Recent disturbances augment community shifts in coral assemblages in Moorea, French Polynesia

Pratchett, Morgan S.; Trapon, Mélanie L.; Berumen, Michael L.; Chong‐Seng, Karen M.

doi:10.1007/s00338-010-0678-2

Cited by 104 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…To explore long-term changes in coral cover and community structure at Moorea, quantitative data were compiled from 15 studies conducted at Tiahura [16,33,49,58,[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70] and/ or Vaipahu [16,62,71,72], located 2 kilometres apart on the north coast of Moorea [62]. Most of these studies (11 studies) directly compared changes in coral cover and composition through time, sampling coral assemblages between 2-17 years.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Effects of Different Disturbances in Coral Reef Habitats in Moorea, French Polynesia

Trapon

Pratchett

Penin

2011

Journal of Marine Biology

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Degradation and loss of critical coastal habitats has significant ramifications for marine fisheries, such that knowledge of changes in habitat quality and quantity are fundamental to effective ecosystem management. This study explores changes in the structure of coral reef habitats, specifically changes in coral cover and composition, in Moorea, French Polynesia, to assess the independent and combined effects of different disturbances since 1979. During this period, reefs on the north coast have been subject to coral bleaching, severe tropical storms, as well as outbreaks of Acanthaster. Coral cover varied significantly among years, showing marked declines during some, but not all, disturbances. The greatest rates of coral loss coincided with outbreaks of A. planci. Moreover, successive disturbances have had differential effects among coral genera, leading to strong directional shifts in coral composition. Acropora is declining in abundance and coral assemblages are becoming increasingly dominated by Pocillopora and Porites. Observed changes in the cover and composition of corals are likely to have further significant impacts on the reef fish assemblages. Given that significant disturbances have been mostly associated with outbreaks of A. planci, rather than climate change, effective ecosystem management may reduce and/or delay impending effects of climate change.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Effects of Different Disturbances in Coral Reef Habitats in Moorea, French Polynesia

Trapon

Pratchett

Penin

2011

Journal of Marine Biology

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“…The benthic composition of each habitat was quantified using 30-m point-intercept transects (following Pratchett et al 2011). Three replicate transects were laid haphazardly across the substratum within each reef habitat at each of the six sites.…”

Section: Benthic Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Among-habitat algal selectivity by browsing herbivores on an inshore coral reef

2015

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Understanding how the impact of different herbivores varies spatially on coral reefs is important in qualifying the resistance of coral reefs to disturbance events and identifying the processes that structure algal communities. We used assays of six common macroalgae (Acanthophora spicifera, Caulerpa taxifolia, Galaxaura rugosa, Laurencia sp. Sargassum sp., and Turbinaria ornata) and remote underwater video cameras to quantify herbivory in two habitats (reef crest and slope) across multiple sites on Orpheus Island, Great Barrier Reef. Rates of herbivory varied among macroalgal taxa, habitats, and sites. Reductions in algal biomass were greatest for Sargassum sp. (36 % 4 h -1 ), intermediate for A. spicifera, Laurencia sp., C. taxifolia, and T. ornata (17-33 % 4 h -1 ) and lowest for G. rugosa (6 % 4 h -1 ). Overall, rates of herbivory were generally greater on the reef crest (30 % 4 h -1 ) than the reef slope (21 % 4 h -1 ). This difference in rates of herbivory coincided with a marked shift in the dominant herbivores between habitats. Kyphosus vaigiensis, despite only feeding on three species of macroalgae (Sargassum sp., T. ornata, and A. spicifera), was responsible for 34 % of all bites recorded on the reef crest yet did not take a single bite from algae on the reef slope. In contrast, Siganus doliatus took bites on every species of algae in both habitats, accounting for 40 % of bites on the reef crest and 74 % of all bites recorded on the reef slope. This difference in the number of macroalgal species targeted by herbivores and the habitat/s in which they feed adds another dimension of complexity to our understanding of coral reef herbivore dynamics.

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“…The coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci is probably best known as one of the major causes of coral mortality, with loss of coral cover and community structure shifts through the tropical Indo-Pacific (Pratchett et al 2010;Osborne et al 2011;De'ath et al 2012). Because of the ecological and economic importance of coral reefs, interest in the crown-of-thorns starfish has been increasing in an effort to discover potential mitigation avenues against them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual orientation by the crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci)

et al. 2016

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Photoreception in echinoderms has been known for over 200 years, but their visual capabilities remain poorly understood. As has been reported for some asteroids, the crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) possess a seemingly advanced eye at the tip of each of its 7-23 arms. With such an array of eyes, the starfish can integrate a wide field of view of its surroundings. We hypothesise that, at close range, orientation and directional movements of the crown-of-thorns starfish are visually guided. In this study, the eyes and vision of A. planci were examined by means of light microscopy, electron microscopy, underwater goniometry, electroretinograms and behavioural experiments in the animals' natural habitat. We found that only animals with intact vision could orient to a nearby coral reef, whereas blinded animals, with olfaction intact, walked in random directions. The eye had peak sensitivity in the blue part (470 nm) of the visual spectrum and a narrow, horizontal visual field of approximately 100°wide and 30°high. With approximately 250 ommatidia in each adult compound eye and average interommatidial angles of 8°, crown-of-thorns starfish have the highest spatial resolution of any starfish studied to date. In addition, they have the slowest vision of all animals examined thus far, with a flicker fusion frequency of only 0.6-0.7 Hz. This may be adaptive as fast vision is not required for the detection of stationary objects such as reefs. In short, the eyes seem optimised for detecting large, dark, stationary objects contrasted against an ocean blue background. Our results show that the visual sense of the crown-of-thorns starfish is much more elaborate than has been thus far appreciated and is essential for orientation and localisation of suitable habitats.

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Recent disturbances augment community shifts in coral assemblages in Moorea, French Polynesia

Cited by 104 publications

References 50 publications

Comparative Effects of Different Disturbances in Coral Reef Habitats in Moorea, French Polynesia

Comparative Effects of Different Disturbances in Coral Reef Habitats in Moorea, French Polynesia

Among-habitat algal selectivity by browsing herbivores on an inshore coral reef

Visual orientation by the crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci)

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