Ecological States and the Resilience of Coral Reefs

By T. McClanahan, Nicholas Polunin, Terence Done. 2002

275 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We review the evidence for multiple ecological states and the factors that create ecological resilience in coral reef ecosystems. There are natural differences among benthic communities along gradients of water temperature, light, nutrients, and organic matter associated with upwelling-downwelling and onshore- offshore systems. Along gradients from oligotrophy to eutrophy, plant-animal symbioses tend to decrease, and the abundance of algae and heterotrophic suspension feeders and the ratio of organic to inorganic carbon production tend to increase. Human influences such as fishing, increased organic matter and nutrients, sediments, warm water, and transportation of xenobiotics and diseases are common causes of a large number of recently reported ecological shifts. It is often the interaction of persistent and multiple synergistic disturbances that causes permanent ecological transitions, rather than the succession of individual short-term disturbances. For example, fishing can remove top-level predators, resulting in the ecological release of prey such as sea urchins and coral- eating invertebrates. When sea urchins are not common because of unsuitable habitat, recruitment limitations, and diseases, and when overfishing removes herbivorous fish, frondose brown algae can dominate. Terrigenous sediments carried onto reefs as a result of increased soil erosion largely promote the dominance of turf or articulated green algae. Elevated nutrients and organic matter can increase internal eroders of reef substratum and a mixture of filamentous algae. Local conservation actions that attempt to reduce fishing and terrestrial influences promote the high production of inorganic carbon that is necessary for reef growth. However, global climate change threatens to undermine such actions because of increased bleaching and mortality caused by warm-water anomalies, weakened coral skeletons caused by reduced aragonite availability in reef waters, and increased incidence of diseases in coral reef species. Consequently, many coral reefs, including those that are heavily managed, have experienced net losses in accumulated inorganic carbon in recent decades and appear likely to continue this trend in coming decades. Reefs urgently need to be managed with a view to strengthening their resilience to the increased frequency and intensity of these pressures. Ecological targets must include the restoration or maintenance of species diversity, keystone species, spatial heterogeneity, refugia, and connectivity. Achieving these goals will require unprecedented cooperative synergy between human organizations at all political levels, from intergovernmental to local. * (ERRATUM: A longer version of this paper is published as a book chapter in McClanahan, T.R., N.V.C. Polunin and T.J. Done. 2002. Resilience of coral reefs. in L.H. Gunderson and L. Pritchard Jr. (editors). Resilience and the Behavior of Large-Scale Systems. SCOPE and Island Press, Washington. The original version of this paper stated incorrectly that the book chapter was still in press.)

Subfields: Ecology, Global and Planetary Change, Oceanography

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/90d7abfda8fdcc39678827f822e5b167dac64604

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Citations in the corpus

Capturing the cornerstones of coral reef resilience: linking theory to practice (2008, background): “…(Mora 2008), discussions and speculations regarding the resilience of coral reefs have flourished over the recent years (e.g., Nyström et al. 2000; McClanahan et al. 2002; Bellwood et al. 2003; Hughes et al. 2003, 2007; West and Salm 2003; McManus and Polsenberg 2004; Obura 2005; Mumby et al.…”
Species composition, habitat, and water quality influence coral bleaching in southern Florida. (2010, background): “…complicated by varying susceptibilities to thermal and irradiance stress by (1) different coral species (Marshall & Baird 2000, Loya et al. 2001, McClanahan et al. 2002, Weis 2008), (2) temperature differences among habitats (McClanahan et al. 2007), (3) depth differences (Baker et al. 2008),…”
Coral reef cascades and the indirect effects of predator removal by exploitation (2004, background): “Cascades are more prevalent in less diverse systems such as rocky reefs and lakes, but there is some evidence for urchin and starfish-mediated cascades on coral reefs (Pace et al. 1999; McClanahan et al. 2002).”
Alternative states on coral reefs: beyond coral–macroalgal phase shifts (2009, background): “The loss of key herbivores has been suggested to be the strongest driver, and although nutrient overloads can contribute to reef degradation, they are unlikely to lead to phase shifts unless herbivory is unusually or artificially low (see reviews by McCook 1999, Szmant 2002).”
Herbivory and the Resilience of Caribbean Coral Reefs: Knowledge Gaps and Implications for Management (2015, background): “…can have direct negative effects on corals by decreasing their growth rates (Shantz & Burkepile 2014) and increasing the prevalence of coral disease and bleaching (Vega Thurber et al. 2014), as well as indirect effects by increasing growth rates of their algal competitors (Jompa & McCook 2002).”
Ongoing global biodiversity loss and the need to move beyond protected areas: a review of the technical and practical shortcomings of protected areas on land and sea (2011, background): “…to habitat due to climate change or pollution, are not ones that are usually regulated as part of the management of a PA (Jameson et al. 2002, McClanahan et al. 2002) and unfortunately they can have as devastating effects on populations as do harvesting and habitat loss (Mora & Ospina 2001,…”
Palau’s coral reefs show differential habitat recovery following the 1998-bleaching event (2007, background): “Implicit in this definition is the capacity of the system to resist phase shifts, and to regenerate and reorganize to maintain key functions (McClanahan et al. 2002).”
Recovery without resilience: persistent disturbance and long-term shifts in the structure of fish and coral communities at Tiahura Reef, Moorea (2006, background): “Recovery at Tiahura Reef may have been limited due to persistent disturbances (Adjeroud et al. 2002) and also due to limited connectivity to other relatively undisturbed reefs (McClanahan et al. 2002; Halford et al. 2004).”
Recovery trajectories of coral reef fish assemblages within Kenyan marine protected areas (2005, background): “There are, however, time-dependent processes in ecosystems that operate and interact on many scales, and theory suggests that only some processes will be rapid (Levin 2000, Allen & Holling 2002, McClanahan et al. 2002).”
Comparative Effects of Different Disturbances in Coral Reef Habitats in Moorea, French Polynesia (2011, background): “Despite these differences, increases in the diversity, frequency, and intensity of disturbances in many reefs throughout the world tend to be causing clear directional changes in the structure of coral reef habitats [8, 47].”
Environmental impacts of dredging and other sediment disturbances on corals: a review. (2012, unknown): “…110 mg/cm2 (5 weeks) No significant sublethal physiological effects L 1.5 Sofonia and Anthony (2008) Turbinaria (several spp.) Active sediment rejector Stafford-Smith and Ormond (1992) typical ambient conditions experienced by the reef (McClanahan et al., 2002; Marshall and Schuttenberg, 2006).”