Loss of Coral Trait Diversity and Impacts on Reef Fish Assemblages on Recovering Reefs.

ABSTRACT: Understanding patterns of biodiversity change is essential as coral reefs experience recurrent cycles of disturbance and recovery. Shifts in the total cover and species composition of habitat-forming corals can have far-reaching consequences, including shifts in coral functional traits and impacts on local fish assemblages. We surveyed coral and fish assemblages along the southern coast of Hainan Island near Sanya, China, in 2006, 2010, and 2018, during a period with repeated mass bleaching events. We showed that coral biodiversity in this region is in a state of flux, with losses and gains in coral cover and an increase in species richness over time. Despite increasing species diversity, the region suffered a loss of coral trait diversity by 2010, with an incomplete recovery by 2018, owin

SUBMITTER: Huang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11522916 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature