Impacts of marine debris on coral reef ecosystem: A review for conservation and ecological monitoring of the coral reef ecosystem

Nama, Suman; Shanmughan, Ashna; Nayak, Binaya Bhusan; Bhushan, Shashi; Ramteke, Karankumar

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114755

Cited by 20 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 123 publications

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“…The coral reef is renowned for being the "tropical rainforest of the ocean" due to its high productivity and immense biodiversity, making it one of the world's most diverse ecosystems (Apprill et al, 2023;Nama et al, 2023). It is not only an essential habitat for marine organisms, but also a significant source of ecological, economic, and cultural value for human societies (Hein et al, 2015;Macneil et al, 2019;Mellin et al, 2020;Apprill et al, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The outbreak of Drupella snails and its catastrophic effects on coral reefs: a comprehensive review

Zhang,

Jia,

Lin

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The recurring outbreaks of Drupella snails are a significant threat to coral reef ecosystems on a global scale. However, research on Drupella snails is currently very fragmentary. This article explores the ecological impacts and mitigation methods of Drupella snails and its outbreaks, and draws the following main conclusions. 1) Drupella snails inhabit the tropical oceans of the Indo-Pacific, utilizing their specialized radula to feed on coral polyps, and they predominantly spawn during summer, attaching egg capsules onto coral skeletons. 2) An outbreak of Drupella snails is defined by a density of > 2 ind/m2, but large aggregations alone do not necessarily indicate an outbreak. 3) The damage of coral reef ecosystem is the primary cause of Drupella snail outbreaks, with the hypotheses of “terrestrial nutrient input” and “overfishing of predator” being widely accepted but not fully explaining all outbreak events. 4) Countering Drupella snail outbreaks involves improving the health of coral reef ecosystems, protected areas, biological control and manual removal, though manual removal is the most direct and effective in short-term. 5) The understanding of the physiological and ecological characteristics of Drupella snails is inadequate at present, with larval development and population ecology being areas of particular under-investigation. 6) Studies of Drupella snail outbreaks have focused mainly on mid-outbreak stages, with little attention to early warnings beforehand or adverse outcomes afterwards. Despite significant challenges, addressing knowledge gaps in the biology of Drupella snails is crucial to determine the true causes of their outbreaks and identify corresponding solutions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The outbreak of Drupella snails and its catastrophic effects on coral reefs: a comprehensive review

Zhang,

Jia,

Lin

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Hence, derelict shing gear pollution threatens the balance and health of our corals. Therefore, the ecological effects worsen each year as coral cover continues to decline because of the presence of derelict shing gear in the oceans (Goñi, 1998;Thomas & Sandhya, 2019) As a result, coral diversity has decreased (Nama et al, 2023) Furthermore, derelict shing gear causes shading and coral health, inducing bleaching (Mueller & Schupp, 2020). Coral bleaching is the process of expelling zooxanthellae from the host (Brown & Ogden, 1993)and stressors are the main causes of frequent coral bleaching (Head et al, 2019) Under stress, coral bleaching controls coral-zooxanthellae symbiosis by decreasing photosynthetic production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Effects of Ghost Nets on Coral Health: An Examination of Coral Reefs on Androth Island, Lakshadweep

NM,

PV,

et al. 2024

Preprint

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In our study, we investigated the impact of derelict fishing gear on coral reefs in various locations on the Androth reef of the Lakshadweep. We found significant variations in coral health across the surveyed sites, with some areas showing a high percentage of live coral while others exhibiting a high percentage of dead coral. Ghost nets snagged on reefs at all depths had a significant negative impact on coral health, according to pairwise analyses. Pearson's correlation analysis of coral health and stress relationships confirmed a significant relationship between ghost nets and coral health (LC, DC, R, and AA) at all sampled depths. In our analysis, we examined coral mortality, tissue loss, and variations in zooxanthellae density among different coral species. The average sedimentation ranges recorded monthly were 49.75 ± 43.2 and 116 ± 41.05, respectively. The sedimentation rate in the Androth reefs of the Lakshadweep was approximately five times greater than in the other regions. During our survey, we observed abandoned fishing gear, including 6 mm fishing ghost nets (28%), 5 mm fishing ghost nets (11%), ropes (31%), buoys (19%), and lines (11%) across the study sites. The overall composition of live coral cover on averaged was 22.1%, while dead coral accounted for 24.3% and rubble constituted 53.6%. Furthermore, we removed more than 48 kg of ghost nets from the NIOT underwater pipe, and significant quantities of these nets were retrieved from sites SW3 and SW2 (12.5 kg each) during our efforts. This study highlights the critical importance of addressing ghost net entanglement and its detrimental effects on coral health, as well as the urgent need for conservation efforts in the surveyed reef ecosystems.

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“…The ecological effects worsen each year as coral cover continues to decline, in part because of the presence of abandoned shing ghost net debris in the oceans (Goñi, 1998;Thomas & Sandhya, 2019). As a result, coral diversity has decreased (Nama et al, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of fishing ghost Nets derelicts on Coral Health in Androth's Reefs in Lakshadweep: A Comprehensive Study

NM,

PV,

et al. 2023

Preprint

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This study investigated the impact of fishing ghost net derelict on coral health across different depths in the Androth reefs of Lakshadweep. The line intercept transects and Photoquard methods were utilized for analyzing the fishing derelict impact on coral reefs' health. The results of Kruskal-Walli’s test showed that the medians of coral health differed significantly across depths, with the lowest medians found in areas with fishing ghost net entanglements. A multiple regression model further supported this finding, showing that the total number of entanglements and mean incident catch rates were both significant predictors of coral health. Principal component analysis revealed that the contribution of coral colonies affected by fishing ghost net debris was most pronounced in certain sites, accounting for 68.3% of the observed differences. Hence, this study provides strong evidence of the detrimental effects of fishing debris on coral reef ecosystems. The findings suggest that fishing debris can significantly reduce coral health and that this impact is more pronounced in areas with higher levels of entanglements. These findings highlight the need for effective management strategies to reduce fishing debris and protect coral reefs.

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Impacts of marine debris on coral reef ecosystem: A review for conservation and ecological monitoring of the coral reef ecosystem

Cited by 20 publications

References 123 publications

The outbreak of Drupella snails and its catastrophic effects on coral reefs: a comprehensive review

The outbreak of Drupella snails and its catastrophic effects on coral reefs: a comprehensive review

Assessing the Effects of Ghost Nets on Coral Health: An Examination of Coral Reefs on Androth Island, Lakshadweep

The Impact of fishing ghost Nets derelicts on Coral Health in Androth's Reefs in Lakshadweep: A Comprehensive Study

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