南沙群岛珊瑚礁岩体结构特征及工程地质分带

珊瑚礁是发育于海洋环境之中、由造礁珊瑚和生物历经生物和地质作用形成的地质体，是一种特殊的岩土介质类型。在南沙群岛珊瑚礁体上，水动力作用和沉积类型、地形地貌都具有成带分布的特点，因而岩体结构和工程地质性质亦具有分带性。在珊瑚礁海洋水动力环境分带的基础上．研究了南沙群岛珊瑚礁的剖面结构、内部结构和浅地层结构特征以及工程地质分层和岩性，将珊瑚礁岩体结构划分为4种类型和5个工程地质相带，并对各分带的工程特性及适宜性进行了评价。     

南海东北部两种软珊瑚

金黄编笠软珊瑚Morchellana boleliformis(Ridley)和黎明编笠软珊瑚Morchellana auroro(Ridley)隶属于棘软珊瑚科Nephtheidae编笠软珊瑚属Morchellana,于1979—1983年采自南海东北部水域。     

3种传统方法对不同珊瑚表面积测量的适用性及其校准方法——以3D扫描技术为基准*

造礁石珊瑚的表面积是珊瑚生物学和珊瑚礁生态学研究中重要的参数, 因其形态结构复杂, 准确测量十分困难。由于测量方法的不同, 导致不同珊瑚之间的重要指标无法被直接比较, 因此系统比较不同的表面积测量方法十分必要。以块状的普哥滨珊瑚Porites pukoensis和分枝状的鹿角杯形珊瑚Pocillopora damicornis为研究对象, 以3D扫描技术测量的珊瑚表面积作为标准值, 对比石蜡包埋法、锡箔纸包裹法以及简单几何近似法3种传统方法测量珊瑚表面积的准确度; 讨论了不同的表面积测量方法对于不同形态结构珊瑚的适用性; 并通过简单回归分析, 校准传统测量方法的测量准确度。研究结果表明, 无论在普哥滨珊瑚还是鹿角杯形珊瑚中, 简单几何近似法的测量准确度最高(72.71%和94.52%), 石蜡包埋法其次(68.86%和83.08%), 锡箔纸包裹法最低(65.27%和58.07%)。简单回归分析结果表明, 除了锡箔纸包裹法测量普哥滨珊瑚表面积与3D扫描测量结果的相关性较低(r²=0.76)外, 其他传统测量方法与3D扫描测量结果均具有较强相关性(r²>0.95)。因此, 研究认为可通过简单回归分析构建回归方程对传统测量方法进行校准, 以提高传统方法的测量准确度。     

How Episodic Coral Breakage Can Determine Community Structure: A South African Coral Reef Example

Abstract. Africa's southernmost coral reefs are situated in Natal Province, South Africa. The Natal coast is exposed to open Ocean swells and episodic storm swell conditions. Benthic communities on these reefs differentiated into three community types: shallow reefs (8–18 m) were dominated by alcyonacean corals and low-growing, massive Scleractinia; intermediate reefs (18–25 m) were dominated chiefly by branching and tabular Scleractinia of the genus Acropora (A. austera, A. clathrata); deep reefs were not dominated by corals but by sponges. Breakage and recovery experiments indicated that the difference in Acropora dominance between shallow and intermediate sites was caused by breakage in high swell conditions. Survival of experimentally produced A. austera fragments was significantly higher in intermediate than in shallow sites, where higher surge made re-attachment and regeneration unlikely. Also, colony morphology was adapted to differential surge conditions: colonies on the shallow reefs were smaller with shorter branches, while on intermediate reefs they were much bigger with long, widely spreading branches. Episodic breakage and low fragment survival due to high water-motion thus excluded branching corals from shallow reef sites.     

南海珊瑚礁高分辨率遥感地貌分类体系研究

珊瑚礁遥感地貌分类体系在珊瑚礁遥感地貌制图中具有重要的指导作用。目前,珊瑚礁遥感地貌分类体系仍存在构建标准不统一、部分重要地貌类型不突出以及涵盖地貌类型不完备等问题,影响了珊瑚礁遥感地貌制图应用于珊瑚礁科学和管理。本文采用中国南海46个珊瑚礁(环礁、台礁)的高分辨率遥感影像(WorldView-2、Quickbird),并结合西沙群岛15个岛礁的地貌实地调查数据进行南海高分辨率遥感地貌分类体系的构建研究。以各地貌类型所处礁体位置、动力特征、出露程度和沉积类型为划分标准,将相似尺度和重要性相当的地貌类型归为同等级别,共构建了3级19类南海珊瑚礁遥感地貌分类体系。该分类体系划分标准统一、地貌类型数量最多且完备,新命名了内礁坪生物稀疏带、内礁坪生物丛生带,补充了水下礁脊、潮间带浅滩、浅水礁塘等地貌类型,便于直观理解和推断不同尺度的海洋生态相互作用及重要性。同时,其多等级多尺度性适用于分辨率由低到高的南海珊瑚礁遥感地貌制图,有助于珊瑚礁态势演变分析、管理和保护,为维护国家海洋权益作出应有的贡献。     

Bioerosion by the sea urchin Diadema mexicanum along Eastern Tropical Pacific coral reefs

Bioerosion is a natural process in coral reefs. It is fundamental to the health of these ecosystems. In the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) coral reefs, the most important bioeroders are sponges, bivalves, sea urchins and the fish Arothron meleagris. In the 1980s, El Niño caused high coral mortality and an increase in macroalgal growth. As a result, greater sea urchin bioerosion occurred. This weakened the reef framework. Considering the high vulnerability of the ETP coral reefs, the goal of this study was to determine the current bioerosion impact of the sea urchin Diadema mexicanum along the western coasts of Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panamá. The balance between coral bioaccretion and sea urchin bioerosion was also calculated. Between 2009 and 2010, in 12 coral reefs localities, D. mexicanum density, bottom cover and rugosity were quantified along band transects. The daily bioerosion rate was obtained from the amount of carbonates evacuated by sea urchins per unit time. The rate of coral accretion was calculated by multiplying the coral growth rate of the dominant genus by the density of their skeleton and by their specific coral cover. The localities were dissimilar (R = 0.765, P < 0.001) in terms of live coral cover, crustose calcareous algae, turf cover, rugosity index, and density and size of D. mexicanum. At all sites, with the exception of Bahía Culebra (Costa Rica), coral bioerosion was less than coral bioaccretion. Diadema mexicanum plays a dominant role in the balance of carbonates in the ETP, but this depends on reef condition (protection, overfishing, eutrophication) and so the impacts can be either positive or negative.     

Biogeographic variability in the physiological response of the cold‐water coral Lophelia pertusa to ocean acidification

While ocean acidification is a global issue, the severity of ecosystem effects is likely to vary considerably at regional scales. The lack of understanding of how biogeographically separated populations will respond to acidification hampers our ability to predict the future of vital ecosystems. Cold‐water corals are important drivers of biodiversity in ocean basins across the world and are considered one of the most vulnerable ecosystems to ocean acidification. We tested the short‐term physiological response of the cold‐water coral Lophelia pertusa to three pH treatments (pH = 7.9, 7.75 and 7.6) for Gulf of Mexico (USA) and Tisler Reef (Norway) populations, and found that reductions in seawater pH elicited contrasting responses. Gulf of Mexico corals exhibited reductions in net calcification, respiration and prey capture rates with decreasing pH. In contrast, Tisler Reef corals showed only slight reductions in net calcification rates under decreased pH conditions while significantly elevating respiration and capture rates. These differences are likely the result of environmental differences (depth, pH, food supply) between the two regions, invoking the potential for local adaptation or acclimatization to alter their response to global change. However, it is also possible that variations in the methodology used in the experiments contributed to the observed differences. Regardless, these results provide insights into the resilience of L. pertusa to ocean acidification as well as the potential influence of regional differences on the viability of species in future oceans.     

Experimental bleaching of a tropical sea anemone in situ

Bleaching (whitening) of cnidarians such as corals and sea anemones has caused widespread degradation of coral reefs around the world and is therefore an urgent issue for coral reef science and conservation. Although cnidarians often bleach in aquaria, methods for experimental induction of bleaching in wild cnidarians are lacking, which impedes scientists’ ability to understand the ultimate effects of bleaching on the broader ecosystem. In this study, we investigated the utility of an in situ method for experimental induction of bleaching in the tropical sea anemone Heteractis crispa. Healthy, wild anemones were covered with opaque black plastic sheets, mesh cages or left undisturbed (controls) and tentacle colour and body size were monitored with a colour reference card and flexible tape, respectively, every 1–3 days for 15 days. Caged and control anemones remained unchanged for the duration of the experiment, but covered anemones commenced whitening after 4–6 days and were completely white after 7–14 days (mean time to bleaching ± SE = 10.1 ± 0.7 days). Experimental bleaching occurred without reduction in anemone body size and was visibly similar to natural bleaching seen previously in H. crispa. We hypothesize that light‐deprivation, reduced water flow, physical contact or some combination of these factors caused the bleaching. This study provides the basis for a simple and rapid method of inducing bleaching in situ, which releases scientists’ dependence on sporadic natural bleaching events or artificial aquarium experiments, and provides a means to investigate the effects of bleaching on other ecosystem components such as fishes.     

Temporal dynamics and persistence of sponge assemblages in a Central Pacific atoll lagoon

Sponges are important components of coral reef fauna, although little is known of their temporal dynamics. Sponges dominate the lagoon system at Palmyra Atoll in the Central Pacific, which may not be its natural state. Here we examined the temporal variability and recruitment rates of these sponge assemblages to determine if they are stable and examined the evidence that a recent transition has occurred from a coral‐ to sponge‐dominated system. We found 24 sponge species in permanent quadrats in the lagoon between 2009 and 2011, and 11 species on our recruitment panels. The sponge assemblage composition and abundance did not vary significantly between years and appear stable. Many sponge recruits were found in both years that the panels were examined although higher rates were recorded in the second year of the study. While it seems very possible that a change to a sponge‐dominated lagoon is associated with declining environmental quality at Palmyra as a result of modifications over 70 years ago, without pre‐modification data on reef assemblage composition this remains speculative. Our observations of short‐term temporal stability in the sponge assemblages at Palmyra highlight the potential for sponge‐dominated reef states to be maintained in degraded reef environments that are seemingly unsuitable for coral survival.     

Spatial and ecologic distribution of neglected microinvertebrate communities across endangered ecosystems: meiofauna in Bali (Indonesia)

Biodiversity estimations, particularly in vulnerable tropical regions, are essential to understanding ecosystem structure, function and conservation. While threats to marine and terrestrial ecosystems have fueled increased interest in biodiversity research, information on meiofauna, a key trophic and ecologic community of microscopic organisms that lives within sediments, is still lacking. Here we report the results of a faunistic investigation conducted in Bali, Indonesia. The results reveal that the biodiversity of marine meiofauna in Bali is very high. Meiofauna from coral reefs, sand flats and seagrass beds differed significantly in abundance and diversity. Nonetheless, overall community compositions show that meiofauna communities are affected by environmental variables. The high meiofaunal diversity observed in Bali, a low diversity region of the Coral Triangle, indicates the importance of further meiofaunal research across this region and across a broader diversity of habitats. The data presented provide an important baseline for future studies on biodiversity conservation in the face of environmental changes due to anthropogenic impacts and/or natural events.