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Muruga P, Siqueira AC, Bellwood DR. Meta-analysis reveals weak associations between reef fishes and corals. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:676-685. [PMID: 38374185 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02334-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
Habitat associations underpin species ecologies in high-diversity systems. Within tropical, shallow water coral reefs, the relationship between fishes and corals is arguably the most iconic and highly scrutinized. A strong relationship between fishes and reef-building hard corals is often assumed, a belief supported by studies that document the decline of reef fishes following coral loss. However, the extent of this relationship is often unclear, as evidenced by conflicting reports. Here we assess the strength of this ecological association by relying on literature that has surveyed both fishes and corals synchronously. We quantitatively synthesize 723 bivariate correlation coefficients (from 66 papers), published over 38 years, that relate fish metrics (abundance, biomass and species richness) with the percentage of hard coral cover. Remarkably, despite extensive variation, the pattern of association on a global scale reveals a predominantly positive, albeit weak (|r| < 0.4), correlation. Even for commonly hypothesized drivers of fish-coral associations, fish family and trophic group, associations were consistently weak. These findings question our assumptions regarding the strength and ubiquity of fish-coral associations, and caution against assuming a direct and omnipresent relationship between these two iconic animal groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pooventhran Muruga
- Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Alexandre C Siqueira
- Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - David R Bellwood
- Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
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2
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Cissell EC, McCoy SJ. Convergent photophysiology and prokaryotic assemblage structure in epilithic cyanobacterial tufts and algal turf communities. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2024; 60:343-362. [PMID: 38240472 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 10/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
As global change spurs shifts in benthic community composition on coral reefs globally, a better understanding of the defining taxonomic and functional features that differentiate proliferating benthic taxa is needed to predict functional trajectories of reef degradation better. This is especially critical for algal groups, which feature dramatically on changing reefs. Limited attention has been given to characterizing the features that differentiate tufting epilithic cyanobacterial communities from ubiquitous turf algal assemblages. Here, we integrated an in situ assessment of photosynthetic yield with metabarcoding and shotgun metagenomic sequencing to explore photophysiology and prokaryotic assemblage structure within epilithic tufting benthic cyanobacterial communities and epilithic algal turf communities. Significant differences were not detected in the average quantum yield. However, variability in yield was significantly higher in cyanobacterial tufts. Neither prokaryotic assemblage diversity nor structure significantly differed between these functional groups. The sampled cyanobacterial tufts, predominantly built by Okeania sp., were co-dominated by members of the Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidota, as were turf algal communities. Few detected ASVs were significantly differentially abundant between functional groups and consisted exclusively of taxa belonging to the phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Assessment of the distribution of recovered cyanobacterial amplicons demonstrated that alongside sample-specific cyanobacterial diversification, the dominant cyanobacterial members were conserved across tufting cyanobacterial and turf algal communities. Overall, these data suggest a convergence in taxonomic identity and mean photosynthetic potential between tufting epilithic cyanobacterial communities and algal turf communities, with numerous implications for consumer-resource dynamics on future reefs and trajectories of reef functional ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan C Cissell
- Department of Biology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sophie J McCoy
- Department of Biology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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3
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Ramos A, González-Díaz P, Banaszak AT, Perera O, Hernandez Delgado F, Delfín de León S, Vicente Castro P, Aguilera Pérez GC, Duran A. Seventeen-year study reveals fluctuations in key ecological indicators on two reef crests in Cuba. PeerJ 2024; 12:e16705. [PMID: 38282865 PMCID: PMC10812586 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Reef crests in the Caribbean have lost approximately 80% of the foundational habitat-forming coral Acropora palmata (Lamarck, 1816), with declines registered as early as the 1950s mainly from anthropogenic causes. We studied two reef crests in the northwestern region of Cuba over 17 years (2005 to 2021) to evaluate temporal changes in coral cover, dominated by A. palmata, and their potential drivers. The density of A. palmata generally showed a negative trend at both reefs, with the lowest density recorded in 2021 at 0.2 ± 0.05 col. m-2 at Playa Baracoa and 1.0 ± 0.1 col. m-2 at Rincon de Guanabo. The mean size of the colonies in the two reefs also decreased over time. In Playa Baracoa, the mean diameter of A. palmata colonies decreased from 2012 at 67 ± 5.9 cm to 2013 at 34 ± 2.2 cm, whereas in Rincon de Guanabo, a change in diameter was evident from 2015 at 44.3 ± 2.3 to 2021 at 21.6 ± 0.9 cm. Adult colonies (10 cm-50 cm diameter) predominated in most years on both reefs. The populations of A. palmata on both reefs were healthy, with an average of 70% colonies in good condition during the study period. However, A. palmata cover decreased by almost half by 2021, to 8.6% in Playa Baracoa and 16.8% in Rincon de Guanabo. By contrast, macroalgal cover increased two-fold to 87.1% in Playa Baracoa and four-fold to 77.2% in Rincon de Guanabo. The density of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum was higher in Playa Baracoa than in Rincon de Guanabo. The highest densities were 2.8 ± 0.2 ind. m-2 in Playa Baracoa in 2005 and 0.1 ± 0.03 ind. m-2 in Rincon de Guanabo in 2008. Although our results show an overall decline of A. palmata (density and percent cover) and an increase in macroalgae, these two reef crests are in better condition than most reefs in the Caribbean in terms of the density and health of A. palmata populations, and the density of D. antillarum at Playa Baracoa. Our results are important in establishing a management plan to ensure the condition of these reef crests does not degrade further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Ramos
- Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, México
- Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de La Habana, La Habana, Cuba
| | | | - Anastazia T. Banaszak
- Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto Morelos, Mexico
| | - Orlando Perera
- Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de La Habana, La Habana, Cuba
| | | | | | | | | | - Alain Duran
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States of America
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4
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Silveira CB, Luque A, Haas AF, Roach TNF, George EE, Knowles B, Little M, Sullivan CJ, Varona NS, Wegley Kelly L, Brainard R, Rohwer F, Bailey B. Viral predation pressure on coral reefs. BMC Biol 2023; 21:77. [PMID: 37038111 PMCID: PMC10088212 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01571-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Predation pressure and herbivory exert cascading effects on coral reef health and stability. However, the extent of these cascading effects can vary considerably across space and time. This variability is likely a result of the complex interactions between coral reefs' biotic and abiotic dimensions. A major biological component that has been poorly integrated into the reefs' trophic studies is the microbial community, despite its role in coral death and bleaching susceptibility. Viruses that infect bacteria can control microbial densities and may positively affect coral health by controlling microbialization. We hypothesize that viral predation of bacteria has analogous effects to the top-down pressure of macroorganisms on the trophic structure and reef health. RESULTS Here, we investigated the relationships between live coral cover and viruses, bacteria, benthic algae, fish biomass, and water chemistry in 110 reefs spanning inhabited and uninhabited islands and atolls across the Pacific Ocean. Statistical learning showed that the abundance of turf algae, viruses, and bacteria, in that order, were the variables best predicting the variance in coral cover. While fish biomass was not a strong predictor of coral cover, the relationship between fish and corals became apparent when analyzed in the context of viral predation: high coral cover (> 50%) occurred on reefs with a combination of high predator fish biomass (sum of sharks and piscivores > 200 g m-2) and high virus-to-bacteria ratios (> 10), an indicator of viral predation pressure. However, these relationships were non-linear, with reefs at the higher and lower ends of the coral cover continuum displaying a narrow combination of abiotic and biotic variables, while reefs at intermediate coral cover showed a wider range of parameter combinations. CONCLUSIONS The results presented here support the hypothesis that viral predation of bacteria is associated with high coral cover and, thus, coral health and stability. We propose that combined predation pressures from fishes and viruses control energy fluxes, inhibiting the detrimental accumulation of ecosystem energy in the microbial food web.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia B Silveira
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA.
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, 33149, USA.
| | - Antoni Luque
- Viral Information Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
- Computational Science Research Center, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
| | - Andreas F Haas
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ty N F Roach
- Viral Information Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kāne'ohe, HI, 96744, USA
- Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
| | - Emma E George
- Botany Department, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Ben Knowles
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UC Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Mark Little
- Viral Information Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
- Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
| | | | - Natascha S Varona
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA
| | - Linda Wegley Kelly
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Russel Brainard
- Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
- Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Honolulu, HI, 96818, USA
| | - Forest Rohwer
- Viral Information Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
- Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
| | - Barbara Bailey
- Viral Information Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA.
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA.
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5
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Liu Z, An M, Geng X, Wu Z, Cai W, Tang J, Zhang K, Zhou Z. The scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis relies on neuroendocrine regulation to cope with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons under heat stress. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 316:120565. [PMID: 36332711 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are highly toxic environmental pollutants and are threatening scleractinian corals. In this study, PAHs treatment did not induce significant physiological responses of the coral Pocillopora damicornis and its algal symbionts, but biological processes including response to toxin, drug metabolic, and oxidation reduction were triggered at the mRNA level. These results implied that PAHs could be a group of slow-acting environmental toxicants, whose effects were moderate but persistent. Besides, it was interesting to find that PAHs activated the neuroendocrine system in the coral by triggering the expression of monoaminergic and acetylcholinergic system related genes, indicating that PAHs might function as environmental hormones. Moreover, the combined treatments of PAHs and heat caused a much obvious effect on the coral and its algal symbionts by elevating antioxidant activity and suppressing photosynthesis in the symbionts. Results from the transcriptome data further indicated that corals might perform stress responses upon PAHs and heat challenges through the TNF and apoptosis pathways, which perhaps was modulated by the neuroendocrine system of corals. Collectively, our survey demonstrates that the PAHs can function as environmental hormones and activate the neuroendocrine regulation in scleractinian corals, which may contribute to the stress responses of symbiotic association by modulating photosynthesis, antioxidation, and apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoqun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Mingxun An
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Xinxing Geng
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Zhongjie Wu
- Hainan Academy of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, Haikou, 571126, China
| | - Wenqi Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; Hainan Academy of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, Haikou, 571126, China
| | - Jia Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Kaidian Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Zhi Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
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6
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Harrell C, Lirman D. Dictyota defense: Developing effective chemical protection against intense fish predation for outplanted massive corals. PeerJ 2023; 11:e14995. [PMID: 36915655 PMCID: PMC10007969 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The incorporation of coral species with massive (e.g., boulder, brain) morphologies into reef restoration is critical to sustain biodiversity and increase coral cover on degraded reef ecosystems. However, fragments and colonies of massive corals outplanted in Miami-Dade County, Florida, US, can experience intense predation by fish within the first week of outplanting, resulting in >70% mortality. Here, we tested for the first time the potential benefit of feeding corals powdered Dictyota, a brown reef alga that is chemically defended against grazing, to determine if exposure to Dictyota can confer chemical protection to coral fragments and reduce the impacts of fish predation after outplanting. We found that feeding corals every 2 to 3 days for 2 months with dried and powdered Dictyota prior to outplanting significantly reduced predation levels on Orbicella faveolata and Montastraea cavernosa fragments (with less than 20% of the fragments experiencing predation up to 1-month post-outplanting). We also found that a single exposure to Dictyota at a high concentration 1 to 2 days prior to outplanting significantly reduced predation for six coral species within the first 24 h following outplanting. Thus, feeding corals dry Dictyota ex situ prior to outplanting appears to confer protection from fish predation during the critical first days to weeks after outplanting when predation impacts are commonly high. This simple and cheap method can be easily scaled up for corals kept ex situ prior to outplanting, resulting in an increase in restoration efficiency for massive corals in areas with high fish predation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cailin Harrell
- Department of Marine Biology & Ecology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States
| | - Diego Lirman
- Department of Marine Biology & Ecology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States
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7
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Polanco F. A, Waldock C, Keggin T, Marques V, Rozanski R, Valentini A, Dejean T, Manel S, Vermeij M, Albouy C, Pellissier L. Ecological indices from environmental
DNA
to contrast coastal reefs under different anthropogenic pressures. Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Polanco F.
- Beauval Nature Association Saint Aignan sur Cher France
- Fundación Biodiversa Colombia Bogotá, D.C. Colombia
| | - Conor Waldock
- Ecosystems and Landscape Evolution, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems ETH Zürich Zürich Switzerland
- Unit of Land Change Science Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Thomas Keggin
- Ecosystems and Landscape Evolution, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems ETH Zürich Zürich Switzerland
- Unit of Land Change Science Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Virginie Marques
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE‐PSL University, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3 Montpellier France
- MARBEC Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD Montpellier France
| | - Romane Rozanski
- Fundación Biodiversa Colombia Bogotá, D.C. Colombia
- Ecosystems and Landscape Evolution, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems ETH Zürich Zürich Switzerland
- IFREMER Unité Ecologie et Modèles pour l'Halieutique, EMH Nantes France
| | | | | | - Stéphanie Manel
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE‐PSL University, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3 Montpellier France
| | | | - Camille Albouy
- Fundación Biodiversa Colombia Bogotá, D.C. Colombia
- Ecosystems and Landscape Evolution, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems ETH Zürich Zürich Switzerland
- IFREMER Unité Ecologie et Modèles pour l'Halieutique, EMH Nantes France
| | - Loïc Pellissier
- Fundación Biodiversa Colombia Bogotá, D.C. Colombia
- Ecosystems and Landscape Evolution, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems ETH Zürich Zürich Switzerland
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8
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Contingency planning for coral reefs in the Anthropocene; The potential of reef safe havens. Emerg Top Life Sci 2022; 6:107-124. [PMID: 35225326 DOI: 10.1042/etls20210232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Reducing the global reliance on fossil fuels is essential to ensure the long-term survival of coral reefs, but until this happens, alternative tools are required to safeguard their future. One emerging tool is to locate areas where corals are surviving well despite the changing climate. Such locations include refuges, refugia, hotspots of resilience, bright spots, contemporary near-pristine reefs, and hope spots that are collectively named reef 'safe havens' in this mini-review. Safe havens have intrinsic value for reefs through services such as environmental buffering, maintaining near-pristine reef conditions, or housing corals naturally adapted to future environmental conditions. Spatial and temporal variance in physicochemical conditions and exposure to stress however preclude certainty over the ubiquitous long-term capacity of reef safe havens to maintain protective service provision. To effectively integrate reef safe havens into proactive reef management and contingency planning for climate change scenarios, thus requires an understanding of their differences, potential values, and predispositions to stress. To this purpose, I provide a high-level review on the defining characteristics of different coral reef safe havens, how they are being utilised in proactive reef management and what risk and susceptibilities they inherently have. The mini-review concludes with an outline of the potential for reef safe haven habitats to support contingency planning of coral reefs under an uncertain future from intensifying climate change.
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9
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Baumann JH, Zhao L, Stier AC, Bruno JF. Remoteness does not enhance coral reef resilience. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:417-428. [PMID: 34668280 PMCID: PMC8671335 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Remote coral reefs are thought to be more resilient to climate change due to their isolation from local stressors like fishing and pollution. We tested this hypothesis by measuring the relationship between local human influence and coral community resilience. Surprisingly, we found no relationship between human influence and resistance to disturbance and some evidence that areas with greater human development may recover from disturbance faster than their more isolated counterparts. Our results suggest remote coral reefs are imperiled by climate change, like so many other geographically isolated ecosystems, and are unlikely to serve as effective biodiversity arks. Only drastic and rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions will ensure coral survival. Our results also indicate that some reefs close to large human populations were relatively resilient. Focusing research and conservation resources on these more accessible locations has the potential to provide new insights and maximize conservation outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin H. Baumann
- The Department of Biology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3280 USA
- Department of Marine Sciences, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3300 USA
- Biology Department, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, 04011 USA
- Correspondence to: or
| | - Lily Zhao
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, The University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA, 93106-9620, USA
| | - Adrian C. Stier
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, The University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA, 93106-9620, USA
| | - John F. Bruno
- The Department of Biology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3280 USA
- Correspondence to: or
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10
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Reverter M, Jackson M, Rohde S, Moeller M, Bara R, Lasut MT, Segre Reinach M, Schupp PJ. High taxonomic resolution surveys and trait-based analyses reveal multiple benthic regimes in North Sulawesi (Indonesia). Sci Rep 2021; 11:16554. [PMID: 34400684 PMCID: PMC8367970 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95905-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
As coral reef communities change and reorganise in response to increasing disturbances, there is a growing need for understanding species regimes and their contribution to ecosystem processes. Using a case study on coral reefs at the epicentre of tropical marine biodiversity (North Sulawesi, Indonesia), we explored how application of different biodiversity approaches (i.e., use of major taxonomic categories, high taxonomic resolution categories and trait-based approaches) affects the detection of distinct fish and benthic communities. Our results show that using major categories fails to identify distinct coral reef regimes. We also show that monitoring of only scleractinian coral communities is insufficient to detect different benthic regimes, especially communities dominated by non-coral organisms, and that all types of benthic organisms need to be considered. We have implemented the use of a trait-based approach to study the functional diversity of whole coral reef benthic assemblages, which allowed us to detect five different community regimes, only one of which was dominated by scleractinian corals. Furthermore, by the parallel study of benthic and fish communities we provide new insights into key processes and functions that might dominate or be compromised in the different community regimes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Reverter
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the Carl Von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
| | - Matthew Jackson
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the Carl Von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Sven Rohde
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the Carl Von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Mareen Moeller
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the Carl Von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Robert Bara
- Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Sam Ratulangi University, Jl. Kampus UNSRAT Bahu, 95115, Manado, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia
| | - Markus T Lasut
- Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Sam Ratulangi University, Jl. Kampus UNSRAT Bahu, 95115, Manado, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia
| | | | - Peter J Schupp
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the Carl Von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
- Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB), 26129, Oldenburg, Germany
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11
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Cissell EC, McCoy SJ. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing reveals the full taxonomic, trophic, and functional diversity of a coral reef benthic cyanobacterial mat from Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 755:142719. [PMID: 33077235 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2020] [Revised: 09/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic forcing is spurring cyanobacterial proliferation in aquatic ecosystems worldwide. While planktonic cyanobacterial blooms have received substantial research attention, benthic blooms of mat-forming cyanobacteria have received considerably less attention, especially benthic mat blooms on coral reefs. Resultingly, numerous aspects of coral reef benthic cyanobacterial bloom ecology remain unknown, including underlying biodiversity in the mat communities. Most previous characterizations of coral reef cyanobacterial mat composition have only considered the cyanobacterial component. Without an unbiased characterization of full community diversity, we cannot predict whole-community response to anthropogenic inputs or effectively determine appropriate mitigation strategies. Here, we advocate for the implementation of shotgun sequencing techniques to study coral reef cyanobacterial mats worldwide, utilizing a case study of a coral reef benthic cyanobacterial mat sampled from the island of Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands. Read-based taxonomic profiling revealed that Cyanobacteria was present at only 47.57% relative abundance in a coral reef cyanobacterial mat, with non-cyanobacterial members of the sampled mat community, including diatoms (0.78%), fungi (0.25%), Archaea (0.34%), viruses (0.08%), and other bacteria (45.78%), co-dominating the community. We found numerous gene families for regulatory systems and for functional pathways (both aerobic and anaerobic). These gene families were involved in community coordination; photosynthesis; nutrient scavenging; and the cycling of sulfur, nitrogen, phosphorous, and iron. We also report bacteriophage (including prophage) sequences associated with this subtidal coral reef cyanobacterial mat, which could contribute to intra-mat nutrient cycling and bloom dynamics. Overall, our results suggest that Cyanobacteria-focused analysis of coral reef cyanobacterial mats underestimates mat diversity and fails to capture community members possessing broad metabolic potential for intra-mat nutrient scavenging, recycling, and retention that likely contribute to the contemporary success of cyanobacterial mats on reefs. We advocate for increased collaboration between microbiologists and coral reef ecologists to unite insights from each discipline and improve efforts to understand mat ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan C Cissell
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
| | - Sophie J McCoy
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
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Precht WF, Aronson RB, Gardner TA, Gill JA, Hawkins JP, Hernández-Delgado EA, Jaap WC, McClanahan TR, McField MD, Murdoch TJT, Nugues MM, Roberts CM, Schelten CK, Watkinson AR, Côté IM. The timing and causality of ecological shifts on Caribbean reefs. ADVANCES IN MARINE BIOLOGY 2020; 87:331-360. [PMID: 33293016 DOI: 10.1016/bs.amb.2020.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Caribbean reefs have experienced unprecedented changes in the past four decades. Of great concern is the perceived widespread shift from coral to macroalgal dominance and the question of whether it represents a new, stable equilibrium for coral-reef communities. The primary causes of the shift-grazing pressure (top-down), nutrient loading (bottom-up) or direct coral mortality (side-in)-still remain somewhat controversial in the coral-reef literature. We have attempted to tease out the relative importance of each of these causes. Four insights emerge from our analysis of an early regional dataset of information on the benthic composition of Caribbean reefs spanning the years 1977-2001. First, although three-quarters of reef sites have experienced coral declines concomitant with macroalgal increases, fewer than 10% of the more than 200 sites studied were dominated by macroalgae in 2001, by even the most conservative definition of dominance. Using relative dominance as the threshold, a total of 49 coral-to-macroalgae shifts were detected. This total represents ~35% of all sites that were dominated by coral at the start of their monitoring periods. Four shifts (8.2%) occurred because of coral loss with no change in macroalgal cover, 15 (30.6%) occurred because of macroalgal gain without coral loss, and 30 (61.2%) occurred owing to concomitant coral decline and macroalgal increase. Second, the timing of shifts at the regional scale is most consistent with the side-in model of reef degradation, which invokes coral mortality as a precursor to macroalgal takeover, because more shifts occurred after regional coral-mortality events than expected by chance. Third, instantaneous observations taken at the start and end of the time-series for individual sites showed these reefs existed along a continuum of coral and macroalgal cover. The continuous, broadly negative relationship between coral and macroalgal cover suggests that in some cases coral-to-macroalgae phase shifts may be reversed by removing sources of perturbation or restoring critical components such as the herbivorous sea urchin Diadema antillarum to the system. The five instances in which macroalgal dominance was reversed corroborate the conclusion that macroalgal dominance is not a stable, alternative community state as has been commonly assumed. Fourth, the fact that the loss in regional coral cover and concomitant changes to the benthic community are related to punctuated, discrete events with known causes (i.e. coral disease and bleaching), lends credence to the hypothesis that coral reefs of the Caribbean have been under assault from climate-change-related maladies since the 1970s.
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Affiliation(s)
- William F Precht
- Marine and Coastal Programs, Dial Cordy and Associates, Miami, FL, United States.
| | - Richard B Aronson
- Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, United States
| | | | - Jennifer A Gill
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Julie P Hawkins
- Environment Department, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Edwin A Hernández-Delgado
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation, Applied Marine Ecology Laboratory, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Walter C Jaap
- Lithophyte Research LLC, Saint Petersburg, FL, United States
| | - Tim R McClanahan
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Marine Programs, Bronx, NY, United States
| | | | | | - Maggy M Nugues
- EPHE, Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL", PSL Research University, UPVD, CNRS, USR, Perpignan, France
| | - Callum M Roberts
- Environment Department, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | | | - Andrew R Watkinson
- Living with Environmental Change, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Isabelle M Côté
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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