Coral Gardens Reef, Belize: A refugium in the face of Caribbean-wide Acropora spp. coral decline

Greer, Lisa; Clark, Tara R.; Waggoner, Tanner; Busch, James; Guilderson, Thomas P.; Wirth, Karl; Zhao, Jian‐xin; Curran, H. Allen

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0239267

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 114 publications

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“…For instance, on the southwest coast of Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras an extraordinary high cover for A. cervicornis has been reported (Keck et al 2005, Riegl et al 2009; similarly, in the northeast of the Mexican Caribbean, surveys report some of the most prolific populations of A. palmata in the western Caribbean region (Rodríguez-Martínez et al 2014). Also, at Coral Gardens off the Belize coast, large populations of both species of Acropora also occur (Busch et al 2016, Greer et al 2020. A similar but lower effect is also identified when other functionally important species occur at high levels of coral cover (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional divergence from ecological baselines on Caribbean coral reefs

Melo‐Merino¹,

Lira‐Noriega

González‐Barrios

et al. 2022

Ecography

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Understanding how emergent ecological assemblages have diverged from natural states is fundamental in predicting future functioning and services of ecosystems. Coral reefs are of particular concern due to their high susceptibility to anthropogenic stressors. Yet, little is known about their pre-disturbance ranges of natural states, and most reports of decline are based on a limited number of sites and high levels of uncertainty. Here, we used a novel approach to estimate the physical functionality of reefs across marine ecoregions based on habitat suitability and morpho-functional traits for coral species. We calibrated ecological niche models for 49 reef-building corals of the Greater Caribbean based on occurrence records and environmental predictors, which we combined with species-specific functional coefficients derived from morpho-functional traits reflecting their contribution to the reef three-dimensional structure to estimate the reef functional potential (RFP). We then assessed the degree of divergence of western Caribbean reefs by comparing our physical functionality estimates against recent field data evaluations. We found spatial variability in RFP across the Caribbean, with the highest mean value in the western Caribbean and the lowest in areas with marginal environmental conditions. Hotspots of RFP exist along the coast of Belize and the southeast of Cuba. Overall, 84% of sites along the western Caribbean showed a substantial reduction in their physical functioning, with the highest reductions occurring within hotspots, implying that reefs displaying the greatest changes have high initial RFP. We conclude that combining niche models with species morpho-functional traits is a valuable and promising approach to estimate the large-scale functional potential of communities and the degree of change in the absence of ecological baselines. These findings have important implications and could be used to guide efforts to preserve coral reefs functionality and define priority conservation areas in the Caribbean.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional divergence from ecological baselines on Caribbean coral reefs

Melo‐Merino¹,

Lira‐Noriega

González‐Barrios

et al. 2022

Ecography

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“…To explore whether storms have resulted in recognizable mortality events prior to the study period at Coral Gardens, we compared 230 Th dates from a previous analysis of dead corals excavated from Coral Gardens ([ 16 ]; Fig 6 , S9 Table ) with known storm events that passed in close proximity from 1980–2019 [ 58 , 59 ]. Ages were obtained using methods from Clark et al [ 60 , 61 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nonetheless, some estimates suggest that acroporids have declined by up to 98% since the 1980s, or a few decades prior [ 14 , 15 ]. Coral Gardens, Belize has been identified as a refugia for these endangered species [ 16 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reef longevity was assessed using more traditional radiometric dating techniques to show that A . cervicornis presence at Coral Gardens at least pre-dated and persisted through the widespread Caribbean acroporid die-offs during the 1980s and earlier [ 16 ]. This site therefore provides a unique opportunity to assess and monitor the continued viability of a long-standing endangered coral species refugium.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coral Gardens Reef, Belize: An Acropora spp. refugium under threat in a warming world

et al. 2023

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Live coral cover has declined precipitously on Caribbean reefs in recent decades. Acropora cervicornis coral has been particularly decimated, and few Western Atlantic Acropora spp. refugia remain. Coral Gardens, Belize, was identified in 2020 as a long-term refugium for this species. This study assesses changes in live A. cervicornis coral abundance over time at Coral Gardens to monitor the stability of A. cervicornis corals, and to explore potential threats to this important refugium. Live coral cover was documented annually from 2012–2019 along five permanent transects. In situ sea-surface temperature data were collected at Coral Gardens throughout the study period and compared with calibrated satellite data to calculate Maximum Monthly Mean (MMM) temperatures and Degree Heating Weeks (DHW). Data on bathymetry, sediment, substrate, herbivore abundance, and macroalgal abundance were collected in 2014 and 2019 to assess potential threats to Coral Gardens. Live coral cover declined at all five transect sites over the study period. The greatest loss of live coral occurred between 2016 and 2017, coincident with the earliest and highest maximum average temperatures recorded at the study site, and the passage of a hurricane in 2016. Structural storm damage was not observed at Coral Gardens, though live coral cover declined after the passage of the storm. Uranium-thorium (230Th) dating of 26 dead in situ fragments of A. cervicornis collected in 2015 from Coral Gardens revealed no correlation between coral mortality and tropical storms and hurricanes in the recent past. Our data suggest that several other common drivers for coral decline (i.e. herbivory, predation, sedimentation, pH) may likely be ruled out for Coral Gardens. At the end of the study period, Coral Gardens satisfied most criteria for refugium status. However, the early onset, higher mean, and longer duration of above-average temperatures, as well as intermittent temperature anomalies likely played a critical role in the stability of this refugium. We suggest that temperature stress in 2016 and perhaps 2015 may have increased coral tissue vulnerability at Coral Gardens to a passing hurricane, threatening the status of this unique refugium.

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“…For instance, Vollmer and Kline (2008) noted that six percent of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) genotypes were resistant to white-band disease (WBD) in Bocas del Toro, Panama. This natural resistance to WBD in staghorn corals demonstrated that staghorn corals have an innate ability to resist WBD infection and may explain why areally limited thickets of Acropora have been able to survive the WBD epidemic (see Greer et al 2020) that has been ravaging acroporid coral populations throughout Florida and the Caribbean since the mid-1970's (Gladfelter 1982;Precht and Aronson 1997;Aronson and Precht 2001). Thus, understanding the genetic basis for disease resistance in corals may be a critical link to restoring populations of reef building corals in the future (van Oppen and Gates 2006;Baums 2008;Miller et al 2019).…”

Section: The Long View On Controlling Coral Disease Outbreaksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Failure to respond to a coral disease epizootic in Florida: causes and consequences

Precht¹

2021

ReEco

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Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first observed in September 2014 near Virginia Key, Florida. In roughly six years, the disease spread throughout Florida and into the greater Caribbean basin. The high prevalence of SCTLD and high resulting mortality in coral populations, and the large number of susceptible species affected, suggest that this outbreak is one of the most lethal ever recorded. The initial recognition and management response to this catastrophic disease in Florida was slow, which delayed the start of monitoring programs and prevented coordinated research programs by at least two years. The slow management response was a result of several factors that operated concurrently. First, the Port Miami dredging project was ongoing during the coral disease epidemic and dredging rather than SCTLD was blamed by some managers and local environmental groups for the extreme coral losses reported in the project’s compliance monitoring program. Second, this blame was amplified in the media because dredging projects are intuitively assumed to be bad for coral reefs. Third, during this same time State of Florida policy prohibited government employees to acknowledge global warming in their work. This was problematic because ocean warming is a proximal cause of many coral diseases. As a result, the well-known links between warming and coral disease were ignored. A consequence of this policy was that the dredging project provided an easy target to blame for the coral mortality noted in the monitoring program, despite convincing data that suggested otherwise. Specifically, results from the intensive compliance monitoring program, conducted by trained scientific divers, were clear. SCTLD that was killing massive numbers of corals throughout Florida was also killing corals at the dredge site – and in the same proportions and among the same suite of species. While eradication of the disease was never a possibility, early control measures may have slowed its spread or allowed for the rescue of significant numbers of large colonies of iconic species. This coral disease outbreak has similarities to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and there are lessons learned from both that will improve disease response outcomes in the future, to the benefit of coral reefs and human populations.

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Coral Gardens Reef, Belize: A refugium in the face of Caribbean-wide Acropora spp. coral decline

Cited by 6 publications

References 114 publications

Functional divergence from ecological baselines on Caribbean coral reefs

Functional divergence from ecological baselines on Caribbean coral reefs

Coral Gardens Reef, Belize: An Acropora spp. refugium under threat in a warming world

Failure to respond to a coral disease epizootic in Florida: causes and consequences

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