27 years of benthic and coral community dynamics on turbid, highly urbanised reefs off Singapore.
Coral cover on reefs is declining globally due to coastal development, overfishing and climate change. Reefs isolated from direct human influence can recover from natural acute disturbances, but little is known about long term recovery of reefs experiencing chronic human disturbances. Here we investigate responses to acute bleaching disturbances on turbid reefs off Singapore, at two depths over a period of 27 years. Coral cover declined and there were marked changes in coral and benthic community structure during the first decade of monitoring at both depths. At shallower reef crest sites (3-4 m), benthic community structure recovered towards pre-disturbance states within a decade. In contrast, there was a net decline in coral cover and continuing shifts in community structure at deeper reef slope sites (6-7 m). There was no evidence of phase shifts to macroalgal dominance but coral habitats at deeper sites were replaced by unstable substrata such as fine sediments and rubble. The persistence of coral dominance at chronically disturbed shallow sites is likely due to an abundance of coral taxa which are tolerant to environmental stress. In addition, high turbidity may interact antagonistically with other disturbances to reduce the impact of thermal stress and limit macroalgal growth rates.
Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.|SECORE International, 40 Jalan Anjung 5, Horizon Hills, Nusajaya 79100, Johor Malaysia.
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JR
Guest
National Biodiversity Centre, National Parks Board, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 259569, Singapore.
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K
Tun
National Biodiversity Centre, National Parks Board, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 259569, Singapore.
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J
Low
Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.|Evolution &Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.|Sydney Institute of Marine Science, 19 Chowder Bay Rd, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia.
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Vergés
Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.|Evolution &Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.|Sydney Institute of Marine Science, 19 Chowder Bay Rd, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia.
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Marzinelli
Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.|Evolution &Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.|Sydney Institute of Marine Science, 19 Chowder Bay Rd, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia.
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AH
Campbell
Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore, 117543, Singapore.
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AG
Bauman
School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, NG7 2UH, United Kingdom.
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DA
Feary
Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, S2S, 18 Kent Ridge Road, 119227, Singapore.
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LM
Chou
Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.|Sydney Institute of Marine Science, 19 Chowder Bay Rd, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia.|Singapore centre for Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technogical University, 60 Nanyang Drive, SBS-01N-27, 637551, Singapore.
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Steinberg
D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D057231:Climate Change; D057894:Coral Reefs; D060467:Disease Resistance; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012846:Singapore