Connectivity and management of caribbean coral reefs

Surface current patterns were used to map dispersal routes of pelagic larvae from 18 coral reef sites in the Caribbean. The sites varied, both as sources and recipients of larvae, by an order of magnitude. It is likely that sites supplied copiously from "upstream" reef areas will be more resilient to recruitment overfishing, less susceptible to species loss, and less reliant on local management than places with little upstream reef. The mapping of connectivity patterns will enable the identification of beneficial management partnerships among nations and the design of networks of interdependent reserves.     

三亚礁区普哥滨珊瑚对海水悬浮物的生理适应

为了了解海水悬浮物质量浓度的升高对造礁石珊瑚的生存影响,于2020年5-9月期间,调查了三亚3个礁区（崖州湾、凤凰岛和西岛）的海水悬浮物质量浓度,测定了礁区中普哥滨珊瑚(Porites pukoensis)及其共生虫黄藻的生理指标,并筛选了敏感生物标志物,用以评价悬浮物对普哥滨珊瑚的影响程度。结果表明,崖州湾礁区的海水悬浮物月均质量浓度为13.7～19.4 mg·L-1,其含量显著高于凤凰岛（1.9～8.8 mg·L-1）和西岛（0.7～5.3 mg·L-1）。相关性分析表明,海水悬浮物浓度与共生虫黄藻的密度（R=0.27,P<0.05）和一氧化氮合成酶活力（R=0.27,P<0.05）均呈显著正相关,而与共生虫黄藻的谷胱甘肽S-转移酶活力呈显著负相关。因此,普哥滨珊瑚可能通过共生虫黄藻密度和NOS活力的诱导及其GST活力的抑制来适应悬浮物浓度较高的礁区环境。此外,本研究构建的综合生物标志物响应（IBR）指数具有崖州湾>凤凰岛>西岛的特征,与礁区悬浮物含量趋势相一致,提示IBR指数能够为珊瑚礁生态风险评估提供理论基础。     

Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs

The commonly observed high diversity of trees in tropical rain forests and corals on tropical reefs is a nonequilibrium state which, if not disturbed further, will progress toward a low-diversity equilibrium community. This may not happen if gradual changes in climate favor different species. If equilibrium is reached, a lesser degree of diversity may be sustained by niche diversification or by a compensatory mortality that favors inferior competitors. However, tropical forests and reefs are subject to severe disturbances often enough that equilibrium may never be attained.     

Regional-scale assembly rules and biodiversity of coral reefs

Tropical reef fishes and corals exhibit highly predictable patterns of taxonomic composition across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Despite steep longitudinal and latitudinal gradients in total species richness, the composition of these key taxa is constrained within a remarkably narrow range of values. Regional-scale variation in reef biodiversity is best explained by large-scale patterns in the availability of shallow-water habitat. Once habitat area is accounted for, there is surprisingly little residual effect of latitude or longitude. Low-diversity regions are most vulnerable to human impacts such as global warming, underscoring the urgent need for integrated management at multinational scales.     

Pleistocene sea levels from raised coral reefs of haiti

The elevations and ages of a sequence of three uplifted Pleistocene coral reefs on the Northwest Peninsula of Haiti have been determined. With the assignment of a sea level of +6 meters (relative to the present day) at 130,000 years before present and constant uplift of the reefs, the data indicate that sea level stood -10 and -13 meters at 108,000 and 81,000 years before present, respectively. These results are in substantial agreement with those reported for Barbados and New Guinea and support the hypothesis of constant uplift for each area. Sea level data from raised reefs indicate that the interglacial marine oxygen isotope oscillations during oxygen isotope stage 5 are a result of 30 percent ice volume effects and 70 percent temperature effects.     

ENSO drove 2500-year collapse of eastern Pacific coral reefs

Cores of coral reef frameworks along an upwelling gradient in Panamá show that reef ecosystems in the tropical eastern Pacific collapsed for 2500 years, representing as much as 40% of their history, beginning about 4000 years ago. The principal cause of this millennial-scale hiatus in reef growth was increased variability of the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its coupling with the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The hiatus was a Pacific-wide phenomenon with an underlying climatology similar to probable scenarios for the next century. Global climate change is probably driving eastern Pacific reefs toward another regional collapse.     

Geochemical consequences of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on coral reefs

A coral reef represents the net accumulation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) produced by corals and other calcifying organisms. If calcification declines, then reef-building capacity also declines. Coral reef calcification depends on the saturation state of the carbonate mineral aragonite of surface waters. By the middle of the next century, an increased concentration of carbon dioxide will decrease the aragonite saturation state in the tropics by 30 percent and biogenic aragonite precipitation by 14 to 30 percent. Coral reefs are particularly threatened, because reef-building organisms secrete metastable forms of CaCO3, but the biogeochemical consequences on other calcifying marine ecosystems may be equally severe.     

Climate change,human impacts,and the resilience of coral reefs

The diversity, frequency, and scale of human impacts on coral reefs are increasing to the extent that reefs are threatened globally. Projected increases in carbon dioxide and temperature over the next 50 years exceed the conditions under which coral reefs have flourished over the past half-million years. However, reefs will change rather than disappear entirely, with some species already showing far greater tolerance to climate change and coral bleaching than others. International integration of management strategies that support reef resilience need to be vigorously implemented, and complemented by strong policy decisions to reduce the rate of global warming.