title: Molluscan subfossil assemblages reveal the long-term deterioration of coral reef environments in Caribbean Panama.
abstract: Caribbean reef corals have declined sharply since the 1980s, but the lack of prior baseline data has hindered identification of drivers of change. To assess anthropogenic change in reef environments over the past century, we tracked the composition of subfossil assemblages of bivalve and gastropod mollusks excavated from pits below lagoonal and offshore reefs in Bocas del Toro, Panama. The higher prevalence of (a) infaunal suspension-feeding bivalves and herbivorous and omnivorous gastropods in lagoons and (b) epifaunal and suspension-feeding bivalves and carnivorous and suspension-feeding gastropods offshore reflected the greater influence of land-based nutrients/sediments within lagoons. Temporal changes indicated deteriorating environmental conditions pre-1960 in lagoons and post-1960 offshore, with offshore communities becoming more similar to lagoonal ones since 1960. Relative abundances of dominant bivalve species tracked those of their coral hosts, revealing broader ecosystem effects of coral community change. The nature and timing of changes implicate land-based runoff in reef deterioration.
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama; Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0244, United States. Electronic address: kcramer@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Katie L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Cramer
authors.affiliation: Washington and Lee University, Rm 123 Science Addition, Lexington, VA 24450, United States. Electronic address: j.leonardpingel@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jill S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Leonard-Pingel
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama. Electronic address: rodriguezf@si.edu.
authors.forename: Félix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0244, United States; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama; Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, United States. Electronic address: jeremybcjackson@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jeremy B C
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa; D049872:Bivalvia; D017691:Caribbean Region; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005580:Fossils; D010176:Panama; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Barbatia cancellaria; Bocas del Toro; Dendostrea frons; Historical ecology; Water quality