ORCID Profile
0000-0001-8022-5389
Current Organisation
James Cook University
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARENVRES.2021.105537
Abstract: The world's coral reef ecosystems are steadily being reconfigured by climate change. Lizard Island, on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, offers an opportunity to examine coral reef reassembly following disturbance, as this location has been impacted by consecutive tropical cyclones and consecutive coral bleaching events. Based on repeatedly monitoring the same 349 photoquadrats around Lizard Island over a 5-year period (2016-2021) we revealed that bleaching in 2016 drove a ∼50% reduction in hard coral cover, and a concomitant increase in algal turf cover. From 2018 to 2021, significant increases (>600%) in coral cover were detected on two semi-exposed reefs and were associated with substantial Acropora recruitment. By contrast, fourteen lagoonal and back reefs exhibited virtually no recovery nor Acropora recruitment. Given that the timeframe between disturbances is set to decrease, our results suggest that some recovery is possible immediately after severe cumulative disturbances, although this recovery may be highly spatially heterogenous.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARENVRES.2018.06.021
Abstract: Coral reefs have long inspired marine ecologists and conservationists around the world due to their ecological and socioeconomic importance. Much knowledge on the anthropogenic impacts on coral species has been accumulated, but relevant research gaps on coral ecology remain underappreciated in human-modified seascapes. In this review we assessed 110 studies on coral responses to five major human disturbances- acidification, climate change, overfishing, pollution and non-regulated tourism -to identify geographic and theoretical gaps in coral ecology and help to guide further researches on the topic. We searched for papers in Web of Science published from 2000 to 2016 and classified them according to the ocean, ecoregion, human threat, level of biological organization, study approach, method of data collection, depth of data collected, and type of coral response. Most studies were carried out in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean (36.3 and 31.9%, respectively) and used observational approach (60%) with scuba ing (36.3%) to assess the impact of ocean warming (55.4%) on coral communities (58.2%). Only 37 of the 141 global ecoregions that contain coral reefs were studied. All studies were restricted to shallow waters (0.5-27 m depth) and reported negative responses of corals to human disturbance. Our results reinforce the notion that corals are sensitive to anthropogenic changes. They reveal the scarcity of information on coral responses to pollution, tourism, overfishing and acidification, particularly in mesophotic ecosystems (>30 m depth) and in ecoregions outside the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean. Experimental studies at the in idual and population levels should be also encouraged.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.2281
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-10-2023
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.14332
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-07-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S00338-022-02287-Y
Abstract: Coral reef ecology has advanced in many fields, but disease patterns across depth gradients remain unclear. By comparing the prevalence and extent of bleaching and diseases in 160 colonies of Siderastrea stellata between shallow and mesophotic reefs, we observed that prevalence was high (75%) regardless of depth, but the extent was about two times greater in mesophotic than shallow reefs (14.4% vs. 6.6% of colony area, respectively). Across the shallow reefs, where S. stellata co-occurred with Montastraea cavernosa , M. cavernosa showed lower prevalence (27% of 30 colonies) and extent (1.8% of colony area) compared to S. stellata . Besides bleaching, five coral diseases afflicted S. stellata and two affected M. cavernosa . Because diseases are spread over the entire gradient of depth, any attempt of managing the diseases should consider both shallow and deep reefs to be effective.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARENVRES.2022.105752
Abstract: Cyanobacterial mats are increasingly recognised as a symptom of coral reef change. However, the spatial distribution of cyanobacterial mats during coral bleaching has received limited attention. We explored cyanobacterial mat distribution during a bleaching event at Lizard Island and considered hydrodynamics as a potential modifier. During bleaching cyanobacterial mats covered up to 34% of the benthos at a transect scale, while some quadrats (1 m
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARENVRES.2022.105763
Abstract: Sediments are ubiquitous on coral reefs. However, studies of reef sediments have largely focused on isolated reservoirs, or processes, and rarely consider hydrodynamic drivers. We therefore provide a quantitative snapshot of sediment dynamics on a coral reef. Across a depth profile, we simultaneously examined: suspended sediments, sediment deposition and accumulation, and hydrodynamic and biological movement processes. We reveal the marked potential for the water column to deliver sediments. Currents carried 12.6 t of sediment over the 2,314 m
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2022
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-09-2022
Abstract: Carbonate budgets dynamically balance production and loss of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) on coral reefs. To sustain or expand the coral reef framework, CaCO 3 production by calcifying organisms must be higher than erosion. However, global climate change has been negatively impacting carbonate production, with bleaching events causing widespread coral mortality. Although bleaching and coral mortality are well documented, the fate of coral colonies after their death, including their erosion rates, are still poorly known. We followed the fate of 143 recently dead in idual coral colonies with complex growth forms (arborescent, caespitose, corymbose, digitate and tabular), whose mortality was triggered by two consecutive bleaching events. These colonies, spread over 16 km 2 of the Lizard Island reef complex, were tracked for up to 5 years, allowing detailed examination of erosion rates and post‐mortality structural persistence. We also tested how variables that are commonly used in coral reef erosion studies relate to spatial and temporal variability in the erosion rates of dead coral colonies. We revealed rapid erosion of dead coral colonies, with an average of 79.7% of dead colonies completely disintegrating within 60 months. The predicted half‐life of a dead coral colony was 40 months, with limited variation among wave exposure levels. Remarkably, we found no effect of estimated parrotfish bioerosion, wave exposure, nor coral growth form, on observed erosion rates. Our results suggest that our understanding of the erosion of dead corals may be more limited than previously thought. The rapid loss of coral colonies on our study sites calls for a re‐evaluation of the role of corals with complex growth forms in reef growth and of parrotfishes in reef erosion. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-09-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-021-98239-7
Abstract: Thermal-stress events have changed the structure, bio ersity, and functioning of coral reefs. But how these disturbances affect the dynamics of in idual coral colonies remains unclear. By tracking the fate of 1069 in idual Acropora and massive Porites coral colonies for up to 5 years, spanning three bleaching events, we reveal striking genus-level differences in their demographic response to bleaching (mortality, growth, and recruitment). Although Acropora colonies were locally extirpated, substantial local recruitment and fast growth revealed a marked capacity for apparent recovery. By contrast, almost all massive Porites colonies survived and the majority grew in area yet no new colonies were detected over the 5 years. Our results highlight contrasting dynamics of boom-and-bust vs. protracted declines in two major coral groups. These dangerous demographics emphasise the need for caution when documenting the susceptibility and perceived resistance or recovery of corals to disturbances.
No related grants have been discovered for Juliano Morais.