Seventeen-year study reveals fluctuations in key ecological indicators on two reef crests in Cuba.

ABSTRACT: Reef crests in the Caribbean have lost approximately 80% of the foundational habitat-forming coral Acropora palmata (Lamarck, 1816), with declines registered as early as the 1950s mainly from anthropogenic causes. We studied two reef crests in the northwestern region of Cuba over 17 years (2005 to 2021) to evaluate temporal changes in coral cover, dominated by A. palmata, and their potential drivers. The density of A. palmata generally showed a negative trend at both reefs, with the lowest density recorded in 2021 at 0.2 ± 0.05 col. m^-2 at Playa Baracoa and 1.0 ± 0.1 col. m^-2 at Rincon de Guanabo. The mean size of the colonies in the two reefs also decreased over time. In Playa Baracoa, the mean diameter of A. palmata colonies decreased fro

SUBMITTER: Ramos A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10812586 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature