Diversity and abundance of conspicuous macrocrustaceans on coral reefs differing in level of degradation.

ABSTRACT: Coral reefs sustain abundant and diverse macrocrustaceans that perform multiple ecological roles, but coral reefs are undergoing massive degradation that may be driving changes in the species composition and abundance of reef-associated macrocrustaceans. To provide insight into this issue, we used non-destructive visual census techniques to compare the diversity and abundance of conspicuous macrocrustaceans (i.e., those >1 cm and visible without disturbance) between two shallow Caribbean coral reefs similar in size (∼1.5 km in length) and close to each other, but one ("Limones") characterized by extensive stands of the branching coral Acropora palmata, and the other ("Bonanza") dominated by macroalgae and relic coral skeletons and rubble (i.e., degraded). We also assessed the struct

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-Gomez R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6001826 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature