The role of geomorphic zonation in long-term changes in coral-community structure on a Caribbean fringing reef.

ABSTRACT: Ecological processes on coral reefs commonly have limited spatial and temporal scales and may not be recorded in their long-term geological history. The widespread degradation of Caribbean coral reefs over the last 40 years therefore provides an opportunity to assess the impact of more significant ecological changes on the geological and geomorphic structure of reefs. Here, we document the changing ecology of communities in a coral reef seascape within the context of its geomorphic zonation. By comparing basic ecological indices between historical and modern data we show that in 35 years the reef-front zone was transformed from a complex coral assemblage with a three-dimensional structure, to a size-homogenized and flattened one that is quasi indistinguishable from the adjacent non-accreti

SUBMITTER: Medina-Valmaseda AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7585725 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature