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Walker AS, Kratochwill CA, van Woesik R. Past disturbances and local conditions influence the recovery rates of coral reefs. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17112. [PMID: 38273580 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17112] [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: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Corals are being increasingly subjected to marine heatwaves. Theory suggests that increasing the intensity of disturbances reduces recovery rates, which inspired us to examine the recovery rates of coral cover following marine heatwaves, cyclones, and other disturbances at 1921 study sites, in 58 countries and three oceans, from 1977 to 2020. In the Atlantic Ocean, coral cover has decreased fourfold since the 1970s, and recovery rates following disturbances have been relatively slow, except in the Antilles. By contrast, reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans have maintained coral cover and recovery rates over time. There were positive relationships between rates of coral recovery and prior cyclone and heatwave frequency, and negative relationships between rates of coral recovery and macroalgae cover and distance to shore. A recent increase in the variance in recovery rates in some ecoregions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans suggests that some reefs in those ecoregions may be approaching a phase shift. While marine heatwaves are increasing in intensity and frequency, our results suggest that regional and local conditions influence coral recovery rates, and therefore, effective local management efforts can help reefs recover from disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew S Walker
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida, USA
| | - Chelsey A Kratochwill
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida, USA
| | - Robert van Woesik
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida, USA
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Cannon SE, Donner SD, Liu A, González Espinosa PC, Baird AH, Baum JK, Bauman AG, Beger M, Benkwitt CE, Birt MJ, Chancerelle Y, Cinner JE, Crane NL, Denis V, Depczynski M, Fadli N, Fenner D, Fulton CJ, Golbuu Y, Graham NAJ, Guest J, Harrison HB, Hobbs JPA, Hoey AS, Holmes TH, Houk P, Januchowski-Hartley FA, Jompa J, Kuo CY, Limmon GV, Lin YV, McClanahan TR, Muenzel D, Paddack MJ, Planes S, Pratchett MS, Radford B, Reimer JD, Richards ZT, Ross CL, Rulmal J, Sommer B, Williams GJ, Wilson SK. Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:3318-3330. [PMID: 37020174 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Scientists and managers rely on indicator taxa such as coral and macroalgal cover to evaluate the effects of human disturbance on coral reefs, often assuming a universally positive relationship between local human disturbance and macroalgae. Despite evidence that macroalgae respond to local stressors in diverse ways, there have been few efforts to evaluate relationships between specific macroalgae taxa and local human-driven disturbance. Using genus-level monitoring data from 1205 sites in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, we assess whether macroalgae percent cover correlates with local human disturbance while accounting for factors that could obscure or confound relationships. Assessing macroalgae at genus level revealed that no genera were positively correlated with all human disturbance metrics. Instead, we found relationships between the division or genera of algae and specific human disturbances that were not detectable when pooling taxa into a single functional category, which is common to many analyses. The convention to use percent cover of macroalgae as an indication of local human disturbance therefore likely obscures signatures of local anthropogenic threats to reefs. Our limited understanding of relationships between human disturbance, macroalgae taxa, and their responses to human disturbances impedes the ability to diagnose and respond appropriately to these threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara E Cannon
- Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Simon D Donner
- Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Angela Liu
- Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Pedro C González Espinosa
- Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Andrew H Baird
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Queensland, Townsville, Australia
| | - Julia K Baum
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, Canada
| | - Andrew G Bauman
- Department of Marine and Environmental Science, Nova Southeastern University, Florida, Dania Beach, USA
| | - Maria Beger
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- Department of Aquatic Resources Management, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Pattimura University, Ambon, Indonesia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, University of Queensland, Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | | | - Matthew J Birt
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Yannick Chancerelle
- CRIOBE, UAR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Moorea French Polynesia and the French Center for Excellence for Coral Reefs (LabEx Corail), PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Joshua E Cinner
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Queensland, Townsville, Australia
| | - Nicole L Crane
- One People One Reef, California, Santa Cruz, USA
- Department of Biology, Cabrillo College, California, Aptos, USA
| | - Vianney Denis
- Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Martial Depczynski
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Nur Fadli
- Faculty of Marine and Fisheries, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia
| | | | | | | | | | - James Guest
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Hugo B Harrison
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Queensland, Townsville, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Jean-Paul A Hobbs
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Andrew S Hoey
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Queensland, Townsville, Australia
| | - Thomas H Holmes
- Marine Science Program, Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia, Kensington, Australia
| | - Peter Houk
- University of Guam Marine Laboratory, UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam
| | | | - Jamaluddin Jompa
- Department of Marine Science and Fisheries, Hasanuddin University, South Sulawesi, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - Chao-Yang Kuo
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Queensland, Townsville, Australia
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Gino Valentino Limmon
- Department of Marine Biology, Pattimura University, Ambon, Indonesia
- Maritime and Marine Science Centre of Excellence, Pattimura University, Ambon, Indonesia
| | - Yuting V Lin
- Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Dominic Muenzel
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Michelle J Paddack
- One People One Reef, California, Santa Cruz, USA
- Santa Barbara City College, California, Santa Barbara, USA
| | - Serge Planes
- CRIOBE, UAR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Moorea French Polynesia and the French Center for Excellence for Coral Reefs (LabEx Corail), PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Morgan S Pratchett
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Queensland, Townsville, Australia
| | - Ben Radford
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Western Australia, Perth, Australia
- Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - James Davis Reimer
- Department of Marine Science, Chemistry and Biology, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
- Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Zoe T Richards
- Coral Conservation and Research Group, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Western Australia, Bently, Australia
- Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Claire L Ross
- Marine Science Program, Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia, Kensington, Australia
- Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - John Rulmal
- One People One Reef, California, Santa Cruz, USA
- Ulithi Falalop Community Action Program, Yap, Micronesia
| | - Brigitte Sommer
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, 2007, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Shaun K Wilson
- Marine Science Program, Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia, Kensington, Australia
- Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Western Australia, Perth, Australia
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