Reefs at the edge: coral community structure around Rapa,southernmost French Polynesia

Rapa (27°36′ S, 144°20′ W) is a small (~40 km²) volcanic island isolated in the Southern Austral Archipelago, where direct anthropogenic stressors are extremely limited. Here, we present the results of the first quantitative survey of coral community structure across habitats and depths around the island. Despite its geographical isolation in the depauperate South Central Pacific, its small size and unfavourable environmental conditions (competition with macroalgae, low sea surface temperatures, reduced reef accretion), the diversity of scleractinian corals at Rapa is particularly high (112 species from 32 genera, including 37 species of Acropora) in comparison to other French Polynesian islands and subtropical Pacific locations. Our results indicate that the abundance (>100 colonies per 10 m² recorded at nine of the 17 sampling stations) and cover (>40% at four stations) of corals are relatively high for a marginal reef location. Strong spatial heterogeneity was found, with high variation in diversity, abundance, cover and community composition among stations. Variation in community composition was related to habitat types, with distinct assemblages among fringing reefs within bays, reef formations at bay entrances, and those on the submerged platform surrounding the island. On the platform, a depth gradient was detected, with generic richness, abundance and cover generally greater at deeper stations (18–20 m depth) compared with medium‐depth (10–12 m) and shallow (1–3 m) stations. A gradient was also recorded along bays, with increasing coral diversity and abundance from the bay heads to the bay entrances. The coral community at Rapa was characterized by the presence of several taxa not found in other French Polynesian archipelagos and the rarity of others that are common and abundant in the Society and the Tuamotu islands. Another distinctive feature of reef communities at Rapa is the high cover and dominance of macroalgae, particularly in the shallower parts of the surrounding platform, which probably explains the lower densities of coral colonies recorded there. These characteristics of the diversity and biogeographical composition of coral assemblages at Rapa provide considerable ecological grounds for its conservation.     

Persistent alternate abundance states in the coral reef sea urchin Diadema savignyi: evidence of alternate attractors

Alternate attractors have been shown to exist in a variety of terrestrial and aquatic systems, e.g. temperate forests, savannas, shallow lakes, wetlands, coral reefs, kelp forests. The shift from one attractor to another, also referred to as a regime shift, is thought to occur when a system passes some critical threshold such that the trajectory of the system changes direction. Alternate attractors in population dynamics can also exist, leading to alternate stable states in the population abundance of a species. This study explored alternate attractors in the population dynamics of the Indo‐Pacific sea urchin Diadema savignyi and the potential underlying mechanisms that promote its bi‐stability. In Moorea, French Polynesia, the local abundance of D. savignyi, a functionally important herbivore in lagoon habitats, occurs in two states: (i) solitary individuals that occupy crevices in low densities and (ii) aggregations of tens to hundreds of individuals. These different states are temporally stable and are not explained by spatial differences in recruitment rates of juveniles. A field experiment revealed that the per capita mortality rate of adult D. savignyi was substantially lower at sites where urchins occurred in aggregations compared with sites at which they were solitary individuals. An additional experiment showed that per capita mortality decreased with increasing aggregation size. Individuals in high‐density aggregations, however, had significantly smaller test diameters than solitary individuals, indicating that individuals in aggregations may be food limited. Collectively, the evidence suggests that the two different local abundance states of D. savignyi result from negative feedback loops where high local density can be maintained by aggregative behavior that greatly reduces per capita risk of predation when the local number of adult sea urchins is sufficiently large; sites with few sea urchins remain at low density because individuals are more susceptible to predation when crevices are occupied but there are not enough individuals to form large aggregations. Thus, there may be alternate attractors in the population dynamics of D. savignyi that can produce either persistently low or high local population densities.     

Observer presence may alter the behaviour of reef fishes associated with coral colonies

Although underwater visual census (UVC) is the most frequently used technique for quantifying reef fish assemblages, remote video analysis has been gaining attention as a potential alternative. In the South Atlantic Ocean, Millepora spp. (class Hydrozoa) are the only branching coral species; however, little is known about the ecological role that they play for reef fish communities. We compared these two observation methods (remote video and UVC) to estimate reef fish abundance and species richness associated with colonies of the fire‐coral Millepora alcicornis at Tamandaré Reefs, Northeast Brazil. Additionally, the two different techniques were used to compare species behaviour in association with fire‐corals in order to examine the biases associated with each technique and provide useful information for behavioural ecologists studying fish–coral associations. There were no differences in reef fish abundance or species richness sampled by remote video or UVC. However, a significant difference in the behaviour of associated fish was recorded between the two methods. In the presence of a diver carrying out a UVC, fish were observed spending more time sheltered amongst the coral branches compared with passively swimming on coral colonies with the remote video technique. Specifically, on the remote video recordings agonistic interactions between fish and passive swimming accounted for 33.3% and 22.2% of the census time, respectively. By comparison, when observed by a diver fish spent 34.8% of their time sheltering amongst the coral branches. We demonstrate that both techniques are similarly effective for recording fish abundance and species richness associated with fire‐corals. However, differences were observed in the ability of each method to detect the behaviour of coral‐associated fishes. Our findings show that behavioural ecologists studying complex fish–coral associations need to ensure that their aims are clearly defined and that they choose the most appropriate technique for their study in order to minimize methodological biases.     

波浪在珊瑚岸礁礁坪上传播变形的数值研究

波浪的传播变形对珊瑚岛礁附近的营养物质输送以及近岸珊瑚沙运动都起着关键的作用,同时也是礁盘顶部建筑物在设计和施工过程中需要重点考虑的因素,因此,对波浪在礁坪上的传播变形进行研究具有重要意义。利用FUNWAVE 2.0数值模型模拟了不规则波浪在不同形状岸礁上的传播变形过程,讨论了礁前斜坡坡度以及珊瑚底面粗糙程度对波浪在礁坪上传播变形的影响。结果显示,随着礁坡斜率增大,不对称度参数绝对值的增长趋势逐渐变缓,波浪在光滑礁坪上的不对称度绝对值要略大于粗糙底面上的值,而不同地形下计算得到的波浪偏度参数则基本相同。说明礁坡坡度对波浪的不对称度特征具有显著影响,礁坪粗糙度的影响则相对较小,而上述因素对波浪偏度的影响则完全可以忽略。给出了考虑这两个影响因素的礁坪区域内波浪偏度和不对称度经验公式。     

Microbial photosynthesis in coral reef sediments (Heron Reef, Australia)

We investigated microphytobenthic photosynthesis at four stations in the coral reef sediments at Heron Reef, Australia. The microphytobenthos was dominated by diatoms, dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria, as indicated by biomarker pigment analysis. Conspicuous algae firmly attached to the sand grains (ca. 100 μm in diameter, surrounded by a hard transparent wall) were rich in peridinin, a marker pigment for dinoflagellates, but also showed a high diversity based on cyanobacterial 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Specimens of these algae that were buried below the photic zone exhibited an unexpected stimulation of respiration by light, resulting in an increase of local oxygen concentrations upon darkening. Net photosynthesis of the sediments varied between 1.9 and 8.5 mmol O₂ m⁻² h⁻¹ and was strongly correlated with Chl a content, which lay between 31 and 84 mg m⁻². An estimate based on our spatially limited dataset indicates that the microphytobenthic production for the entire reef is in the order of magnitude of the production estimated for corals. Photosynthesis stimulated calcification at all investigated sites (0.2–1.0 mmol Ca²⁺ m⁻² h⁻¹). The sediments of at least three stations were net calcifying. Sedimentary N₂-fixation rates (measured by acetylene reduction assays at two sites) ranged between 0.9 to 3.9 mmol N₂ m⁻² h⁻¹ and were highest in the light, indicating the importance of heterocystous cyanobacteria. In coral fingers no N₂-fixation was measurable, which stresses the importance of the sediment compartment for reef nitrogen cycling.     

Long-term abundance patterns of macroalgae in relation to environmental variables in the Tagus Estuary (Portugal)

Seasonal and inter-annual patterns of macroalgal abundance in a Tagus Estuary oyster reef are described. Macroalgal abundance was estimated as canopy percent cover by three permanent point intercept transects over a 7-year period. Four categories were defined, corresponding to bare substrate and three different macroalgal functional-form groups: (1) ULVA, foliose group, included Ulva spp.; (2) GRACIL, terete corticated macrophyte group, included only Gracilaria gracilis; and (3) FILAM, small (<10 cm) filamentous group, including eight species. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that: (1) ULVA were associated with long and hot days, being usually dominant during spring and especially summer; (2) FILAM were associated with mild temperatures and relatively long days, abundant in spring but showed frequent peaks in summer; and (3) GRACIL were also favoured by spring season, although associated to lower temperature and less daylight hours than FILAM. GRACIL and FILAM were present throughout the year. On the contrary, ULVA were absent or with low cover during colder periods. A negative correlation between GRACIL and FILAM seems to indicate competition between the two categories. The applied models explained 23.3% of the temporal variance in category abundance. Rainfall negatively affected macroalgal cover, as indicated by the positive correlation between rainfall and bare substrate. Our conclusions are in agreement with previous studies that consider algae as excellent environmental integrators, even on a small scale, due to a strong link between the macroalgal communities and relevant environmental variables. It is also relevant that this study used open-access databases of environmental variables, which open up new possibilities for mining existing data resources in new ways. Due to large inter-annual variability, long-term studies are essential to understand population dynamics in estuarine phytobenthic communities.     

Spatial and temporal patterns of seagrass habitat use by fishes at the Ryukyu Islands,Japan

To investigate whether or not regional–temporal patterns of seagrass habitat use by fishes existed at the Ryukyu Islands (southern Japan), visual surveys were conducted in seagrass beds and adjacent coral reefs in northern, central, and southern Ryukyu Islands, in November 2004, and May, August, and November 2005, the northern region having less extensive seagrass beds compared with the central and southern regions. During the study period, the seagrass beds were utilized primarily by 31 species, the densities of some of the latter differing significantly among regions. With the exception of Apogonidae and Holocentridae, all species were diurnal and could be divided into 6 groups based on seagrass habitat use patterns; (1) permanent residents A (10 species, e.g. Stethojulis strigiventer), juveniles and adults living in seagrass beds as well as other habitats; (2) permanent residents B (5 species, e.g. Calotomus spinidens), juveniles and adults living only or mainly in seagrass beds; (3) seasonal residents A (4 species, e.g. Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus), juveniles living in seagrass beds as well as other habitats; (4) seasonal residents B (6 species, e.g. Lethrinus atkinsoni), juveniles living only or mainly in seagrass beds; (5) transients (5 species, e.g. Parupeneus indicus), occurring in seagrass beds in the course of foraging over a variety of habitats; and (6) casual species (1 species, Acanthurus blochii), occurring only occasionally in seagrass beds. Regarding temporal differences, juvenile densities in each group were high in May and August compared with November in each region, whereas adult densities did not differ drastically in each month. For regional differences, juvenile and adult densities of permanent residents A and B were higher in the southern and central regions than in the northern region. Moreover, some seasonal residents showed possible ontogenetic habitat shift from seagrass beds to coral reefs in each region. These results indicated that seagrass habitat use patterns by fishes changed temporally and regionally and there may be habitat connectivity between seagrass beds and coral reefs via ontogenetic migration in the Ryukyu Islands.     

Climate change and coral reef bleaching: An ecological assessment of long-term impacts,recovery trends and future outlook

Since the early 1980s, episodes of coral reef bleaching and mortality, due primarily to climate-induced ocean warming, have occurred almost annually in one or more of the world's tropical or subtropical seas. Bleaching is episodic, with the most severe events typically accompanying coupled ocean–atmosphere phenomena, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which result in sustained regional elevations of ocean temperature. Using this extended dataset (25+ years), we review the short- and long-term ecological impacts of coral bleaching on reef ecosystems, and quantitatively synthesize recovery data worldwide. Bleaching episodes have resulted in catastrophic loss of coral cover in some locations, and have changed coral community structure in many others, with a potentially critical influence on the maintenance of biodiversity in the marine tropics. Bleaching has also set the stage for other declines in reef health, such as increases in coral diseases, the breakdown of reef framework by bioeroders, and the loss of critical habitat for associated reef fishes and other biota. Secondary ecological effects, such as the concentration of predators on remnant surviving coral populations, have also accelerated the pace of decline in some areas. Although bleaching severity and recovery have been variable across all spatial scales, some reefs have experienced relatively rapid recovery from severe bleaching impacts. There has been a significant overall recovery of coral cover in the Indian Ocean, where many reefs were devastated by a single large bleaching event in 1998. In contrast, coral cover on western Atlantic reefs has generally continued to decline in response to multiple smaller bleaching events and a diverse set of chronic secondary stressors. No clear trends are apparent in the eastern Pacific, the central-southern-western Pacific or the Arabian Gulf, where some reefs are recovering and others are not. The majority of survivors and new recruits on regenerating and recovering coral reefs have originated from broadcast spawning taxa with a potential for asexual growth, relatively long distance dispersal, successful settlement, rapid growth and a capacity for framework construction. Whether or not affected reefs can continue to function as before will depend on: (1) how much coral cover is lost, and which species are locally extirpated; (2) the ability of remnant and recovering coral communities to adapt or acclimatize to higher temperatures and other climatic factors such as reductions in aragonite saturation state; (3) the changing balance between reef accumulation and bioerosion; and (4) our ability to maintain ecosystem resilience by restoring healthy levels of herbivory, macroalgal cover, and coral recruitment. Bleaching disturbances are likely to become a chronic stress in many reef areas in the coming decades, and coral communities, if they cannot recover quickly enough, are likely to be reduced to their most hardy or adaptable constituents. Some degraded reefs may already be approaching this ecological asymptote, although to date there have not been any global extinctions of individual coral species as a result of bleaching events. Since human populations inhabiting tropical coastal areas derive great value from coral reefs, the degradation of these ecosystems as a result of coral bleaching and its associated impacts is of considerable societal, as well as biological concern. Coral reef conservation strategies now recognize climate change as a principal threat, and are engaged in efforts to allocate conservation activity according to geographic-, taxonomic-, and habitat-specific priorities to maximize coral reef survival. Efforts to forecast and monitor bleaching, involving both remote sensed observations and coupled ocean–atmosphere climate models, are also underway. In addition to these efforts, attempts to minimize and mitigate bleaching impacts on reefs are immediately required. If significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved within the next two to three decades, maximizing coral survivorship during this time may be critical to ensuring healthy reefs can recover in the long term.     

Floating and fixed artificial habitats: Spatial and temporal patterns of benthic communities in a coral reef environment

While natural marine habitats with motion capabilities, e.g., kelps and seaweeds, have been studied alongside their associated fouling communities, little is known of the effect of motion on the communities of floating artificial habitats such as buoys, rafts, and pontoons, particularly in tropical systems. Hydrodynamic features greatly differ between floating and fixed artificial substrata, which in turn affect the structure of their associated communities. This study tested the hypothesis that floating and fixed artificial installations in a tropical reef system (Eilat, Red Sea) would support different benthic communities throughout space and time. Specifically, we examined differences in communities recruited onto settlement plates between floating and fixed installations deployed at three different sites, along a two-year monitoring period. The three sites exhibited distinct differences in species assemblages between the monitoring dates (6, 12, 18 and 24 months post deployment), mainly between the first and the last two dates. The average level of dissimilarity between floating and fixed installations increased over time at all sites. Over 50% of the dissimilarity between the floating and fixed installations resulted from five taxonomic groups i.e., bryozoans, bivalves, barnacles, sponges, including the amount of bare space on the settlement plates. The contribution of these groups to the dissimilarity changed both temporally within each site, and spatially among sites. The observed differences were related to the hydrodynamic characteristics of floating and fixed habitats, interacting with biotic features such as predation, successional processes and seasonality; and abiotic features including small-scale spatial changes, light, and position in the water column.     

The onset of fish colonization in a coastal defence structure (Chioggia,Northern Adriatic Sea)

Coastal defence structures constitute the most extensive hard substrates of the Northwestern Adriatic Sea and are known to sustain rich benthic and nektonic communities. To appreciate the pattern of colonization, we studied the fish assemblage of a recently deployed breakwater. We compared observations from two years, the different sides (landward and seaward) of the barrier, and the two fringes, characterized by timing of work completion. The results indicate that colonization, still in process, follows different patterns among species. Benthic and necto-benthic species presented a striking increase in abundance and richness in the second year of colonization, while more mobile species did not evince any variation between years. Differences in mobility among species suggest that the latter group may have reached the breakwater from nearby artificial substrates, whereas the former colonized the new structure as recruits. In addition, fish assemblages differed between the two sides, likely due to variation in the environmental characteristics, and according to depth, reflecting species preferences.