Cumulative effects of cyclones and bleaching on coral cover and species richness at Lizard Island

Joshua S. Madin; Andrew H. Baird; Tom C. L. Bridge; Sean R. Connolly; Kyle J. A. Zawada; Maria Dornelas

doi:10.3354/meps12735

Cumulative effects of cyclones and bleaching on coral cover and species richness at Lizard Island

Joshua S. Madin^*, Andrew H. Baird, Tom C. L. Bridge, Sean R. Connolly, Kyle J. A. Zawada, Maria Dornelas

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Coral reefs are being subjected to an increase in the frequency and intensity of disturbance, such as bleaching and cyclones, and it is important to document the effects of such disturbance on reef coral assemblages. Between March 2014 and May 2017, the reefs of Lizard Island in the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef were affected by 4 consecutive disturbances: severe tropical cyclones Ita and Nathan in 2014 and 2015, and mass bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. Loss of coral cover following the cyclones was patchy and dependent on the direction of the waves generated. In contrast, loss of cover following bleaching was much more uniform. Overall, coral cover declined 5-fold from 36% pre-cyclone Ita to 7% post-bleaching in 2017, while mean species richness dropped from 10 to 4 species per transect. The spatial scale and magnitude of the loss of coral cover in the region suggests that it will be many years before these reefs recover.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	263-268
Number of pages	6
Journal	Marine Ecology Progress Series
Volume	604
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12735
Publication status	Published - 4 Oct 2018

Keywords

Community ecology
Coral reefs
Climate change
Disturbance
Diversity
Great Barrier Reef

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Madin_et_al_2018_coral_cover
Copyright © 2018 Inter-Research. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12735
Accepted author manuscript, 1.24 MB

Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: Putting the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis to the test
Dornelas, M. (PI)
1/09/16 → 31/05/19
Project: Standard

Cite this

@article{24227c42ea6f49b398cf4e8897109db0,

title = "Cumulative effects of cyclones and bleaching on coral cover and species richness at Lizard Island",

abstract = "Coral reefs are being subjected to an increase in the frequency and intensity of disturbance, such as bleaching and cyclones, and it is important to document the effects of such disturbance on reef coral assemblages. Between March 2014 and May 2017, the reefs of Lizard Island in the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef were affected by 4 consecutive disturbances: severe tropical cyclones Ita and Nathan in 2014 and 2015, and mass bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. Loss of coral cover following the cyclones was patchy and dependent on the direction of the waves generated. In contrast, loss of cover following bleaching was much more uniform. Overall, coral cover declined 5-fold from 36% pre-cyclone Ita to 7% post-bleaching in 2017, while mean species richness dropped from 10 to 4 species per transect. The spatial scale and magnitude of the loss of coral cover in the region suggests that it will be many years before these reefs recover.",

keywords = "Community ecology, Coral reefs, Climate change, Disturbance, Diversity, Great Barrier Reef",

author = "Madin, {Joshua S.} and Baird, {Andrew H.} and Bridge, {Tom C. L.} and Connolly, {Sean R.} and Zawada, {Kyle J. A.} and Maria Dornelas",

note = "Funding was provided by the Australian Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (COE140100020) and the John Templeton Foundation (M.D., J.S.M. grant #60501 'Putting the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis to the Test{\textquoteright}).",

year = "2018",

month = oct,

day = "4",

doi = "10.3354/meps12735",

language = "English",

volume = "604",

pages = "263--268",

journal = "Marine Ecology Progress Series",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Cumulative effects of cyclones and bleaching on coral cover and species richness at Lizard Island

AU - Madin, Joshua S.

AU - Baird, Andrew H.

AU - Bridge, Tom C. L.

AU - Connolly, Sean R.

AU - Zawada, Kyle J. A.

AU - Dornelas, Maria

N1 - Funding was provided by the Australian Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (COE140100020) and the John Templeton Foundation (M.D., J.S.M. grant #60501 'Putting the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis to the Test’).

PY - 2018/10/4

Y1 - 2018/10/4

N2 - Coral reefs are being subjected to an increase in the frequency and intensity of disturbance, such as bleaching and cyclones, and it is important to document the effects of such disturbance on reef coral assemblages. Between March 2014 and May 2017, the reefs of Lizard Island in the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef were affected by 4 consecutive disturbances: severe tropical cyclones Ita and Nathan in 2014 and 2015, and mass bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. Loss of coral cover following the cyclones was patchy and dependent on the direction of the waves generated. In contrast, loss of cover following bleaching was much more uniform. Overall, coral cover declined 5-fold from 36% pre-cyclone Ita to 7% post-bleaching in 2017, while mean species richness dropped from 10 to 4 species per transect. The spatial scale and magnitude of the loss of coral cover in the region suggests that it will be many years before these reefs recover.

AB - Coral reefs are being subjected to an increase in the frequency and intensity of disturbance, such as bleaching and cyclones, and it is important to document the effects of such disturbance on reef coral assemblages. Between March 2014 and May 2017, the reefs of Lizard Island in the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef were affected by 4 consecutive disturbances: severe tropical cyclones Ita and Nathan in 2014 and 2015, and mass bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. Loss of coral cover following the cyclones was patchy and dependent on the direction of the waves generated. In contrast, loss of cover following bleaching was much more uniform. Overall, coral cover declined 5-fold from 36% pre-cyclone Ita to 7% post-bleaching in 2017, while mean species richness dropped from 10 to 4 species per transect. The spatial scale and magnitude of the loss of coral cover in the region suggests that it will be many years before these reefs recover.

KW - Community ecology

KW - Coral reefs

KW - Climate change

KW - Disturbance

KW - Diversity

KW - Great Barrier Reef

U2 - 10.3354/meps12735

DO - 10.3354/meps12735

M3 - Article

SN - 0171-8630

VL - 604

SP - 263

EP - 268

JO - Marine Ecology Progress Series

JF - Marine Ecology Progress Series

ER -

Cumulative effects of cyclones and bleaching on coral cover and species richness at Lizard Island

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: Putting the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis to the test

Cite this