27 years of benthic and coral community dynamics on turbid, highly urbanised reefs off Singapore.

ABSTRACT: Coral cover on reefs is declining globally due to coastal development, overfishing and climate change. Reefs isolated from direct human influence can recover from natural acute disturbances, but little is known about long term recovery of reefs experiencing chronic human disturbances. Here we investigate responses to acute bleaching disturbances on turbid reefs off Singapore, at two depths over a period of 27 years. Coral cover declined and there were marked changes in coral and benthic community structure during the first decade of monitoring at both depths. At shallower reef crest sites (3-4 m), benthic community structure recovered towards pre-disturbance states within a decade. In contrast, there was a net decline in coral cover and continuing shifts in community structure at deeper re

SUBMITTER: Guest JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5099948 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature