Hybridisation on coral reefs and the conservation of evolutionary novelty

Refining the ecological role of stingrays in coral reef ecosystems

Extinction always results in loss of phylogenetic diversity (PD), but phylogenetically selective extinctions have long been thought to disproportionately reduce PD. Recent simulations show that tree shapes also play an important role in determining the magnitude of PD loss, potentially offsetting the effects of clustered extinctions. While patterns of PD loss under different extinction scenarios are becoming well characterized in model phylogenies, analyses of real clades that often have unbalanced tree shapes remain scarce, particularly for marine organisms. Here, we use a fossil-calibrated phylogeny of all living scleractinian reef corals in conjunction with IUCN data on extinction vulnerabilities to quantify how loss of species in different threat categories will affect the PD of this group. Our analyses reveal that predicted PD loss in corals varies substantially among different threats, with extinctions due to bleaching and disease having the largest negative effects on PD. In general, more phylogenetically clustered extinctions lead to larger losses of PD in corals, but there are notable exceptions; extinction of rare corals from distantly-related old and unique lineages can also result in substantial PD loss. Thus our results show that loss of PD in reef corals is dependent on both tree shape and the nature of extinction threats.

Global decline in capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services

Coral reefs are one of the most biologically diverse and complex marine ecosystems that are being degraded at rapid rates. This consistent steadily trend is especially critical in coastal areas that have experienced an impressive coastal development, as has been occurring in the Arabian Gulf. This Gulf harbours the coral reefs subjected to one of the most extreme environmental conditions worldwide, i.e. high salinities (often >45 psu) and high sea temperatures (> 36° during summer season), together with extensive coastal development that have altered significantly the coastal regions of Bahrain, Qatar and UAE. In these countries most of coastal coral reefs have disappeared throughout the last decades because of habitat loss and alteration; however, offshore coral reefs have been away from these extensive disturbances and they may be considered as regional hotspots of corals. Even, the massive presence of submerged structures from offshore oil and gas platforms needs to be taken into account, since preliminary exploratory field surveys have shown a rich fouling community, dominated by a high variety of sessile groups. Thus, the conservation of coral reefs and associated macroinvertebrates and fish could be enhanced by studying the unexplored artificial reefs that grow attached to submerged structures of offshore oil platforms. This objective is currently being pursued in the framework of the project “Connectivity, diversity and genetic flow between offshore natural coral reefs and oil platforms - NPRP No.: 7-1129-1-201”. We herein analyzed video footages from oil platforms located at the Al Shaheen Oil Field, ca. 90 km offshore NE Qatar. The visual assessment was done by Maersk Oil Qatar in 2014, via a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The video recordings were done during routine inspections conducted in 20 oil platforms, located at 8 locations. A total of 2000 video files were analyzed to study the relative abundance of Al Shaheen Oil Field's macroinvertebrates, using the CATAMI (Collaborative and Annotation Tools for Analysis of Marine Imagery and Video) classification scheme. This guide has been designed to promote consistency and standards for classifying marine biota and substrata captured in underwater imagery from a broad range of depths (shallow-abyssal) and habitats (temperate reefs, corals, etc.). A total of 17 morphology-based functional groups were identified (Encrusting; Porifera, Octocorallia, Hydrozoa and Bryozoa; Turf: Hydrozoa and Bryozoa; Fleshy arborescent: Antipatharia, and Octocorallia; Hard Coral: Scleractinia; Foliaceous: Hydrozoa and Bryozoa; Barnacle: Cirripedia; Bivalve: Mollusca; Massive simple: Porifera; None Flesh Bushy: Antipatharia, and Octocorallia; Fan Simple: Antipatharia, and Octocorallia; Fan Complex: Antipatharia, and Octocorallia; Whip: Antipatharia, and Octocorallia; Bryozoa: Bryozoa; Anemone: Actiniaria; Unstalked crinoid: Crinoidea; Regular urchins: Echinoidea). The MNCR's (Marine Nature Conservation Review) SACFOR (Superabundant, Abundant, Common, Frequent, Occasional and Rare) semi-quantitative abundance scale was used to study the relative macroinvertebrate abundance. The submerged structures of the oil platforms were studied from 0-60 m depth, divided into 8 depth layers (0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-45, 45-50, 50-55 and 55-60 m), with time intervals of 30 seconds per layer. PERMANOVA (Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance) was used to calculate the similarities among samples using the resemblance of Bray-Curtis similarity. Age and depth were the main factors structuring the sessile macroinvertebrate community in the studied platforms. In contrast, no differences in community structure were found among the platform locations, probably due to the high level of connectivity within the Al Shaheen Oil Field. A total of 8 functional groups contributed >10% to the average dissimilarity of the community (hard coral, fleshy arborescent, foliaceous, encrusting, turf, barnacles, bivalve and massive simple). A clear vertical gradient is apparent for the coverage of epibenthic macroinvertebrates, with diversity and biomass increasing with depth. Encrusting sponges and bryozoans are dominant at shallow depths. Other types of macroinvertebrates become dominant as depth increases, such as foliaceous bryozoans and hydrozans, massive sponges, bivalves, anemones, crinoids and octocorals. Fleshy arborescent octocorals (Dendronephthya sp.) and azooxanthellate scleractinian corals were frequently found on the Al Shaheen oil platforms, at depths greater than 30m. The abundance of both groups tends to increase with depth and the hard corals also tend to be more abundant on older platforms. This study clearly showed that azooxanthellate scleractinian, reef building corals are recruiting and growing on the platforms the Al Shaheen Oil Field, in some cases at high densities. Given that no specimens could be obtained, precise taxonomic identification was not possible, but their morphology suggests they belong to the Caryophylliidae family. This finding is highly significant, given that this type of corals has not previously been reported in Qatari waters. Furthermore, it clearly illustrates the potential of this type of offshore infrastructure to support the establishment of functional reef ecosystems in areas where they are degraded or were previously absent, thus contributing to offset the current net loss of this important type of natural marine habitat.

Coral Reefs

Climate change poses a major threat to coral reef ecosystems, and will affect coral reef fishes in three main ways. First and foremost, climate change is already contributing to widespread degradation of coral reef habitats, leading to declines in abundance and diversity of reef-associated fishes. Second, increasing temperatures will have direct effects on the individual condition and fitness of some coral reef fishes. Unless these species can adapt to changing temperature regimes, it is likely that they will persist in either a small portion of their current geographical extent or move poleward, invading new habitats and potentially displacing other fish species. The third effect relates to rising CO2 levels and ocean acidification, which could have significant physiological and behavioral effects on fishes towards the latter part of this century. It is unequivocal that climate change will affect reef fishes throughout this century. However, small-scale experimental studies, which are often focused on a single species and a single environmental factor, provide limited insight on expected changes in the biodiversity, productivity, and composition of reef fish assemblages. Future research will need to assess synergistic effects of different environmental variables on not only individual species, but also on biotic interactions and community dynamics, as well as exploring the adaptive capacity of species. Global climate change has the capacity to greatly alter the biodiversity, function, and productivity of coral reef ecosystems [e.g. 1137]. Emerging effects of global climate change have so far been manifest mainly as increased incidence of mass bleaching and disease among scleractinian corals and other zooxanthellate organisms, which is directly contributing to widespread degradation of coral reef habitats [1192], and will be increasingly compounded by effects of ocean acidification [1139]. In the Indo-Pacific, extensive depletion of scleractinian corals and associated changes in the biological and physical structure of coral reef habitats has important effects on the structure and dynamics of local populations and communities of coral reef fishes [2023, 2027, 2707]. Consequently, climate change and ocean acidification will have significant indirect effects on coral reef fishes due to their effects on coral reef habitat.

Sangkulirang and Sandaran as the most northern coastal districts of East Kutai Regency with status of under developing area and yet optimize in accessibility, thus also yet optimal in environment management and observation in this term the coral reef ecosystem. In order to providing the coral reef status information in Sangkulirang and Sandaran District, and further the result could be consider as database in evaluation of future change in coral reef status due to the coastal area development, then this study were conducted in those two districts with field data collecting was held at October 12th - 17th, 2012. The coral percent cover data collecting and analysis were using method of lifeform line intercept transect according to English, et al (1994) and Keputusan Kepala Badan Pengendalian Dampak Lingkungan No.47 year 2001, while the reef condition category were determined from the life hard coral (HCL) percent cover by based on Keputusan Menteri Negara Lingkungan Hidup No.4 year 2001 that divided into four category: 1) poor/bad (HCL < 25 %), 2) fair/moderate (HCL 25% - < 50%), 3) good (HCL 50% - <75%), and excellent (HCL ≥ 75%). The data of reef distribution and area wide were obtained by direct GPS plotting in the field survey with satellite image assist, and further processed using GIS program. According to the result, the coral reef in Sangkulirang and Sandaran District both in same condition that categorize into fair/moderate condition with each coverage of HCL 48.1% and 41.4%, and the combine in average HCL 45,9% also in the same category. Overall of both districts estimated had 2,221.57 ha of coral reef area with condition vary from poor/bad till good category. 761.27 ha of coral reef was estimated in Sangkulirang District and 1,460.30 ha in Sandaran District. The coral reef area in both districts commonly forming a narrow stretch of reef develop along the edge of drop-off bathy profile. Factors of limitation and degradation toward the coral reef development in both districts are: i) non-anthropogenic (nature) factor, majority the turbidity and sediment load from river estuaries and sea current and wave, and ii) anthropogenic (human) factor in activities of destructive fishing method especially by explosive fishing.

Oceania is a diverse region encompassing Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia, New Zealand, and Polynesia, and it contains six of the world's 39 hotspots of diversity. It has a poor record for extinctions, particularly for birds on islands and mammals. Major causes include habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, and overexploitation. We identified six major threatening processes (habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, climate change, overexploitation, pollution, and disease) based on a comprehensive review of the literature and for each developed a set of conservation policies. Many policies reflect the urgent need to deal with the effects of burgeoning human populations (expected to increase significantly in the region) on biodiversity. There is considerable difference in resources for conservation, including people and available scientific information, which are heavily biased toward more developed countries in Oceania. Most scientific publications analyzed for four threats (habitat loss, invasive species, overexploitation, and pollution) are from developed countries: 88.6% of Web of Science publications were from Australia (53.7%), New Zealand (24.3%), and Hawaiian Islands (10.5%). Many island states have limited resources or expertise. Even countries that do (e.g., Australia, New Zealand) have ongoing and emerging significant challenges, particularly with the interactive effects of climate change. Oceania will require the implementation of effective policies for conservation if the region's poor record on extinctions is not to continue.

Nanobiotech engineering for future coral reefs

Biocrusts are major contributors to dryland diversity, functioning, and services. However, little is known about how habitat degradation will impact multiple facets of biocrust diversity and measurable functional traits. We evaluated changes in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of biocrust-forming lichens along a habitat degradation gradient related to the presence of linear infrastructure (i.e., a road) and a profound agricultural driven transformation. To do so, we selected 50 remnants of a Mediterranean shrubland. We considered several surrogates of habitat quality and causal disturbance on the various diversity facets of biocrusts by using structural equation modeling, hypothesizing that habitat degradation primarily affects functional diversity, which in turn regulates changes in taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities, and also that taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities are coupled. Fragment connectivity, distance to linear infrastructure (i.e., a road) and, particularly, soil fertility (i.e., soil P concentration), had mostly negative effects on biocrust functional diversity, which in turn affected both taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities. However, we found no direct effects of habitat degradation variables on the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities. We also found that increases in phylogenetic diversity had a positive effect on taxonomic diversity along the habitat degradation gradient. Our results indicate that functional diversity of biocrusts is strongly affected by habitat degradation, which may profoundly alter their contribution to ecosystem functioning and services. Furthermore, functional diversity regulates the response of biocrust taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity to habitat degradation. These findings indicate that habitat degradation alters and simplifies the diversity of functional traits of biocrust-forming lichens, leading to biodiversity loss, with important consequences for the conservation of global drylands biodiversity.

Human-Mediated Loss of Phylogenetic and Functional Diversity in Coral Reef Fishes

Coral reefs in the Xisha Islands (also known as the Paracel Islands in English), South China Sea, have experienced dramatic declines in coral cover. However, the current regional scale hard coral distribution of geomorphic and ecological zones, essential for reefs management in the context of global warming and ocean acidification, is not well documented. We analyzed data from field surveys, Landsat-8 and GF-1 images to map the distribution of hard coral within geomorphic zones and reef flat ecological zones. In situ surveys conducted in June 2014 on nine reefs provided a complete picture of reef status with regard to live coral diversity, evenness of coral cover and reef health (live versus dead cover) for the Xisha Islands. Mean coral cover was 12.5% in 2014 and damaged reefs seemed to show signs of recovery. Coral cover in sheltered habitats such as lagoon patch reefs and biotic dense zones of reef flats was higher, but there were large regional differences and low diversity. In contrast, the more exposed reef slopes had high coral diversity, along with high and more equal distributions of coral cover. Mean hard coral cover of other zones was <10%. The total Xisha reef system was estimated to cover 1 060 km2, and the emergent reefs covered ~787 m2. Hard corals of emergent reefs were considered to cover 97 km2. The biotic dense zone of the reef flat was a very common zone on all simple atolls, especially the broader northern reef flats. The total cover of live and dead coral can reach above 70% in this zone, showing an equilibrium between live and dead coral as opposed to coral and algae. This information regarding the spatial distribution of hard coral can support and inform the management of Xisha reef ecosystems.

Phylogenomic analysis of large genome-wide sequence data sets can resolve phylogenetic tree topologies for large species groups, help test the accuracy of and improve resolution for earlier multi-locus studies and reveal the level of agreement or concordance within partitions of the genome for various tree topologies. Here we used a target-capture approach to sequence 1088 single-copy exons for more than 200 labrid fishes together with more than 100 outgroup taxa to generate a new data-rich phylogeny for the family Labridae. Our time-calibrated phylogenetic analysis of exon-capture data pushes the root node age of the family Labridae back into the Cretaceous to about 79 Ma years ago. The monotypic Centrogenys vaigiensis, and the order Uranoscopiformes (stargazers) are identified as the sister lineages of Labridae. The phylogenetic relationships among major labrid subfamilies and within these clades were largely congruent with prior analyses of select mitochondrial and nuclear datasets. However, the position of the tribe Cirrhilabrini (fairy and flame wrasses) showed discordance, resolving either as the sister to a crown julidine clade or alternatively sister to a group formed by the labrines, cheilines and scarines. Exploration of this pattern using multiple approaches leads to slightly higher support for this latter hypothesis, highlighting the importance of genome-level data sets for resolving short internodes at key phylogenetic positions in a large, economically important groups of coral reef fishes. More broadly, we demonstrate how accounting for sources of biological variability from incomplete lineage sorting and exploring systematic error at conflicting nodes can aid in evaluating alternative phylogenetic hypotheses. [coral reefs; divergence time estimation; exon-capture; fossil calibration; incomplete lineage sorting.].

The coral reef damage in Probolinggo region was expected to be caused by several factors. The first one comes from its society that exploits fishery by using cyanide toxin and bomb. The second one goes to the extraction of coral reef, which is used as decoration or construction materials. The other factor is likely caused by the existence of large industry on the seashore, such as Electric Steam Power Plant (PLTU) Paiton and others alike. Related to the development of coral reef ecosystem, availability of an accurate data is crucially needed to support the manner of future policy, so the research of coral reef coverage percentage needs to be conducted continuously. The aim of this research is to collect biological data of coral reef and to identify coral reef coverage percentage in the effort of constructing coral reef condition basic data on Binor, Paiton, and Probolinggo regency seashore. The method used in this research is Line Intercept Transect (LIT) method. LIT method is a method that used to decide benthic community on coral reef based on percentage growth, and to take note of benthic quantity along transect line. Percentage of living coral coverage in 3 meters depth on this Binor Paiton seashore that may be categorized in a good condition is 57,65%. While the rest are dead coral that is only 1,45%, other life form in 23,2%, and non-life form in 17,7%. A good condition of coral reef is caused by coral reef transplantation on the seashore, so this coral reef is dominated by Acropora Branching. On the other hand, Mortality Index (IM) of coral reef resulted in 24,5%. The result from observation and calculation of coral reef is dominated by Hard Coral in Acropora Branching (ACB) with coral reef coverage percentage of 39%, Coral Massive (CM) with coral reef coverage percentage of 2,85%, Coral Foliose (CF) with coral reef coverage percentage of 1,6%, and Coral Mushroom (CRM) with coral reef coverage percentage of 8,5%. Observation in 10 meters depth resulted in coral reef coverage percentage of 63,33%. 75% of living coral found on this 10 meters depth are dominated by Acropora branching coral, while the rest 25,21% are filled by Acropora tabulate coral and non-Acropora coral in the life form of branching, massive, sub-massive, foliose, and mushroom, where coral Mortality Index (IM) reached 28,5%. The high number of coral reef coverage percentage on Paiton is caused by successful coral transplantation and low activity of society in this location. The domination of large size Acropora branching coral were estimated comes from a few types, showing that coral resulted from transplantation has grown large and form a complex 3 dimension structure that is suitable for the life form of fish and living benthic.

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 基于文献计量分析的珊瑚礁研究现状与热点 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201803270611 作者: 作者单位: 辽宁师范大学城市与环境学院,辽宁师范大学城市与环境学院 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 中国科学院战略性先导科技专项（A类） XDA13020401；教育部共建人文社会科学重点研究基地项目（15JJD790039） Status quo and hotspots of coral reef research based on bibliometric analysis Author: Affiliation: Center for Studies of Maine Economy and Sustainable Development of Liaoning Normal University, Fund Project: strategic pilot science and technology of Chinese Acdamy sciences 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:珊瑚礁生态系统在全球海洋生态中扮演着重要角色，它为热带海洋动物提供栖息地，为人类提供食物药物资源，是全球生产力最高的生态系统之一。为了解当前国内外珊瑚相关研究的现状与热点，利用文献计量的方法统计分析了珊瑚的相关研究。文章分别以WEB OF SCIENCE数据库和中国期刊全文数据库（CNKI）中期刊论文为国际和国内的数据源，从文献计量的角度出发，利用Excel按年份统计论文的发文数量，通过Bibexcel得出高频词共词矩阵，并用Ucinet和Netdraw得出共词网络可视化图谱。利用SPSS进行聚类分析，分别将国内外相关研究分为四大类，分析珊瑚相关研究趋势与热点。研究表明：①国际与国内的珊瑚研究除个别年份有所回落，均基本成逐年上升趋势，大致于20世纪90年代开始进入成熟阶段，但国内的研究略迟于国际；②国际上对珊瑚的研究更倾向于探究珊瑚礁退化的原因，而国内则以提高珊瑚礁的造礁能力为研究热点；③通过共词分析得出，国际研究高频词中的coral reefs，corals，climate change，sedimentation，一定程度上也可视为研究热点；④通过聚类分析，国内外的珊瑚研究有一定的相似性，主要集中在珊瑚礁生态系统、影响珊瑚的环境因子、气候因子等几个方面，但国内外研究又各有侧重。总结得出，有关珊瑚、珊瑚礁研究在国内外均以珊瑚礁为重点，近年来和未来珊瑚礁研究注重于珊瑚礁修复或帮助珊瑚礁生态系统自行恢复。 Abstract:Coral reef ecosystems play an important role in the global marine ecosystem by providing habitats for tropical marine animals, providing food and drug resources to mankind, and protecting coasts from the beating of waves. The coral reef ecosystem is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. In order to understand the status quo and hotspots of coral-related research in our country and the whole world, this study used the method of bibliometrics to statistically analyze the studies that are related to coral reefs. Bibliometrics is a method of mathematical statistics that is used to analyze and excavate information from many papers. In this study, the WEB OF SCIENCE database and the Chinese national infrastructure (CNKI) were the international and domestic data sources respectively. For the bibliometrics, this study used Excel to calculate the number of publications according to the year, Bibexcel to create a high-frequency co-word matrix, and Ucinet and Netdraw to draw a co-word network visualization map. Then, SPSS was used to analyze coral research trends and hotspots by dividing related international and domestic studies into four clusters each. This research showed: ① According to the number of papers, the progress of international research had two periods, and the progress of domestic research can be separated into four parts: tentative exploration, embryonic development, fluctuating growth, and steady increase. The number of international and domestic studies on corals both had a roughly increasing tendency, although some years showed a decline. International and domestic studies came into maturity in the 1990s, but domestic studies were slightly later than international. ② The highest-frequency words in international studies were coral, coral reefs, coral bleaching, and climate change, while in domestic studies they were coral reef, Scleractinian corals, Scleractinia, and Weizhou Island. International coral studies were more inclined to explore the causes of coral reef degradation, while domestic research was focused on improving the reef-building ability of coral reefs. ③ According to the co-word analysis, the high-frequency key words from international studies coral reefs, corals, climate change, and sedimentation can be viewed as study hotspots to some extent. ④ According to cluster analysis, there was similarity between international and domestic studies. They both mainly focused on the aspects of the coral reef ecosystem and environmental and climatic factors that are affecting corals, but both international and domestic studies have their own inclinations. In a summary, because the current state of coral reef degeneration is serious, international and domestic studies have both focused on coral reefs. In recent years and in the future, studies about corals and coral reefs may pay more attention to the topic of restoring coral reefs or helping coral reef ecosystems recover on their own. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献