Coverage Increases of Porites astreoides in Grenada Determined by Shifts in Size-Frequency Distribution

Abstract

Despite coral community collapse, the mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides) is a species currently experiencing success throughout the Caribbean. The inshore reefs of Grenada were selected to study the influence of benthic factors on the abundance, size, and coverage of P. astreoides colonies. Surveys of reef communities along established 30 m transects were conducted at eight sites in 2014 and 2017 using a 0.5 m² quadrat. Coral Point Count was used to annotate the images, estimating the coverage of scleractinian corals, sponges, algae, and benthic substrates. Coverage, size, and abundance of P. astreoides colonies were quantified using the area measurement tool in ImageJ standardized against the quadrats. There were significant differences in benthic community assemblages between islands, selected sites, and between years. From 2014 to 2017 there was a significant decrease in the mean abundance of P. astreoides colonies and significant increases in mean colony size and coverage. The presence of P. astreoides colonies was significantly correlated with: rubble (−), sand (−); pavement (+); macroalgae (−); coralline algae (+); sponges (varying response); gorgonians (−); massive corals (+); and branching corals (−). P. astreoides follows similar recruitment patterns as other scleractinian corals. Observed changes in P. astreoides populations appear to indicate a recovery event following a disturbance, potentially tropical storm Chantal in 2013.

Exploring the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reef Ecosystems

“…The evidence of the problem lies in scientific observations and experiments that have shown a decline in coral health and reef ecosystem functionality as a result of ocean acidification. Numerous studies have documented reduced coral calcification rates, impaired symbiosis between corals and zooxanthellae, altered microbial communities and disrupted coral larval settlement under acidified conditions (Eagleson, Álvarez-Filip & Lumsden, 2023). These findings provide empirical evidence for the negative impacts of ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems.…”

The Genome of the Mustard Hill Coral,Porites astreoides

“…The copyright holder for this preprint (which this version posted July 3, 2022. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.01.498470 doi: bioRxiv preprint Carpenter 2008; Toth et al 2019;Eagleson et al 2021) abundances, but smaller colony sizes (Edmunds, Didden, and Frank 2021). P. astreoides is considered a "weedy species'' as it is a hermaphroditic, brooding coral species that has a prolonged planulation period (Chornesky and Peters 1987;McGuire 1998) with pelagic larvae that exhibit high phenotypic plasticity (de Putron and Smith 2011;de Putron et al 2017;Goodbody-Gringley et al 2018;Zhang et al 2019;Wong et al 2021) and high recruitment rates (Goodbody-Gringley et al 2018.…”

The genome of the mustard hill coral, Porites astreoides

“…This is a ubiquitous shallow Western Atlantic coral present across large environmental clines from mesophotic depths of ∼45 m [ 8 ] to shallow mangrove environments [ 9 ] , and a latitudinal range from Brazil [ 10 ] to Bermuda [ 11 ] . In contrast to other Caribbean corals, P. astreoides has increased in abundance in recent years, with high juvenile [ 12 ] and adult [ 13 – 15 ] abundances, but smaller colony sizes [ 16 ] . P. astreoides is considered a ‘weedy’ species’ as it is a hermaphroditic, brooding coral species with a prolonged planulation period [ 17 , 18 ] of pelagic larvae that exhibit high phenotypic plasticity [ 19 – 23 ] and high recruitment rates [ 8 , 21 ] .…”