Spatial Patterns and Short-term Changes of Coral Assemblages Along a Cross-shelf Gradient in the Southwestern Lagoon of New Caledonia

Abstract

Coral reef assemblages generally form gradients of spatial structures which are governed by a variety of interacting physical and biological processes that vary in intensity, frequency, and spatial scale. Assessing the structure of contemporary reef assemblages may help to understand future changes and to identify appropriate conservation actions. The spatial distribution and interannual variability (from 2006 to 2008) of coral assemblages were investigated at 10 stations in the southwestern lagoon of New Caledonia, and the strength of the cross-shelf gradient was evaluated. Coral cover, generic richness, and abundance of adult and juvenile assemblages were highly variable within and among the three major reef habitats (fringing, mid-shelf, and barrier reefs). Abundance increased with distance from shore, whereas generic richness and cover were not correlated with shelf position. Assemblage composition was generally related to habitat, even though some mid-shelf and fringing reef assemblages resembled those observed on other habitats. A significant correlation between juvenile and adult distributions was recorded, suggesting that adult assemblages are partly controlled by the short-term history of recruitment patterns. The interannual variation of coral assemblages was far less pronounced, with significant changes only detected at some mid-shelf and barrier reefs, for a few genera characterised by high turn-over.

Spatial heterogeneity of coral reef benthic communities in Kenya

“…This offers the opportunity to propose ecological controls that structure benthic communities at this scale, and which may be used to guide resource management decisions. Similar findings have been reported in parts of the Pacific Ocean, where benthic communities were structured by depth, exposure to waves and reef types, in the Hawaiian Islands [47][48][49] and in French Polynesia [50][51][52][53][54].…”

Diversity, structure and demography of coral assemblages on underwater lava flows of different ages at Reunion Island and implications for ecological succession hypotheses

“…As in many other coral reefs throughout the world [63][64][65][66] , coral assemblages at Reunion Island are characterized by a marked spatial heterogeneity at the local scale (i.e., within reef habitats). Density, cover, colony size, recruitment patterns and mortality of corals show significant differences among sites within coral reefs and lava flows, the two major habitats studied in this survey.…”

Automatic Detection of Trawl-Marks in Sidescan Sonar Images through Spatial Domain Filtering, Employing Haar-Like Features and Morphological Operations

“…The SSS mosaic also depicts complex areas that represent scattered biogenic mounds. A growing body of literature pays particular attention to the extent and the acoustic pattern of coralligenous formations [13,71,86,87]. Despite the fact that the EU 1967/2006 Mediterranean fisheries management Regulation protects the biogenic habitats, they are commonly impacted by fishing activities [13,88].…”