Decadal erosion of coral assemblages by multiple disturbances in the Palm Islands, central Great Barrier Reef.

ABSTRACT: Increases in the frequency of perturbations that drive coral community structure, such as severe thermal anomalies and high intensity storms, highlight the need to understand how coral communities recover following multiple disturbances. We describe the dynamics of cover and assemblage composition of corals on exposed inshore reefs in the Palm Islands, central Great Barrier Reef, over 19 years encapsulating major disturbance events such as the severe bleaching event in 1998 and Cyclone Yasi in 2011, along with other minor storm and heat stress events. Over this time, 47.8% of hard coral cover was lost, with a concomitant shift in coral assemblage composition due to taxon-specific rates of mortality during the disturbances, and asymmetric recovery in the aftermath thereof. High recruitment

SUBMITTER: Torda G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6082856 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature