Coral assemblages and physico-chemical characteristics of the Whitsunday Islands: evidence of recent community changes

Woesik, Robert van; Tomascik, T.; Blake, S.

doi:10.1071/mf97046

Cited by 123 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…For example, coral cover is known to decrease with declining water quality in the Indo-Pacific (e.g. Brown et al 1990;van Woesik et al 1999; Table 2). In contrast, Lirman and Fong (2007) found a negative relationship between coral cover and changes in water quality in the Florida Keys, where coral cover was significantly greater on coastal compared with offshore reefs, despite the existence of a water quality gradient.…”

Section: Benthic Covermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increasing distance away from two rivers, Central GBR: 24 hard coral taxa at reefs near rivers, 64 hard coral taxa at reefs [80 km away from rivers (van Woesik et al 1999) Taxonomic richness Field water quality gradient…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Links are often drawn between coral community structure and exposure to water quality because species' abundances generally reflect environmental conditions (e.g. van Woesik et al 1999; Table 2). For example, the community structure of macroalgae may be explained by responses to water quality.…”

Section: Community Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in some parts of the world, nutrient and sediment inputs to coral reefs have increased several-fold over the last 150 years (e.g. Richmond 1993;McCulloch et al 2003) causing reduced coral recruitment (Loya 1976;Babcock and Davies 1991;Loya et al 2004), modified trophic structures (Lapointe 1997;Fabricius 2005), altered biodiversity (van Woesik et al 1999) and coral mortality (Kline et al 2006). These processes can transfer the competitive advantage away from reef-building corals leading to trophic dominance by assemblages of macroalgae (Schaffelke 1999) once productivity exceeds rates of herbivory (McCook 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioindicators of changes in water quality on coral reefs: review and recommendations for monitoring programmes

2009

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Effective environmental management requires monitoring programmes that provide specific links between changes in environmental conditions and ecosystem health. This article reviews the suitability of a range of bioindicators for use in monitoring programmes that link changes in water quality to changes in the condition of coral-reef ecosystems. From the literature, 21 candidate bioindicators were identified, whose responses to changes in water quality varied spatially and temporally; responses ranged from rapid (hours) changes within individual corals to long-term (years) changes in community composition. From this list, the most suitable bioindicators were identified by determining whether responses were (i) specific, (ii) monotonic, (iii) variable, (iv) practical and (v) ecologically relevant to management goals. For long-term monitoring programmes that aim to quantify the effects of chronic changes in water quality, 11 bioindicators were selected: symbiont photophysiology, colony brightness, tissue thickness and surface rugosity of massive corals, skeletal elemental and isotopic composition, abundance of macro-bioeroders, micro-and meiobenthic organisms such as foraminifera, coral recruitment, macroalgal cover, taxonomic richness of corals and the maximal depth of coralreef development. For short-term monitoring programmes, or environmental impact assessments that aim to quantify the effects of acute changes in water quality, a subset of seven of these bioindicators were selected, including partial mortality. Their choice will depend on the specific objectives and the timeframe available for each monitoring programme. An assessment framework is presented to assist in the selection of bioindicators to quantify the effects of changing water quality on coral-reef ecosystems.

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Section: Benthic Covermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Community Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioindicators of changes in water quality on coral reefs: review and recommendations for monitoring programmes

2009

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“…While recruitment events and post-settlement survival are essential processes influencing recovery and species composition (van Woesik et al 1999;Hughes et al 1999;van Woesik 2002), few disturbances remove all life and the abundance and composition of remnants play a crucial role in recovery (Done 1987). Recovery trajectories may depend on the survival of coral populations on adjacent reefs and the capacity of these refuges to supply recruits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palau’s coral reefs show differential habitat recovery following the 1998-bleaching event

et al. 2007

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Documenting successional dynamics of coral communities following large-scale bleaching events is necessary to predict coral population responses to global climate change. In 1998, high sea surface temperatures and low cloud cover in the western Pacific Ocean caused high coral mortality on the outer exposed reefs of Palau (Micronesia), while coral mortality in sheltered bays was low. Recovery was examined from 2001 to 2005 at 13 sites stratified by habitat (outer reefs, patch reefs and bays) and depth (3 and 10 m). Two hypotheses were tested: (1) rates of change of coral cover vary in accordance with habitat, and (2) recovery rates depend on recruitment. Coral cover increased most in the sheltered bays, despite a low recruitment rate, suggesting that recovery in bays was primarily a consequence of remnant regrowth. Recruitment densities were consistently high on the wave-exposed reefs, particularly the western slopes, where recovery was attributed to both recruitment and regrowth of remnants. Recovery was initially more rapid at 10 m than 3 m on outer reefs, but in 2004, recovery rates were similar at both depths. Rapid recovery was possible because Palau's coral reefs were buffered by remnant survival and recruitment from the less impacted habitats.

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On the dynamics of the Zanzibar Channel

et al. 2015

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The Zanzibar Channel lies between the mainland of Tanzania and Zanzibar Island in the tropical western Indian Ocean, is about 100 km long, 40 km wide, and 40 m deep, and is essential to local socioeconomic activities. This paper presents a model of the seasonal and tidal dynamics of the Zanzibar Channel based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) and a comparison of the model and observations. The seasonal dynamics of the channel is forced by remote processes and the local wind. Remote forcing creates the East African Coastal Current, a portion of which flows through the channel northward with a seasonally varying magnitude. The local wind enhances this seasonality in the surface Ekman layer, resulting in a stronger northward flow during the southwest monsoon season and a weak northward or occasionally southward flow during the northeast monsoon season. The tidal flows converge and diverge in the center of the channel and reduce the transport in the channel. The remotely forced, wind‐forced, and tidal dynamics contain 5%, 3%, and 92% of the total kinetic energy, respectively. Despite their low kinetic energy, the remotely forced and wind‐forced flows are most relevant in advecting channel water to the open ocean, which occurs in 19 days at the peak of the southwest monsoon season. The channel is well mixed, except during brief periods in the two rainy seasons, and temporarily cools between December and February. The dispersion of passive tracers is presented as an example of potential model applications.

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Coral assemblages and physico-chemical characteristics of the Whitsunday Islands: evidence of recent community changes

Cited by 123 publications

References 38 publications

Bioindicators of changes in water quality on coral reefs: review and recommendations for monitoring programmes

Bioindicators of changes in water quality on coral reefs: review and recommendations for monitoring programmes

Palau’s coral reefs show differential habitat recovery following the 1998-bleaching event

On the dynamics of the Zanzibar Channel

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