Rapid phase-shift reversal on a Jamaican coral reef |
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Authors: | Joshua A Idjadi Sarah C Lee John F Bruno William F Precht Laurie Allen-Requa Peter J Edmunds |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA;(2) Department of Marine Sciences, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3300, USA;(3) Ecological Sciences Division, PBS&J, 2001 NW 107th Avenue, Miami, FL 33172, USA;(4) Department of Biology, California State University, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330-8303, USA |
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Abstract: | Many Caribbean reefs have experienced a phase-shift in community structure, the principle features being a decline in coral cover and an increase in macroalgal biomass. However, one Jamaican reef—Dairy Bull on the north shore near Discovery Bay—is once again dominated by scleractinian corals and several key species have returned. Living coral cover at 6–8 m depth at Dairy Bull has doubled over the past 9 years and is now ~54%. The absolute cover of Acropora cervicornis was <1% in 1995, but increased to ~11% by January 2004. During this time the cover of macroalgae decreased by 90%, from 45 to 6%. We speculate that long-lived colonies of Montastraea annularis may have facilitated the recovery of this reef by providing structural refugia. |
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Keywords: | Acropora cervicornis Coral reef Montastraea annularis Phase-shift |
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