Coral recruitment of a subtropical coral community at Yenliao Bay, northern Taiwan

Ho, Margaret S.; Dai, Chang‐Feng

doi:10.1186/1810-522x-53-5

Cited by 17 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…During a 4 y survey (from 1997 to 2000) of coral recruitment on Kenting reefs, Pocilloporidae and Acroporidae contributed >95% of the recruits [56] . Recent studies published in the region still lack the identification of coral recruits below the family level [57] , [58] , simply assuming that recruits were from the dominant genera. With the help of molecular tools, we were able to accurately identify six genera in four scleractinian families.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of Scleractinian Coral Recruits Using Fluorescent Censusing and DNA Barcoding Techniques

et al. 2014

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The identification of coral recruits has been problematic due to a lack of definitive morphological characters being available for higher taxonomic resolution. In this study, we tested whether fluorescent detection of coral recruits used in combinations of different DNA-barcoding markers (cytochrome oxidase I gene [COI], open reading frame [ORF], and nuclear Pax-C intron [PaxC]) could be useful for increasing the resolution of coral spat identification in ecological studies. One hundred and fifty settlement plates were emplaced at nine sites on the fringing reefs of Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan between April 2011 and September 2012. A total of 248 living coral spats and juveniles (with basal areas ranging from 0.21 to 134.57 mm2) were detected on the plates with the aid of fluorescent light and collected for molecular analyses. Using the COI DNA barcoding technique, 90.3% (224/248) of coral spats were successfully identified into six genera, including Acropora, Isopora, Montipora, Pocillopora, Porites, and Pavona. PaxC further separated I. cuneata and I. palifera of Isopora from Acropora, and ORF successfully identified the species of Pocillopora (except P. meandrina and P. eydouxi). Moreover, other cnidarian species such as actinarians, zoanthids, and Millepora species were visually found using fluorescence and identified by COI DNA barcoding. This combination of existing approaches greatly improved the taxonomic resolution of early coral life stages, which to date has been mainly limited to the family level based on skeletal identification. Overall, this study suggests important improvements for the identification of coral recruits in ecological studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of Scleractinian Coral Recruits Using Fluorescent Censusing and DNA Barcoding Techniques

et al. 2014

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“…Indeed, while taxonomic changes resulting from integrative analyses are increasingly being published, the outdated but understandably more widely-accepted scheme is still being applied in some recent work on corals and their associates (e.g., Ho and Dai 2014;Tsang et al 2014;Work and Aeby 2014). A lag is to be expected before the new framework is embraced outside the restricted circle better informed of the ongoing revisions.…”

Section: Unresolved Taxa and The Future Of Coral Systematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The New Systematics of Scleractinia: Integrating Molecular and Morphological Evidence

Kitahara

Fukami

Benzoni

et al. 2016

The Cnidaria, Past, Present and Future

108

100

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The taxonomy of scleractinian corals has traditionally been established based on morphology at the "macro" scale since the time of Carl Linnaeus. Taxa described using macromorphology are useful for classifying the myriad of growth forms, yet new molecular and small-scale morphological data have challenged the natural historicity of many familiar groups, motivating multiple revisions at every taxonomic level. In this synthesis of scleractinian phylogenetics and systematics, we present the most current state of affairs in the field covering both zooxanthellate and azooxanthellate taxa, focusing on the progress of our phylogenetic understanding of this ecologically-significant clade, which today is supported by rich sets of molecular and morphological data. It is worth noting that when DNA sequence data was first used to investigate coral evolution in the 1990s, there was no concerted effort to use phylogenetic information to delineate problematic taxa. In the last decade, however, the incompatibility of coral taxonomy with their evolutionary history has become much clearer, as molecular analyses for corals have been improved upon technically and expanded to all major scleractinian clades, shallow and deep. We describe these methodological developments and summarise new taxonomic revisions based on robust inferences of the coral tree of life. Despite these efforts, there are still unresolved sections of the scleractinian phylogeny, resulting in uncertain taxonomy for several taxa. We highlight these and propose a way forward for the taxonomy of corals.

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“…In contrast to the low rates of recruitment in 2011 and 2012, the 2013 recruitment rate (equivalent to 3832 recruits m -2 year -1 ) was higher than that reported for sub-tropical reefs [ 48 ] and more akin to rates recorded on the well connected central Great Barrier Reef [ 49 – 51 ]. Interestingly, during the 2013 spawning period, the Leeuwin current was at a relatively low strength associated with a neutral ENSO, whereas in 2011 (strong La Niña) and 2012 (moderate La Niña) the Leeuwin Current flowed strongly past the HAI.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 58%

Keeping It Local: Dispersal Limitations of Coral Larvae to the High Latitude Coral Reefs of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands

et al. 2016

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In 2011 the first recorded bleaching event for the high latitude Houtman Abrolhos Islands (HAI) coral communities was documented. This bleaching event highlighted the question of whether a supply of ‘heat tolerant’ coral recruits from the tropical north would be sufficient to provide a level of resistance for these reefs to future warming events. Using Lagrangian modelling we showed that due to its regional isolation, large-scale larval input from potential tropical northern source populations to the HAI is unlikely, despite the southward flowing Leeuwin current. Successful recruitment to artificial substrates was recorded following the bleaching event. However, this was negligible (0.4 ± 0.1 recruits per tile) compared to 2013 post impact recruitment (128.8 ± 15.8 recruits per tile). Our data therefore provides preliminary evidence suggesting that the connectivity of the HAI with coral communities in the north is limited, and population maintenance and recovery is likely driven primarily by self-recruitment. Given the low thermal tolerance of the HAI coral communities, the dominance of Acropora, and the apparent reliance on self-recruitment, an increased frequency of thermally anomalous conditions at the HAI (such as experienced in 2011) has the potential to reduce the long-term stability of the HAI coral populations and species that depend upon them.

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Coral recruitment of a subtropical coral community at Yenliao Bay, northern Taiwan

Cited by 17 publications

References 30 publications

Identification of Scleractinian Coral Recruits Using Fluorescent Censusing and DNA Barcoding Techniques

Identification of Scleractinian Coral Recruits Using Fluorescent Censusing and DNA Barcoding Techniques

The New Systematics of Scleractinia: Integrating Molecular and Morphological Evidence

Keeping It Local: Dispersal Limitations of Coral Larvae to the High Latitude Coral Reefs of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands

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