title: Growth modelling indicates hurricanes and severe storms are linked to low coral recruitment in the Caribbean.
abstract: This study set out to test the hypothesis that hurricanes and tropical storms limit the recruitment and subsequent survival of massive non-branching corals on the barrier reef off the coast of Belize in the Gulf of Honduras. Overall, the surface areas of 523 individual coral specimens were measured, and recruitment dates were then modelled. There was no significant difference in coral cover or coral biodiversity between any of the sites studied (p > 0.1). There were significant differences in non-branching coral recruitment in years when hurricanes impacted the area (p < 0.05) compared with years when no hurricanes impacted the area. There were significantly more non-branching massive corals recruited in non-hurricane years (mean 7.7) than in hurricane years (mean 3.8; p = 0.011). When years with tropical storms are added to the years with hurricanes, there was significantly lower coral recruitment (mean 4.7) relative to non-storm or hurricane years (mean 7.4; p = 0.019). These results show that hurricanes and severe storms limited the recruitment and survival of massive non-branching corals of the Mesoamerican barrier reef and on patch reefs near the Belize coast in the Caribbean, and suggests that marine park managers may need to assist coral recruitment in years where there are hurricanes or severe storms.
authors.affiliation: Luton Institute for Research in the Applied Natural Sciences, Faculty of Creative Arts, Technologies and Science, University of Bedfordshire, Park Square, Luton, UK. james.crabbe@beds.ac.uk
authors.forename: M James C
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Crabbe
authors.forename: Edwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chub
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000254:growth & development*; D017691:Caribbean Region; D004190:Disasters; D011156:Population Density; D013997:Time Factors; D014887:Weather