Dynamic simulation of tropical coral reef ecosystem being disturbed by multiple situations

In consideration of the rapid degradation of coral reef ecosystems, the establishment of models is helpful to comprehend the degradation mechanism of coral reef ecosystems and predict the development process of coral reef communities. According to the characteristics of complex ecosystem of tropical coral reefs in China, the coral reef functional group is the core level variable; combined with the multiple feedback effects of coral reef functional groups and environmental changes, the study presents a coral reef ecosystem dynamics model with hermatypic corals as the core. Based on the simulation of the assumed initial value and the internal feedback of the system, the results show that in the basic simulation(relative health conditions), the coverage area of live corals and coral reefs generally decreased first and then increased, and increased by 4.67% and 6.38% between2010 and 2050, respectively. Based on the calibration model and the current situation of the studied area, the multi-factor disturbance effects of coral reef communities were simulated and explored by setting up three scenarios involving fishing policy, terrestrial deposition, and inorganic nitrogen emissions. Among them, in the single factor disturbance, the fishing policy exerts the most direct impact on the community decline; and the succession phenomenon is obvious; the terrestrial sedimentation has a faster and more integrated effect on the community decline; the effect of inorganic nitrogen emission on the community decline is relatively slow. In the double/multi-factor disturbance, the superimposed disturbance will aggravate the multi-source feedback effect of the coral reef communities development, accelerate the community decay rate, and make its development trajectory more complicated and diverse. This method provides a scientific and feasible method for simulating the damage of long-term coral reef community and exploring the development law and adaptive management of coral reef ecosystems. In the future, it can be further studied in the ecological restoration process and decisionmaking direction of coral reefs.     

冲击荷载下玄武岩纤维水泥土吸能及分形特征

为研究玄武岩纤维对水泥土冲击破坏过程中能量吸收及碎块块度分布特征的影响,采用Φ50 mm变截面霍普金森压杆（split Hopkinson pressure bar,简称SHPB）试验装置对不同玄武岩纤维掺量的水泥土进行了冲击压缩和动态劈裂试验,分析了冲击荷载作用下玄武岩纤维掺量与水泥土吸收能、破坏形态和分形维数 的关系,试验结果表明：随着玄武岩纤维掺量的增加,水泥土吸收能呈先增大后减小的趋势,超过最佳掺量后,由于纤维-纤维薄弱面的存在,水泥土吸收能减少;冲击破坏后水泥土破碎块度分布是具有统计意义上的分形,冲击压缩试验中水泥土破碎块度平均粒径随玄武岩纤维掺量的增加而不断增大,对应的 值总体上呈现不断减小的趋势;在动态劈裂试验中,玄武岩纤维掺量在0～2.0%范围内,水泥土破碎块度平均粒径呈现上升趋势, 值不断减小,玄武岩纤维掺量超过2.0%后,平均粒径有所降低,对应 值增大。玄武岩纤维水泥土吸收能和 值之间有着密切的联系,冲击压缩试验中,吸收能在分形维数为2.20～2.26范围内呈先增大后减小的趋势,而在动态劈裂试验中,吸收能在分形维数为1.85～2.20范围内总体呈现下降趋势,两者具有一定的负相关性;合适掺量的玄武岩纤维对水泥土动态特性起着积极作用,通过试验得出玄武岩纤维的合适掺量为1.5%～2.0%。     

Analysis of symbiotic Symbiodinium in scleractinian corals off Northwestern Kish Island,Persian Gulf

The genus Symbiodinium plays an essential role in the resistance and survival of reef‐building corals during temperature anomalies. Coral colonies inhabiting the Persian Gulf (PG) experience extended periods of different stresses. Kish Island is located in the harsh environment of the Northern PG with previously reported bleaching episodes. Samples of six coral species from Northwestern Kish Island were analysed by internal transcribed spacer 2 of ribosomal DNA to identify in hospite Symbiodinium populations. The results showed that lineage D of Symbiodinium was the most prevalent clade among different coral colonies, while clade C was only detected in symbiosis with a single coral species. However, the detected Symbiodinium subclades belonged to two host generalists. The predominance of the stress tolerant Symbiodinium trenchii and subclade C3 could suggest an acclimatization strategy to cope with the hostile environment of the PG.     

海水电沉积作用碳酸钙结晶与珊瑚骨骼晶体的比较

电沉积促进珊瑚生长和岸礁修复技术是国际上常采用的生态修复方法,但电沉积技术中电流条件与沉积晶体之间的关系却鲜有研究,关于其形成的电沉积物的晶体结构的报道更是少有。本文探索了在不同电流密度的条件下海水形成碳酸钙晶体的特点,并与珊瑚骨骼晶体进行了对比。本实验设置了300、600、900和1200 m A/m2四组电流密度,在海水中进行5 d电沉积反应,实验后称量了阴极上形成的电沉积物质量,用扫描电子显微镜和X-射线衍射分析了电沉积物中晶体特点并与珊瑚骨骼进行了比较。结果发现,随着电流密度增大,电沉积物质量增加,电流密度为600 m A/m2条件下电沉积物形成的速率与南海的滨珊瑚的生长速率相当。在各个电流密度梯度条件下形成的晶体均与珊瑚骨骼的晶体结构相似。较低电流密度下电沉积物中碳酸钙比例较高。其中,在电流密度为600 m A/m2的条件下,形成的沉积物碳酸钙文石比例最高,和珊瑚骨骼晶体最为接近。本研究为促珊瑚生长的电沉积技术提供了基础数据和理论。     

A meta‐analysis of reef island response to environmental change on the Great Barrier Reef

Reef islands on the Great Barrier Reef are influenced by a range of environmental factors. A meta‐analysis of 103 islands is presented to express variation in island size (area and volume) as a function of latitudinal and cross shelf gradients in regional oceanographic factors (exposure to incident waves, tidal range and tropical cyclone frequency) and local physical factors (position on the shelf, area, length and depth of supporting reef platform, vegetative cover). Models performed well for unvegetated sandcays (R² = 0.89), vegetated sandcays (R² = 0·72) and low wooded islands (R² = 0.78), with a moderate level of variation explained when all islands were simultaneously regressed (R² = 0.58). Future island dynamics were simulated for anticipated changes in cyclone regime, wave activity and sea level. For 38 islands mapped on the 1973 Royal Society and Universities of Queensland Expedition to the Northern Great Barrier Reef, change over the same 22 year period (1973–1995) was determined and the relative magnitude of observed and modelled changes was compared and found to be consistent through rank correlation analysis (Γ = 0.84 for unvegetated sandcays, Γ = 0.81 for vegetated sandcays). Simulations of island area or volume change from 2000 to 2100 indicated that under a 30% decrease in tropical cyclone activity, unvegetated sandcays continue to accrete at a lower rate, whereas all island types erode under a 38% increase in tropical cyclone activity. Vegetated sandcays initially accrete at higher levels of cyclone activity, entering an erosive state with a 60% increase in activity. Low wooded islands are unresponsive to environmental changes modelled. A sensitivity analysis of vegetated and unvegetated sandcays indicated that the presence of vegetation increases the tropical cyclone activity threshold at which islands begin to erode. Greatest sedimentary losses occur within the central band of high cyclone activity between Cooktown and Mackay. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

微生物沉积碳酸钙固化珊瑚砂的试验研究

向珊瑚砂中注入巴斯德芽孢杆菌菌液、氯化钙和尿素的混合液,利用微生物沉积碳酸钙固化珊瑚砂;并对珊瑚砂固化体进行了渗透、强度及微观结构等试验。试验结果表明,巴斯德芽孢杆菌的活性随时间呈衰减趋势,但衰减速度缓慢,能较好地满足珊瑚砂固化的需要。随着菌液、氯化钙和尿素的混合液注入次数的增加,珊瑚砂柱渗透性逐步降低,最终渗透性降低了1～2个数量级。微生物固化后的珊瑚砂柱应力-应变曲线大致可分为3段,即应力随应变缓慢增加段、快速增加段以及突降段。试样发生压裂脆性破坏,无侧限抗压强度最高达到14 MPa左右。抗压强度随干密度增加而增大,随渗透性降低而增大。微生物固化后珊瑚砂颗粒被生成的碳酸钙完整的包裹,孔隙间极少见生成的碳酸钙,与普通硅砂微生物固化后的微观结构不同,较好地解释了渗透性降低不多的原因。     

Black band disease as a possible factor of the coral decline at the northern reef-flat of Yongxing Island,South China Sea

Black band disease(BBD),characterized by the Cyanobacterial dominated pathogenic consortium,is thought to play a key role in the global decline of the coral reef ecosystems.The present paper originally documents a case of BBD from Yongxing Island(Xisha Islands,South China Sea),and further probes the reasons of this abnormal phenomenon.Prior to 2007,corals at northern reef-flat of Yongxing Isand were in healthy growth.Catastrophic coral mortality occurred between 2007 and 2008.The 16S rRNA gene sequencing and PCR amplification,with universally conserved primers,were applied to detect the contagious bacterial community of the microbial mat.The results demonstrated that six bacterial divisions constituted the clone libraries derived from the BBD mat,and that Cyanobacteria are the most diversely represented group that inhabit BBD bacterial mats,despite the fact that species in five others divisions(α-Proteobacteria,γ-Proteobacteria,Bacteroidetes,Verrucomicrobia and Actinobacteria) are also consistently diverse within the BBD mats of diseased coral.Other factors such as coral bleaching,typhoons,ocean acidification and crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks,are not primarily responsible for the coral mortality within such a short time interval.The disaster expansion of BBD associated with Cyanobacterial blooms is a more likely mechanism impacting these coral reefs.Excessive human activity enhances the eutrophication of the marine water of the reefal region and may result in occurrence of the BBD.     

Estimation of size at first maturity in two South African coral species

The corals Acropora austera and Platygyra daedalea have been the subject of extensive reproductive and population genetic studies in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (iSimangaliso), on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, eastern South Africa. Despite this, estimates of size at first maturity in these two species are lacking. This information could be used to provide a baseline to differentiate juveniles from adult sizes of corals, an important factor for assessing the condition of scleractinian communities in reefs. Here, we present the methods followed to provide such estimates for these two hard corals. Using generalised linear models and assuming knife-edge maturity (50% probability), it was estimated that A. austera from iSimangaliso matures at c. 15 cm mean colony diameter (MCD) (95% CI: 9.25–20.75 cm MCD) and P. daedalea matures at c. 7 cm MCD (95% CI: 4.55–8.39 cm MCD). These estimates were comparable to those for tropical species which is remarkable considering the high-latitude nature of the sampled reefs. It is expected that the findings from this study will assist in the assessment of reproduction, recruitment, survival and genetic variation in clonal organisms such as corals, and will provide a baseline to assess the effects of climate change on coral communities in the region.     

Undisturbed Strata Succession Sampling Technology and the Engineering Geological Characteristics of an Atoll in the Southern South China Sea

Coral reef calcareous sediment, a special category of rock-soil material, has representative geological structure and environmental characteristics. It is widely distributed in shallow areas of the tropical ocean; therefore the exploration instruments and technologies for engineering geology studies of coral reef calcareous sediments are very different from those used in land or deep-sea. Obtaining undisturbed cores from the Holocene unconsolidated stratum of coral reefs has been a key problem in the field of marine geology and environment surveying. The authors have designed a novel floating drilling platform equipped with a drilling machine, and successfully achieved undisturbed cores from both reef flats (with water depth 0.5 to 2 m) and a enclosed lagoon (with water depth 2–12 m) of Yongshu Reef (9°32–9°42 N, 112°52–113°04 E), southern South China Sea. Based on the detailed observation on the cores and the analysis from engineering geology, Yongshu Reef was split into reef three engineering geological zones: leading edge, reef flat (including outer reef flat, middle reef flat and inner reef flat) and lagoon. The sediments are classified in the stratum as fine sand, medium sand, coarse sand, gravel and weak-cemented reef limestone.     

Coral reef recovery status in south Andaman Islands after the bleaching event 2010

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are one of the Union Territories of India, located in the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal. In 2010 summer, the increment in sea surface water temperature (up to 34℃) resulted in the bleaching of about 74% to 77% of corals in the South Andaman. During this event, coral species such as Acropora cerealis, A. humilis, Montipora sp., Favia pallida, Diploastrea sp., Goniopora sp. Fungia concinna, Gardineroseries sp., Porites sp., Favites abdita and Lobophyllia robusta were severely affected. This study is to assess the recovery status of the reef ecosystem by estimating the percentage of Live Coral cover, Bleached coral cover, Dead coral with algae, Rubble, Sandy flat, Algal assemblage and other associated organisms. The sedimentation rate (mg cm-2 d-1) and coral coverage (%) were assessed during this study period. The average sedimentation rate was ranged between 0.27 and 0.89 mg cm-2 d-1 . The observed post bleaching recovery of coral cover was 21.1% at Port Blair Bay and 13.29% at Havelock Island. The mortality rate of coral cover due to this bleaching was estimated as 2.05% at Port Blair Bay and 9.82% at Havelock Island. Once the sea water temperature resumed back to the normal condition, most of the corals were found recovered.