Coral Reef Bioerosion in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Barrientos, Juan José; Grassian, Benjamin; Kintz, Jaime Ricardo Cantera; Cenizo, José Luis Carballo; Cruz, Edgardo Londoño

doi:10.1007/978-94-017-7499-4_12

Cited by 28 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 124 publications

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“…Concomitant with this reduction are changes in the ecological functioning of the species, since size in sessile invertebrates correlates with the probability of interactions with other organisms (Rinkevich & Loya, ; Zilberberg & Edmunds, ). Reef‐building is compromised, since carbonate accretion into reefal bodies requires the input of sufficient skeletal material—which decreases dramatically with smaller populations made up of smaller colonies that are more easily bioeroded (Alvarado, Grassian, Cantera‐Kintz, Carballo, & Londoño‐Cruz, ; Jafari, Seyfabadi, & Shokri, ; Perry & Harborne, ; Riegl, ). Similarly, in the Caribbean, Acropora spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population collapse dynamics in Acropora downingi, an Arabian/Persian Gulf ecosystem‐engineering coral, linked to rising temperature

Riegl

Johnston

Purkis

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

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As in the tropical Atlantic, Acropora populations in the southern Persian/Arabian Gulf plummeted within two decades after having been ecosystem engineers on most wave-exposed reefs since the Pleistocene. Since 1996/1998 live coral cover in the Gulf declined by over 90% in many areas, primarily due to bleaching and diseases caused by rising temperatures. In the formerly dominant table-coral species A. downingi, population dynamics corresponding to disturbance regimes was quantified in three transition matrices (lower disturbance pre-1996; moderate disturbance from 1998 to 2010 and 2013 to 2017, disturbed in 1996/1998, 2010/11/12, 2017). Increased disturbance frequency and severity caused progressive reduction in coral size, cover, and population fecundity. Small size-classes were bolstered more by partial colony mortality than sexual recruitment. Some large corals had a size refuge and resisted die-back but were also lost with increasing disturbance. Matrix and biophysical larval flow models suggested one metapopulation. Southern, Arabian, populations could be connected to northern, Iranian, populations but this connectivity was lost under assumptions of pelagic larval duration at rising temperatures shortened to a third. Then, the metapopulation disintegrated into isolated populations. Connectivity required to avoid extinctions increased exponentially with disturbance frequency and correlation of disturbances across the metapopulation. Populations became unsustainable at eight disturbances in 15 years, when even highest theoretical recruitment no longer compensated mortality. This lethal disturbance frequency was 3-fold that of the moderately disturbed monitoring period and 4-fold of the preceding low-disturbance period-suggesting ongoing shortening of the disturbance-free period. Observed population collapse and environmental changes in the Gulf suggest that A. downingi is heading toward at least functional extinction mainly due to increasingly frequent temperature-induced mortality events, clearly linked to climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population collapse dynamics in Acropora downingi, an Arabian/Persian Gulf ecosystem‐engineering coral, linked to rising temperature

Riegl

Johnston

Purkis

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

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“…Bioerosion rates in ETP reefs are among the highest recorded in the world [ 31 , 55 , 56 ]. The rapid macro- and microbioerosion observed at Matapalo Reef confirms previous investigations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently these conditions allow the formation of extensive but poorly developed reefs [ 24 ]. In these reefs, bioerosion is an integral part of the reef framework and carbonate sediment production [ 30 , 31 ]. Sediments at the reef site were comprised of dead coral branches of the genus Pocillopora alternating with patches of fine carbonate sand ( S2 Fig ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid bioerosion in a tropical upwelling coral reef

et al. 2018

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Coral reefs persist in an accretion-erosion balance, which is critical for understanding the natural variability of sediment production, reef accretion, and their effects on the carbonate budget. Bioerosion (i.e. biodegradation of substrate) and encrustation (i.e. calcified overgrowth on substrate) influence the carbonate budget and the ecological functions of coral reefs, by substrate formation/consolidation/erosion, food availability and nutrient cycling. This study investigates settlement succession and carbonate budget change by bioeroding and encrusting calcifying organisms on experimentally deployed coral substrates (skeletal fragments of Stylophora pistillata branches). The substrates were deployed in a marginal coral reef located in the Gulf of Papagayo (Costa Rica, Eastern Tropical Pacific) for four months during the northern winter upwelling period (December 2013 to March 2014), and consecutively sampled after each month. Due to the upwelling environmental conditions within the Eastern Tropical Pacific, this region serves as a natural laboratory to study ecological processes such as bioerosion, which may reflect climate change scenarios. Time-series analyses showed a rapid settlement of bioeroders, particularly of lithophagine bivalves of the genus Lithophaga/Leiosolenus (Dillwyn, 1817), within the first two months of exposure. The observed enhanced calcium carbonate loss of coral substrate (>30%) may influence seawater carbon chemistry. This is evident by measurements of an elevated seawater pH (>8.2) and aragonite saturation state (Ωarag >3) at Matapalo Reef during the upwelling period, when compared to a previous upwelling event observed at a nearby site in distance to a coral reef (Marina Papagayo). Due to the resulting local carbonate buffer effect of the seawater, an influx of atmospheric CO2 into reef waters was observed. Substrates showed no secondary cements in thin-section analyses, despite constant seawater carbonate oversaturation (Ωarag >2.8) during the field experiment. Micro Computerized Tomography (μCT) scans and microcast-embeddings of the substrates revealed that the carbonate loss was primarily due to internal macrobioerosion and an increase in microbioerosion. This study emphasizes the interconnected effects of upwelling and carbonate bioerosion on the reef carbonate budget and the ecological turnovers of carbonate producers in tropical coral reefs under environmental change.

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“…Bioerosion is a natural process that converts calcareous substrate into sediments and dissolved carbonate and can thereby have a significant effect on the carbon cycle (Perry & Harborne, 2016; Alvarado et al ., 2017; Schönberg et al ., 2017 a ). Under favourable conditions for reef development, bioerosion does not exceed biological calcification (Scoffin et al ., 1980; Perry et al ., 2008; Enochs et al ., 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between boring sponge assemblages and the availability of dead coral substrate on Mexican Pacific coral reefs

2018

Self Cite

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Boring sponges are an important component of bioeroder assemblages in tropical coral reefs. They are considered as a potential threat for coral reef health, and the increase of dead corals is expected to promote their abundance. The relationship between the availability of dead coral substrata and the development of boring sponge assemblages was evaluated during El Niño 2015–16 at five reefs from Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico. Environment and substrate quality were assessed. Overall, environment conditions remained normal in relation to previous studies in the area. Only water temperature showed unusually high records at all sites and coincided with bleaching and mortality of corals, possibly caused by the effects of the El Niño event. Abundance of boring sponges in dead corals and coral rubble was lower than during previous studies. Although sponge abundance was not directly related to cover of both dead corals and coral rubble, cover of dead corals showed a high correlation with the variation in the structure of sponge assemblages across sites. Cliona vermifera dominated sponge assemblages at all sites, and its abundance was high under conditions of high cover of live corals and low cover of bleached corals. Since overall sponge abundance responded in a similar way, these results suggest that boring sponge assemblages dominated by C. vermifera are enhanced by conditions favourable for corals. Our results imply that El Niño events in the Mexican Pacific are not likely to cause immediate population outbreaks of boring sponges.

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Coral Reef Bioerosion in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Cited by 28 publications

References 124 publications

Population collapse dynamics in Acropora downingi, an Arabian/Persian Gulf ecosystem‐engineering coral, linked to rising temperature

Population collapse dynamics in Acropora downingi, an Arabian/Persian Gulf ecosystem‐engineering coral, linked to rising temperature

Rapid bioerosion in a tropical upwelling coral reef

Relationships between boring sponge assemblages and the availability of dead coral substrate on Mexican Pacific coral reefs

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