Frequent disturbances and chronic pressures constrain stony coral recovery on Florida’s Coral Reef

Jones, Nicholas P.; Ruzicka, Rob; Colella, Mike A.; Pratchett, Morgan S.; Gilliam, David S.

doi:10.1007/s00338-022-02313-z

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…The measure of recruitment used in this study, identifying colonies under 2 cm in diameter using 0.75-m 2 quadrats, was designed to quantify settlement success, to only capture recruits once during the study period, and to provide an ecologically relevant way to assess recruitment success (Miller et al, 2000;Price et al, 2019). This is particularly pertinent on reefs with high epilithic algal matrix (EAM) and macroalgal cover, like the Coral ECA (Jones et al, 2020(Jones et al, , 2022, where as few as 1% of newly settled corals may survive (Doropoulos et al, 2016). Our findings, high colony turnover, large coefficient of variation, and positive skew, provide an indication of high mortality in recruits and juveniles that do settle, which presents a substantial barrier to population growth on these marginal reefs that experience high disturbance frequency (Jones et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…This is particularly pertinent on reefs with high epilithic algal matrix (EAM) and macroalgal cover, like the Coral ECA (Jones et al, 2020(Jones et al, , 2022, where as few as 1% of newly settled corals may survive (Doropoulos et al, 2016). Our findings, high colony turnover, large coefficient of variation, and positive skew, provide an indication of high mortality in recruits and juveniles that do settle, which presents a substantial barrier to population growth on these marginal reefs that experience high disturbance frequency (Jones et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Following the highest recruitment event, 337 recruits at POMP4 in 2020, adult colony abundance declined by 15% and recruit abundance by 76%. With no major disturbance event in the study period, this highlights the chronic environmental pressure the stony coral assemblage is under in the Coral ECA (Jones et al, 2022), which includes large fluctuations in temperature (Jones et al, 2020), nutrient enrichment, and sedimentation (Jones and Gilliam, 2024). S. siderea size structure was more normally distributed at middle, outer, and deep outer reef sites where temperatures tend to be more stable and turbidity is lower (Jones and Gilliam, 2024).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…As coral reef communities continue to undergo declines in coral cover (Gardner et al, 2003;De'ath et al, 2012;Hughes et al, 2018;Jones et al, 2022), understanding demographic barriers to the recovery and expansion of stony coral (order Scleractinian) assemblages is key to assessing their viability (Dietzel et al, 2020;Edmunds and Riegl, 2020). Vital rates, such as recruitment and survival, drive changes in population growth and size structure (Holbrook et al, 2018;Pisapia et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over recent years, stony corals in the Coral ECA experienced significant declines in cover and density from thermal stress (2014 and 2015) and stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD; prevalent from 2014 to 2017; Walton et al, 2018;Jones et al, 2020;Hayes et al, 2022). Although there is evidence of recovery in density during the inter-disturbance period that followed this, when no thermal stress events or hurricanes occurred and SCTLD prevalence was low (Jones and Gilliam, 2024), increases in coral cover have generally been very limited in the Coral ECA (Jones et al, 2022), suggesting underlying barriers to population growth (Bellwood et al, 2004;Edmunds and Elahi, 2007;Hughes et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial differences in recruit density, survival, and size structure prevent population growth of stony coral assemblages in southeast Florida

Jones,

Gilliam

2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The size structure of stony coral populations can reveal underlying demographic barriers to population growth or recovery. Recent declines in coral cover from acute disturbances are well documented, but few studies have assessed size structure and the demographic processes that determine population growth. Vital rates, such as recruitment and survival, vary spatially and temporally in response to environmental conditions, in turn influencing assemblage composition. The Southeast Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Area (Coral ECA) is a high-latitude reef system offshore of a heavily urbanized coastline. Consecutive heat stress events, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), and Hurricane Irma caused significant declines in stony coral cover and density from 2014 to 2018. The recovery potential of stony coral assemblages is influenced by their composition, the size structure of the remnant populations, and population growth during inter-disturbance periods. To assess the viability of the remaining stony coral assemblages in the Coral ECA, we quantified variation in stony coral recruit density, abundance, size structure, and assemblage composition across depth and latitude at permanent sites over 3 years (2019–2022) when no disturbances occurred. We found spatial decoupling in recruit density, adult colony density, and cover that maintains a preponderance of small colonies and skewed size structure. At sites close to shore where recruit density was higher, there was limited evidence of survival and growth of recruits, while at sites where large colonies were sampled or cover was relatively high, there was limited recruitment. The majority (>75%) of recruits sampled were Siderastrea siderea, but size frequency distributions were positively skewed and the coefficient of variation was high, suggesting high recruit/juvenile colony mortality and little growth into larger size classes. Porites astreoides size structure was generally lognormal and mesokurtic, particularly closer to shore, suggesting a transition between size classes. Skewness decreased moving offshore in Montastraea cavernosa and S. siderea, suggesting a transition between size classes. Recruit and adult diversity also increased moving offshore, but recruits of most species were uncommon throughout the study area. We suggest that low recruitment and high mortality, particularly in small colonies and inshore, even during inter-disturbance periods, limit the population growth of stony coral assemblages in southeast Florida.

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