoa, was conducted using a towed camera system. Surveys confirmed the presence of zooxanthellate scleractinian coral communities at mesophotic depths (30–110 m). Quantification of video data, separated into 10-m-depth intervals, yielded a vertical, landward-to-seaward and horizontal distribution of benthic assemblages. Hard substrata composed a majority of bottom cover in shallow water, whereas unconsolidated sediments dominated the deep insular shelf and outer reef slopes. Scleractinian coral cover was highest atop mid-shelf patch reefs and on the submerged bank tops in depths of 30–50 m. Macroalgal cover was highest near shore and on reef slopes approaching the bank tops at 50–60 m. Percent cover of scleractinian coral colony morphology revealed a number of trends. Encrusting corals belonging to the genus Montipora were most abundant at shallow depths with cover gradually decreasing as depth increased. Massive corals, such as Porites spp., displayed a similar trend. Percent cover values of plate-like corals formed a normal distribution, with the highest cover observed in the 60–70 m depth range. Shallow plate-like corals belonged mostly to the genus Acropora and appeared to be significantly prevalent on the northeastern and eastern banks. Deeper plate-like corals on the reef slopes were dominated by Leptoseris, Pachyseris, or Montipora genera. Branching coral cover was high in the 80–110 m depth range. Columnar and free-living corals were also occasionally observed from 40–70 m.     

Changes in Bleaching Susceptibility among Corals Subject to Ocean Warming and Recurrent Bleaching in Moorea,French Polynesia

Background

Climate-induced coral bleaching poses a major threat to coral reef ecosystems, mostly because of the sensitivities of key habitat-forming corals to increasing temperature. However, susceptibility to bleaching varies greatly among coral genera and there are likely to be major changes in the relative abundance of different corals, even if the wholesale loss of corals does not occur for several decades. Here we document variation in bleaching susceptibility among key genera of reef-building corals in Moorea, French Polynesia, and compare bleaching incidence during mass-bleaching events documented in 1991, 1994, 2002 and 2007.

Methodology/Principal Findings

This study compared the proportion of colonies that bleached for four major genera of reef-building corals (Acropora, Montipora, Pocillopora and Porites), during each of four well-documented bleaching events from 1991 to 2007. Acropora and Montipora consistently bleached in far greater proportions (up to 98%) than Pocillopora and Porites. However, there was an apparent and sustained decline in the proportion of colonies that bleached during successive bleaching events, especially for Acropora and Montipora. In 2007, only 77% of Acropora colonies bleached compared with 98% in 1991. Temporal variation in the proportion of coral colonies bleached may be attributable to differences in environmental conditions among years. Alternately, the sustained declines in bleaching incidence among highly susceptible corals may be indicative of acclimation or adaptation.

Conclusions/Significance

Coral genera that are highly susceptible to coral bleaching, and especially Acropora and Montipora, exhibit temporal declines in their susceptibility to thermal anomalies at Moorea, French Polynesia. One possible explanation for these findings is that gradual removal of highly susceptible genotypes (through selective mortality of individuals, populations, and/or species) is producing a coral assemblage that is more resistant to sustained and ongoing ocean warming.     

Gametogenesis and fecundity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acropora tenella</Emphasis> (Brook 1892) in a mesophotic coral ecosystem in Okinawa,Japan

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (below 30–40 m depth) host a large diversity of zooxanthellate coral communities and may play an important role in the ecology and conservation of coral reefs. Investigating the reproductive biology of mesophotic corals is important to understand their life history traits. Despite an increase in research on mesophotic corals in the last decade, their reproductive biology is still poorly understood. Here, gametogenesis and fecundity of the Indo-Pacific mesophotic coral, Acropora tenella, were examined in an upper mesophotic reef (40 m depth) in Okinawa, Japan for the first time. Acropora tenella is a hermaphrodite with a single annual gametogenic cycle, and both oogenesis and spermatogenesis occurring for 11–12 and 5–6 months, respectively. Timing of spawning of this species was similar to other shallow Acropora spp. in the region. However, colonies had longer gametogenic cycles and less synchronous gamete maturation compared to shallow acroporids with spawning extended over consecutive months. Both the polyp fecundity (number of eggs per polyp) and gonad index (defined as the number of eggs per square centimeter) of A. tenella were lower than most acroporids. Our findings contribute to understanding of the life history of corals on mesophotic reefs and suggest that the reproductive biology of upper mesophotic corals is similar to that of shallow-water corals.     

Effects of disturbance on coral communities: bleaching in Moorea,French Polynesia

This study examines patterns of susceptibility and short-term recovery of corals from bleaching. A mass coral bleaching event began in March, 1991 on reefs in Moorea, French Polynesia and affected corals on the shallow barrier reef and to >20 m depth on the outer forereef slope. There were significant differences in the effect of the bleaching among common coral genera, with Acropora, Montastrea, Montipora, and Pocillopora more affected than Porites, Pavona, leptastrea or Millepora. Individual colonies of the common species of Acropora and Pocillopora were marked and their fate assessed on a subsequent survey in August, 1991 to determine rates of recovery and mortality. Ninety-six percent of Acropora spp. showed some degree of bleaching compared to 76% of Pocillopora spp. From March to August mortality of bleached colonies of Pocillopora was 17%, 38% recovered completely, and many suffered some partial mortality of the tissue. In contrast, 63% of the Acropora spp. died, and about 10% recovered completely. Generally, those colonies with less than 50% of the colony area affected by the bleaching recovered at a higher rate than did those with more severe bleaching. Changes in community composition four months after the event began included a significant decrease only in crustose algae and an increase in cover of filamentous algae, much of which occupied plate-like and branching corals that had died in the bleaching event. Total coral cover and cover of susceptible coral genera had declined, but not significantly, after the event.     

Depth-Independent Reproduction in the Reef Coral Porites astreoides from Shallow to Mesophotic Zones

Mesophotic coral ecosystems between 30–150 m may be important refugia habitat for coral reefs and associated benthic communities from climate change and coastal development. However, reduced light at mesophotic depths may present an energetic challenge to the successful reproduction of light-dependent coral organisms, and limit this refugia potential. Here, the relationship of depth and fecundity was investigated in a brooding depth-generalist scleractinian coral, Porites astreoides from 5–37 m in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) using paraffin tissue histology. Despite a trend of increasing planulae production with depth, no significant differences were found in mean peak planulae density between shallow, mid-depth and mesophotic sites. Differential planulae production over depth is thus controlled by P. astreoides coral cover, which peaks at 10 m and ~35 m in the USVI. These results suggest that mesophotic ecosystems are reproductive refuge for P. astreoides in the USVI, and may behave as refugia for P. astreoides metapopulations providing that vertical larval exchanges are viable.     

Recent disturbances augment community shifts in coral assemblages in Moorea, French Polynesia

Coral reefs are often subject to disturbances that can cause enduring changes in community structure and abundance of coral reef organisms. In Moorea, French Polynesia, frequent disturbances between 1979 and 2003 caused marked shifts in taxonomic composition of coral assemblages. This study explores recent changes in live cover and taxonomic structure of coral communities on the north coast of Moorea, French Polynesia, to assess whether coral assemblages are recovering (returning to a previous Acropora-dominated state) or continuing to move towards an alternative community structure. Coral cover declined by 29.7% between July 2003 and March 2009, mostly due to loss of Acropora and Montipora spp. Coral mortality varied among habitats, with highest levels of coral loss on the outer reef slope (7–20 m depth). In contrast, there was limited change in coral cover within the lagoon, and coral cover actually increased on the reef crest. Observed changes in coral cover and composition correspond closely with the known feeding preferences and observed spatial patterns of Acanthaster planci L., though observed coral loss also coincided with at least one episode of coral bleaching, as well as persistent populations of the corallivorous starfish Culcita novaeguineae Muller & Troschel. While climate change poses an important and significant threat to the future structure and dynamics coral reef communities, outbreaks of A. planci remain a significant cause of coral loss in Moorea. More importantly, these recent disturbances have followed long-term shifts in the structure of coral assemblages, and the relative abundance of both Pocillopora and Porites continue to increase due to disproportionate losses of Acropora and Montipora. Moreover, Pocillopora and Porites dominate assemblages of juvenile corals, suggesting that there is limited potential for a return to an Acropora-dominated state, last recorded in 1979.     

Recurrent disturbances, recovery trajectories, and resilience of coral assemblages on a South Central Pacific reef

Coral reefs are increasingly threatened by various disturbances, and a critical challenge is to determine their ability for resistance and resilience. Coral assemblages in Moorea, French Polynesia, have been impacted by multiple disturbances (one cyclone and four bleaching events between 1991 and 2006). The 1991 disturbances caused large declines in coral cover (~51% to ~22%), and subsequent colonization by turf algae (~16% to ~49%), but this phase-shift from coral to algal dominance has not persisted. Instead, the composition of the coral community changed following the disturbances, notably favoring an increased cover of Porites, reduced cover of Montipora and Pocillopora, and a full return of Acropora; in this form, the reef returned to pre-disturbance coral cover within a decade. Thus, this coral assemblage is characterized by resilience in terms of coral cover, but plasticity in terms of community composition.     

The Importance of Coral Larval Recruitment for the Recovery of Reefs Impacted by Cyclone Yasi in the Central Great Barrier Reef

Cyclone Yasi, one of the most severe tropical storms on record, crossed the central Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in February 2011, bringing wind speeds of up to 285 km hr⁻¹ and wave heights of at least 10 m, and causing massive destruction to exposed reefs in the Palm Island Group. Following the cyclone, mean (± S.E.) hard coral cover ranged from just 2.1 (0.2) % to 5.3 (0.4) % on exposed reefs and no reproductively mature colonies of any species of Acropora remained. Although no fragments of Acropora were found at impacted exposed sites following the cyclone, small juvenile colonies of Acropora (<10 cm diameter) were present, suggesting that their small size and compact morphologies enabled them to survive the cyclone. By contrast, sheltered reefs appeared to be unaffected by the cyclone. Mean (± S.E.) hard coral cover ranged from 18.2 (2.4) % to 30.0 (1.0) % and a large proportion of colonies of Acropora were reproductively mature. Macroalgae accounted for 8 to 16% of benthic cover at exposed sites impacted by cyclone Yasi but were absent at sheltered sites. Mean (± S.E.) recruitment of acroporids to settlement tiles declined from 25.3 (4.8) recruits tile⁻¹ in the pre-cyclone spawning event (2010) to 15.4 (2.2) recruits tile⁻¹ in the first post-cyclone spawning event (2011). Yet, post-cyclone recruitment did not differ between exposed (15.2±2.1 S.E.) and sheltered sites (15.6±2.2 S.E.), despite the loss of reproductive colonies at the exposed sites, indicating larval input from external sources. Spatial variation in impacts, the survival of small colonies, and larval replenishment to impacted reefs suggest that populations of Acropora have the potential to recover from this severe disturbance, provided that the Palm Islands are not impacted by acute disturbances or suffer additional chronic stressors in the near future.     

Population Structure of Montastraea cavernosa on Shallow versus Mesophotic Reefs in Bermuda

Mesophotic coral reef ecosystems remain largely unexplored with only limited information available on taxonomic composition, abundance and distribution. Yet, mesophotic reefs may serve as potential refugia for shallow-water species and thus understanding biodiversity, ecology and connectivity of deep reef communities is integral for resource management and conservation. The Caribbean coral, Montastraea cavernosa, is considered a depth generalist and is commonly found at mesophotic depths. We surveyed abundance and size-frequency of M. cavernosa populations at six shallow (10m) and six upper mesophotic (45m) sites in Bermuda and found population structure was depth dependent. The mean surface area of colonies at mesophotic sites was significantly smaller than at shallow sites, suggesting that growth rates and maximum colony surface area are limited on mesophotic reefs. Colony density was significantly higher at mesophotic sites, however, resulting in equal contributions to overall percent cover. Size-frequency distributions between shallow and mesophotic sites were also significantly different with populations at mesophotic reefs skewed towards smaller individuals. Overall, the results of this study provide valuable baseline data on population structure, which indicate that the mesophotic reefs of Bermuda support an established population of M. cavernosa.     

Associational refuges among corals mediate impacts of a crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci outbreak Indirect positive interactions in communities

Interactions among coral populations can moderate the impact of coral predator outbreaks, enhancing community resilience and recovery. This study used predator-exclusion cages and neighbour removals in a field experiment to test how indirect interactions between populations of three coral taxa, Acropora, Pocillopora, and Porites, influenced their survival during an outbreak of the crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci, in Moorea, French Polynesia. High densities of corals enhanced survival by generating associational refuges: physical structures that impeded Acanthaster and protected corals, and by simple density-dependent prey dilution that reduced predation rates. Acanthaster showed feeding preferences, resulting in varying intensities of predation on corals, which (1) influenced the type and strength of the associational refuge among corals and (2) resulted in significant loss of the competitive dominants to the benefit of the competitive inferiors. The result was a set of indirect positive interactions (IPIs) that prevented Acanthaster from eradicating Acropora and may have enhanced Porites, a relatively weak competitor among corals. IPIs probably play a key role in many ecosystems, especially in coral reefs in which corals act as engineer species, to reduce impacts of perturbations and enhance community resilience. This study illustrates the importance of IPIs in community regulation with a new conceptual model.     

The transformation of Caribbean coral communities since humans

The mass die‐off of Caribbean corals has transformed many of this region’s reefs to macroalgal‐dominated habitats since systematic monitoring began in the 1970s. Although attributed to a combination of local and global human stressors, the lack of long‐term data on Caribbean reef coral communities has prevented a clear understanding of the causes and consequences of coral declines. We integrated paleoecological, historical, and modern survey data to track the occurrence of major coral species and life‐history groups throughout the Caribbean from the prehuman period to the present. The regional loss of Acropora corals beginning by the 1960s from local human disturbances resulted in increases in the occurrence of formerly subdominant stress‐tolerant and weedy scleractinian corals and the competitive hydrozoan Millepora beginning in the 1970s and 1980s. These transformations have resulted in the homogenization of coral communities within individual countries. However, increases in stress‐tolerant and weedy corals have slowed or reversed since the 1980s and 1990s in tandem with intensified coral bleaching and disease. These patterns reveal the long history of increasingly stressful environmental conditions on Caribbean reefs that began with widespread local human disturbances and have recently culminated in the combined effects of local and global change.     

Habitat Selectivity and Reliance on Live Corals for Indo-Pacific Hawkfishes (Family: Cirrhitidae)

Hawkfishes (family: Cirrhitidae) are small conspicuous reef predators that commonly perch on, or shelter within, the branches of coral colonies. This study examined habitat associations of hawkfishes, and explicitly tested whether hawkfishes associate with specific types of live coral. Live coral use and habitat selectivity of hawkfishes was explored at six locations from Chagos in the central Indian Ocean extending east to Fiji in the Pacific Ocean. A total of 529 hawkfishes from seven species were recorded across all locations with 63% of individuals observed perching on, or sheltering within, live coral colonies. Five species (all except Cirrhitus pinnulatus and Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus) associated with live coral habitats. Cirrhitichthys falco selected for species of Pocillopora while Paracirrhites arcatus and P. forsteri selected for both Pocillopora and Acropora, revealing that these habitats are used disproportionately more than expected based on the local cover of these coral genera. Habitat selection was consistent across geographic locations, and species of Pocillopora were the most frequently used and most consistently selected even though this coral genus never comprised more than 6% of the total coral cover at any of the locations. Across locations, Paracirrhites arcatus and P. forsteri were the most abundant species and variation in their abundance corresponded with local patterns of live coral cover and abundance of Pocilloporid corals, respectively. These findings demonstrate the link between small predatory fishes and live coral habitats adding to the growing body of literature highlighting that live corals (especially erect branching corals) are critically important for sustaining high abundance and diversity of fishes on coral reefs.     

FIRST RECORD OF THE INDO‐PACIFIC REEF CORAL GENUS ISOPORA IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION: TWO NEW SPECIES FROM THE NEOGENE OF CURAÇAO,NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

Abstract: The coral genus Isopora, a sister group of the modern dominant Acropora until now only known from the Pliocene to Recent of the Indo‐Pacific, is recorded in the Caribbean for the first time. Two new species, Isopora ginsburgi and Isopora curacaoensis, are described from the Neogene Seroe Domi Formation of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. Study of large collections made systematically through the sequence indicates that Isopora first occurred in the Caribbean during the Mio–Pliocene, at approximately the same time as the origination of many modern Caribbean reef coral dominants including Acropora cervicornis. It last occurred in the region during the late Pliocene as part of a pulse of extinction, in which several genera that live today in the Indo‐Pacific became extinct in the Caribbean. Throughout its Caribbean duration, Isopora co‐occurred with the two abundant modern Caribbean species of Acropora, A. cervicornis and A. palmata. Comparisons with Neogene collections made elsewhere in the Caribbean indicate that Isopora was restricted in distribution to the southern Caribbean. Isopora species are viviparous, while Acropora are oviparous, and this difference in reproductive strategy may have played a role in the extinction of Isopora in the Caribbean. The occurrences of Isopora reported in this study are the oldest records to date of Isopora worldwide, and are important for understanding the biogeographic separation between reef coral faunas in the Caribbean and Indo‐Pacific regions.     

Bathymetric Variation in Recruitment and Relative Importance of Pre- and Post-Settlement Processes in Coral Assemblages at Lyudao (Green Island), Taiwan

Studies on coral communities have typically been conducted in shallow waters (∼5 m). However, in the face of climate change, and as shallow coral communities become degraded, a greater understanding of deeper coral communities is needed as they become the main reef remnants, playing a central role in the future of coral reefs. To understand the dynamics of deeper coral assemblages, the recruitment and taxonomic composition of different life-stages at 5 and 15 m depths were compared at three locations in Lyudao, southeastern Taiwan in 2010. Coral recruits (<1 cm diameter, <4 months old) were examined using settlement plates. Juvenile corals (1–5 cm, several years old) were examined with quadrats, and adult corals (>5 cm, several years to decades old) were examined using transect lines. Pocilloporid and poritid corals had similar and higher numbers of recruits at 5 m compared to 15 m, whereas acroporid recruits were more abundant at 15 m. The primary cause for the former may be larval behavior, such that they position themselves in shallow waters, while that for the latter may be the dominance of brooding acroporid species (Isopora spp.) at 15 m. The taxonomic composition, especially between recruits and juveniles/adults, was more similar at 15 m than at 5 m. These results suggest a change in the relative importance of pre- and post-settlement processes in assemblage determinants with depth; coral assemblages in shallow habitats (more disturbed) are more influenced by post-settlement processes (mortality events), while those in deeper habitats (more protected) are more influenced by pre-settlement processes (larval supply).     

Variability in chemical defense across a shallow to mesophotic depth gradient in the Caribbean sponge <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plakortis angulospiculatus</Emphasis>

The transition between shallow and mesophotic coral reef communities in the tropics is characterized by a significant gradient in abiotic and biotic conditions that could result in potential trade-offs in energy allocation. The mesophotic reefs in the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands have a rich sponge fauna with significantly greater percent cover of sponges than in their respective shallow reef communities, but relatively low numbers of spongivores. Plakortis angulospiculatus, a common sponge species that spans the depth gradient from shallow to mesophotic reefs in the Caribbean, regenerates faster following predation and invests more energy in protein synthesis at mesophotic depths compared to shallow reef conspecifics. However, since P. angulospiculatus from mesophotic reefs typically contain lower concentrations of chemical feeding deterrents, they are not able to defend new tissue from predation as efficiently as conspecifics from shallow reefs. Nonetheless, following exposure to predators on shallow reefs, transplanted P. angulospiculatus from mesophotic depths developed chemical deterrence to predatory fishes. A survey of bioactive extracts indicated that a specific defensive metabolite, plakortide F, varied in concentration with depth, producing altered deterrence between shallow and mesophotic reef P. angulospiculatus. Different selective pressures in shallow and mesophotic habitats have resulted in phenotypic plasticity within this sponge species that is manifested in variable chemical defense and tissue regeneration at wound sites.     

Mesophotic depths as refuge areas for fishery-targeted species on coral reefs

Coral reefs are subjected to unprecedented levels of disturbance with population growth and climate change combining to reduce standing coral cover and stocks of reef fishes. Most of the damage is concentrated in shallow waters (<30 m deep) where humans can comfortably operate and where physical disturbances are most disruptive to marine organisms. Yet coral reefs can extend to depths exceeding 100 m, potentially offering refuge from the threats facing shallower reefs. We deployed baited remote underwater stereo-video systems (stereo-BRUVs) at depths of 10–90 m around the southern Mariana Islands to investigate whether fish species targeted by fishing in the shallows may be accruing benefits from being at depth. We show that biomass, abundance and species richness of fishery-targeted species increased from shallow reef areas to a depth of 60 m, whereas at greater depths, a lack of live coral habitat corresponded to lower numbers of fish. The majority of targeted species were found to have distributions that ranged from shallow depths (10 m) to depths of at least 70 m, emphasising that habitat, not depth, is the limiting factor in their vertical distribution. While the gradient of abundance and biomass versus depth was steepest for predatory species, the first species usually targeted by fishing, we also found that fishery-targeted herbivores prevailed in similar biomass and species richness to 60 m. Compared to shallow marine protected areas, there was clearly greater biomass of fishery-targeted species accrued in mesophotic depths. Particularly some species typically harvested by depth-limited fishing methods (e.g., spearfishing), such as the endangered humphead wrasse Cheilinus undulatus, were found in greater abundance on deeper reefs. We conclude that mesophotic depths provide essential fish habitat and refuge for fishery-targeted species, representing crucial zones for fishery management and research into the resilience of disturbed coral reef ecosystems.     

Recruitment and larval connectivity of a remnant Acropora community in the Arabian Gulf,United Arab Emirates

Coral cover and community structure in the Arabian Gulf have changed considerably in recent decades. Recurrent bleaching events have dramatically reduced the abundance of previously dominant Acropora corals and have given space to other more thermally resistant coral taxa. The loss of Acropora spp. has reduced reef structural complexity and associated biodiversity. Sir Bu Nair Island (SBN) is a nature reserve in the United Arab Emirates that sustains some of the last dense and extensive Acropora stands in the southern Gulf. This study investigated coral recruitment at a southern coral reef on SBN and examined larval dispersal and reef connectivity between SBN and other local and regional reefs through an agent-based model coupled with a 3D hydrodynamic model. Recruitment was surveyed with settlement tiles deployed from April to September 2019. Contrary to other reefs in the Gulf, we found that Acropora is indeed the major coral recruiter settling at SBN reefs, followed by Porites. The models indicate that SBN reefs are mostly self-seeding but also connected to other reefs in the Gulf. SBN can supply coral larvae to the neighbouring islands Siri and Abu Musa, and nearby reefs along with the north-eastern Emirates, Iranian coast and Strait of Hormuz. Findings highlight the importance of SBN to protect remnant populations of the locally almost extinct Acropora in a region where natural coral recovery is increasingly sparse.

     

Spatial and seasonal reef calcification in corals and calcareous crusts in the central Red Sea

The existence of coral reef ecosystems critically relies on the reef carbonate framework produced by scleractinian corals and calcareous crusts (i.e., crustose coralline algae). While the Red Sea harbors one of the longest connected reef systems in the world, detailed calcification data are only available from the northernmost part. To fill this knowledge gap, we measured in situ calcification rates of primary and secondary reef builders in the central Red Sea. We collected data on the major habitat-forming coral genera Porites, Acropora, and Pocillopora and also on calcareous crusts (CC) in a spatio-seasonal framework. The scope of the study comprised sheltered and exposed sites of three reefs along a cross-shelf gradient and over four seasons of the year. Calcification of all coral genera was consistent across the shelf and highest in spring. In addition, Pocillopora showed increased calcification at exposed reef sites. In contrast, CC calcification increased from nearshore, sheltered to offshore, exposed reef sites, but also varied over seasons. Comparing our data to other reef locations, calcification in the Red Sea was in the range of data collected from reefs in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific; however, Acropora calcification estimates were at the lower end of worldwide rates. Our study shows that the increasing coral cover from nearshore to offshore environments aligned with CC calcification but not coral calcification, highlighting the potentially important role of CC in structuring reef cover and habitats. While coral calcification maxima have been typically observed during summer in many reef locations worldwide, calcification maxima during spring in the central Red Sea indicate that summer temperatures exceed the optima of reef calcifiers in this region. This study provides a foundation for comparative efforts and sets a baseline to quantify impact of future environmental change in the central Red Sea.