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Medellín-Maldonado F, Cruz-Ortega I, Pérez-Cervantes E, Norzogaray-López O, Carricart-Ganivet JP, López-Pérez A, Alvarez-Filip L. Newly deceased Caribbean reef-building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organisms. Commun Biol 2023; 6:934. [PMID: 37699971 PMCID: PMC10497637 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05301-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Coral mortality triggers the loss of carbonates fixed within coral skeletons, compromising the reef matrix. Here, we estimate rates of carbonate loss in newly deceased colonies of four Caribbean reef-building corals. We use samples from living and recently deceased colonies following a stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) outbreak. Optical densitometry and porosity analyses reveal a loss of up to 40% of the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) content in dead colonies. The metabolic activity of the endolithic organisms colonizing the dead skeletons is likely partially responsible for the observed dissolution. To test for the consequences of mass mortality events over larger spatial scales, we integrate our estimates of carbonate loss with field data of the composition and size structure of coral communities. The dissolution rate depends on the relative abundance of coral species and the structural properties of their skeletons, yet we estimate an average reduction of 1.33 kg CaCO3 m-2, nearly 7% of the total amount of CaCO3 sequestered in the entire system. Our findings highlight the importance of including biological and chemical processes of CaCO3 dissolution in reef carbonate budgets, particularly as the impacts of global warming, ocean acidification, and disease likely enhance dissolution processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Medellín-Maldonado
- Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Ciudad Universitaria 3000, Coyoacán, 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
- Biodiversity and Reef Conservation Laboratory, Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales en Puerto Morelos, ICML, UNAM, 77580, Puerto Morelos, Mexico.
- Laboratorio de Arrecifes y Biodiversidad, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, 09340, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| | - Israel Cruz-Ortega
- Laboratorio de Esclerocronología de Corales Arrecifales, Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales en Puerto Morelos, ICML, UNAM, 77580, Puerto Morelos, Mexico
| | - Esmeralda Pérez-Cervantes
- Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Ciudad Universitaria 3000, Coyoacán, 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Orion Norzogaray-López
- Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas y Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, 22860, Ensenada, BC, Mexico
| | - Juan P Carricart-Ganivet
- Laboratorio de Esclerocronología de Corales Arrecifales, Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales en Puerto Morelos, ICML, UNAM, 77580, Puerto Morelos, Mexico
| | - Andrés López-Pérez
- Laboratorio de Arrecifes y Biodiversidad, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, 09340, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip
- Biodiversity and Reef Conservation Laboratory, Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales en Puerto Morelos, ICML, UNAM, 77580, Puerto Morelos, Mexico
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Jimi N, Fujita T, Woo SP. Four new species of coral- and rock-boring polychaetes Daylithos (Annelida, Flabelligeridae) from the Pacific Ocean. ZOOSYST EVOL 2023. [DOI: 10.3897/zse.99.97944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Four new species of Daylithos (Flabelligeridae, Annelida) are described, based on specimens collected from rocks and corals of Japan and Malaysia. Daylithos, contains one species, D. parmatus, currently reported from Japan. However, the specimens described in previous reports were unable to be located and thus deemed lost. Therefore, it was unclear whether the specimens described as D. parmatus in those studies were, indeed, the species. In Malaysia, D. parmatus has also been known as popular species from corals. The specimens collected from Langkawi (Malaysia) showed clearly different characters from D. parmatus and other congeners. In this study, we describe four new species, Daylithos japonicus, D. amamiensis, D. sugashimaensis and D. langkawiensis, based on newly-collected specimens from several part of Japan and Malaysia. These new species can be discriminated from other congeners by body colour, presence of eyes, shape of dorsal shield, length of caruncle and arrangement of neurochaetae. We have also provided mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences of the new species.
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Veeraiyan B, Tovar-Hernández MA, Palanivel PS, Palanisamy S, Perumal M. New records of sclerozoan fan worms in Acropora sp. from the Gulf of Mannar, south-eastern coast of India (Annelida: Sabellidae). J NAT HIST 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2022.2118640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bharathidasan Veeraiyan
- Center of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University, Parangipettai, India
| | - María Ana Tovar-Hernández
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Laboratorio de Biosistemática, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, México
| | - Partha Sarathy Palanivel
- Center of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University, Parangipettai, India
| | - Selvaraj Palanisamy
- Department of Biotechnology, Sri Kaliswari College (Autonomous), Sivakasi, India
| | - Murugesan Perumal
- Center of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University, Parangipettai, India
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Puerto Morelos Coral Reefs, Their Current State and Classification by a Scoring System. DIVERSITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/d12070272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Marine protected areas have been established as essential components for managing and protecting coral reefs to mitigate natural and anthropogenic stressors. One noteworthy example within the Mexican Caribbean is the Arrecife de Puerto Morelos National Park (APMNP), where several studies on the coral communities have been carried out since 2006. In June 2019, we conducted a study in eight sites of the APMNP applying a coral reef assessment method based on biological indicators of both the benthos and the fish communities. In this paper, we present the quantitative results of our study and provide a qualitative criterion assessing seven condition indexes through a scoring system. We also present a statistical comparison with a previous study carried out in 2016. The general status of coral reefs was classified as regular due to the low values of coral recruitment rate and biomass of key commercial fish species. However, living coral cover average was above 20%, with a slight dominance of framework building coral species and the presence of low values of fleshy algae cover, these being positive indicators. Our study found a higher proportion of reef promoter elements and a lower proportion of detractors, compared to a previous study carried out in 2016.
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Silbiger NJ, Donahue MJ, Brainard RE. Environmental drivers of coral reef carbonate production and bioerosion: a multi-scale analysis. Ecology 2017; 98:2547-2560. [PMID: 28707327 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2017] [Revised: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The resilience of coral reefs depends on the balance between reef growth and reef breakdown, and their responses to changing environmental conditions. Across the 2500-km Hawaiian Archipelago, we quantified rates of carbonate production, bioerosion, and net accretion at regional, island, site, and within-site spatial scales and tested how these rates respond to environmental conditions across different spatial scales. Overall, there were four major outcomes from this study: (1) bioerosion rates were generally higher in the populated Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) than the remote, protected Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), while carbonate production rates did not vary significantly between the two regions; (2) variability in carbonate production, bioerosion, and net accretion rates was greatest at the smallest within-reef spatial scale; (3) carbonate production and bioerosion rates were associated with distinct sets of environmental parameters; and (4) the strongest correlates of carbonate production, bioerosion, and net accretion rates were different between the MHI region and the NWHI region: in the MHI, the dominant correlates were percent cover of macroalgae and herbivorous fish biomass for carbonate production and bioerosion, respectively, whereas in the NWHI, the top correlates were total alkalinity and benthic cover. This study highlights the need to understand accretion and erosion processes as well as local environmental conditions to predict net coral reef responses to future environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nyssa J Silbiger
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, P.O. Box 1346, Kāne'ohe, Hawai'i, 96744, USA
| | - Megan J Donahue
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, P.O. Box 1346, Kāne'ohe, Hawai'i, 96744, USA
| | - Russell E Brainard
- Coral Reef Ecosystem Program, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1845 Wasp Boulevard, Building 176, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96818, USA
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Glynn PW, Mones AB, Podestá GP, Colbert A, Colgan MW. El Niño-Southern Oscillation: Effects on Eastern Pacific Coral Reefs and Associated Biota. CORAL REEFS OF THE EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-7499-4_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Alvarado JJ, Grassian B, Cantera-Kintz JR, Carballo JL, Londoño-Cruz E. Coral Reef Bioerosion in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. CORAL REEFS OF THE EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-7499-4_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Bioerosion on Modern Reefs: Impacts and Responses Under Changing Ecological and Environmental Conditions. CORAL REEFS OF THE WORLD 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-7567-0_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Roff G, Zhao JX, Mumby PJ. Decadal-scale rates of reef erosion following El Niño-related mass coral mortality. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:4415-4424. [PMID: 26113199 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Revised: 05/17/2015] [Accepted: 05/29/2015] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
As the frequency and intensity of coral mortality events increase under climate change, understanding how declines in coral cover may affect the bioerosion of reef frameworks is of increasing importance. Here, we explore decadal-scale rates of bioerosion of the framework building coral Orbicella annularis by grazing parrotfish following the 1997/1998 El Niño-related mass mortality event at Long Cay, Belize. Using high-precision U-Th dating and CT scan analysis, we quantified in situ rates of external bioerosion over a 13-year period (1998-2011). Based upon the error-weighted average U-Th age of dead O. annularis skeletons, we estimate the average external bioerosion between 1998 and 2011 as 0.92 ± 0.55 cm depth. Empirical observations of herbivore foraging, and a nonlinear numerical response of parrotfish to an increase in food availability, were used to create a model of external bioerosion at Long Cay. Model estimates of external bioerosion were in close agreement with U-Th estimates (0.85 ± 0.09 cm). The model was then used to quantify how rates of external bioerosion changed across a gradient of coral mortality (i.e., from few corals experiencing mortality following coral bleaching to complete mortality). Our results indicate that external bioerosion is remarkably robust to declines in coral cover, with no significant relationship predicted between the rate of external bioerosion and the proportion of O. annularis that died in the 1998 bleaching event. The outcome was robust because the reduction in grazing intensity that follows coral mortality was compensated for by a positive numerical response of parrotfish to an increase in food availability. Our model estimates further indicate that for an O. annularis-dominated reef to maintain a positive state of reef accretion, a necessity for sustained ecosystem function, live cover of O. annularis must not drop below a ~5-10% threshold of cover.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Roff
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Jian-Xin Zhao
- School of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Peter J Mumby
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
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