Partial mortality of intertidal corals due to seasonal daytime low water levels at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands
| Autor: | Jennifer Verduin, Charitha Pattiaratchi, Joanna Buckee |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Daytime geography geography.geographical_feature_category biology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology Coral Intertidal zone Aquatic Science biology.organism_classification 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Oceanography Water column Coral cover Acropora Environmental science Reef Sea level |
| Zdroj: | Coral Reefs. 39:537-543 |
| ISSN: | 1432-0975 0722-4028 |
| Popis: | Extensive partial mortality of intertidal corals was observed at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia, associated with extended and recurrent daytime low water levels from September to November 2018. Branching Acropora corals on shallow leeward reef platforms were emersed during the middle of day during the Austral spring due to diurnal tidal influences, seasonal mean sea-level minima associated with the southward flowing Leeuwin Current and interannual variability related to the El Nino–Southern Oscillation. Pre-emersion total live coral cover was estimated to be ~ 35%, dominated by Acropora (~ 24%). Post-emersion, live Acropora cover decreased to 11.1% (± 1.5 SE) and total cover to 21.7% (± 0.8 SE). Mortality of non-acroporid corals which were lower in the water column was not observed. Partial coral mortality associated with seasonal low tides and interannual variability in mean sea level is a universal process and under-reported driver of temporal variability in coral cover on intertidal reef platforms. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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