Coral reef diversity losses in China’s Greater Bay Area were driven by regional stressors

Cybulski, Jonathan D.; Husa, S. M.; Duprey, Nicolas; Mamo, Briony; Tsang, Toby P. N.; Yasuhara, Moriaki; Xie, James Y.; Qiu, Jian‐Wen; Yokoyama, Yūsuke; Baker, David M.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abb1046

Cited by 42 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 101 publications

(194 reference statements)

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“…and P. decussata settled well after transplantation, P. carnosus seemed to immediately suffer mortality upon transplant which could be because this species is more susceptible to mortality under stressful conditions (e.g. eutrophication; Fabricius 2005, Cybulski et al 2020). Survival in other coral species have been shown to increase when systems are healthier and have functionally redundant herbivores.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Items were secured to rock substrate using marine epoxy (Splash Zone A-788 2-part Epoxy, Pettit Paint, Rockaway NJ, USA). These coral species were chosen for their abundance in Hong Kong coral communities (Cybulski et al 2020). Plots were haphazardly distributed throughout the study site.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The waters around Hong Kong are eutrophic and, as such, conditions have already caused significant loss to local coral abundance and diversity (Duprey et al 2016, Cybulski et al 2020). Further, Hong Kong has been extensively overfished and most large predatory and herbivorous fishes found elsewhere in the South China Sea are absent (Cheung and Sadovy 2004, Lai et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The benefits of herbivory outweigh the costs of bioerosion in a eutrophic coral community

Marshall

Baker

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Herbivores play an integral part in maintaining the health of coral reefs by suppressing the growth of algae and accumulation of sediment and facilitating coral growth. However, in predator-depleted systems where densities of herbivores are unnaturally high, grazing can have detrimental effects on corals through excessive bioerosion. Yet, these benefits and costs are rarely investigated concurrently, especially in eutrophic systems where grazers may play a disproportionate role. We used a year-long exclusion experiment to elucidate the effect of natural densities of the dominant herbivore (the sea urchin Diadema setosum) on coral communities in a heavily fished and eutrophic system (Hong Kong, China). To assess benthic community response to grazing, we monitored the survival and growth of three locally abundant coral species (Pavona decussata, Platygyra carnosus and Porites sp.), algal and sediment accumulation, and bioerosion of coral skeletons across seasons. We found that urchins maintained our experimental coral assemblages, and when excluded, there was a 25 to 75-fold increase in algal-sediment matrix accumulation. Contrary to predictions, there was no general response of corals to urchin presence; Porites sp. survivorship increased while P. decussata was unaffected, and growth rates of both species was unchanged. Surprisingly, P. carnosus experienced higher mortality and bioerosion of up to 33% of their buoyant weight when urchins were present. Therefore, under natural densities, sea urchins clear substrate of algae and sediment, increase survival, maintain growth rates and health of coral assemblages, yet can accelerate the bioerosion of species with porous skeletons following mortality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The benefits of herbivory outweigh the costs of bioerosion in a eutrophic coral community

Marshall

Baker

et al. 2021

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“…Climate impacts on fisheries resources are caused by an increase in air and ocean temperature and sea level rise. Combined to acidification, warming and local stressors cause coral reef losses, which, in turn, leads to coastal productivity loss and shortages of various natural resources (CYBULSKI et al, 2020). It is estimated that 1% loss of coral global coverage would lead to 3.8% economic loss associated with the recreational and commercial value of reef coverage equivalent to US$ 3.95 to US$ 23.78 billion annually (CHEN et al, 2015).…”

Section: Potential Distribution Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and Brazil’s coastal zone: socio-environmental vulnerabilities and action strategies

Horta

Pinho

Gouvêa

et al. 2020

SustDeb

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The coastal zone, where most of the Brazilian population lives, plays a central role for discussing vulnerability and adaptation strategies to climate change. Besides saltmarshes, mangroves and coral reefs, this region also presents seagrass beds, macroalgae and rhodolith beds, forming underwater forests, which are key habitats for services such as biodiversity conservation, O2 production, and absorption of part of the CO2 from the atmosphere. Science endorses that ocean warming and acidification, sea level rise, biological invasions and their interactions with pollution, overfishing, and other stressors undermine the structure and functioning of these ecosystems, thus increasing the region's socio-environmental vulnerability. Ecosystem conservation, management and potential bioremediation/restoration using science-based solutions must be prioritized in order to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities and the ocean.

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“…Without these coral reefs, ecosystems across the globe will suffer from the changes that will take place in aquatic ecosystems (Wepener, 2020). Other places such as China are also experiencing a 40% decrease in coral reef generic diversity (Cybulski et al 2020). Coral reef diversity is the term that describes all of the organisms that rely on these coral reefs to live.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Lack of Funding for Coral Reef Research and it’s Effects on Coral Reef Management and Conservation

Bushnell¹,

Park

2021

J Stud Res

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Climate change is greatly harming coral reefs (Gibbs and West, 2019). It is important to research how to help these coral reefs build resilience against climate change but research programs are severely underfunded (Johnston et al. 2020). This paper explored how lack of funding prevents scientists from saving coral reefs and how scientists themselves can be affected. The goal of this paper was to bring to light the struggles faced in the midst of underfunding to feasibly gain support from politicians and government officials to promote funding for these programs. Through three virtual interviews with two scientists and one college professor, I gathered personal experiences from these participants on how coral reefs are being affected today, why research is necessary, and how lack of funding prevents the restoration of these reefs. With the use of a thematic analysis, I was able to recognize common themes between the interviews in order to conclude how lack of program funding prevents scientists from managing and restoring these coral reef ecosystems. The initial assumption for this paper was that coral reef research is underfunded because coral reefs are considered less important, however, the analysis of the data for this paper concluded that all research programs are underfunded. In essence, marine biology, in general, is underfunded as opposed to mainly research on coral reefs. As a result, scientists can be very limited in their abilities to conduct research.

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Coral reef diversity losses in China’s Greater Bay Area were driven by regional stressors

Cited by 42 publications

References 101 publications

The benefits of herbivory outweigh the costs of bioerosion in a eutrophic coral community

The benefits of herbivory outweigh the costs of bioerosion in a eutrophic coral community

Climate change and Brazil’s coastal zone: socio-environmental vulnerabilities and action strategies

Exploring the Lack of Funding for Coral Reef Research and it’s Effects on Coral Reef Management and Conservation

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