Background mortality rates for recovering populations of Acropora cytherea in the Chagos Archipelago,central Indian Ocean |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport, OR 97365, USA;2. Fisheries Behavioral Ecology Program, Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering Division, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR 97365, USA;1. AIMS@JCU, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia;2. Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No 3, Townsville, 4810, Australia;3. Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia;4. Oceanic Fisheries Programme, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia;1. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, 251 Bessey Hall, Ames, IA 50011, USA;2. Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 195 University Ave., Newark, NJ 07102, USA;1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China;2. Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya 572000, China;3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China |
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| Abstract: | This study quantified background rates of mortality for Acropora cytherea in the Chagos Archipelago. Despite low levels of anthropogenic disturbance, 27.5% (149/541) of A. cytherea colonies exhibited some level of partial mortality, and 9.0% (49/541) of colonies had recent injuries. A total of 15.3% of the overall surface area of physically intact A. cytherea colonies was dead. Observed mortality was partly attributable to overtopping and/or self-shading among colonies. There were also low-densities of Acanthaster planci apparent at some study sites. However, most of the recent mortality recorded was associated with isolated infestations of the coral crab, Cymo melanodactylus. A. cytherea is a relatively fast growing coral and these levels of mortality may be biologically unimportant. However, few studies have measured background rates of coral mortality, especially in the absence of direct human disturbances. These data are important for assessing the impacts of increasing disturbances, especially in projecting likely recovery. |
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