Initial coral assemblage drives benthic community response to different disturbance type events.
An increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme environmental conditions due to anthropogenic climate change impacts coral reefs through myriad stressors, from elevated sea-surface temperatures to increased storm activity. A reef's response to these disturbances can be influenced by facto...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317515 |
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| author | Ahmyia J Cacapit Anela K Akiona Esmeralda A Alcantar Alex Araújo Isa Bersamin Ninoshka Betancourt Daeyla' Boyd Bostony Braoudakis Zachary Capilitan Angelica Dimas Theresa Duncan Clinton B Edwards Audrey Ellias Beverly J French Nahir Guadaloupe Charles Hambley Maxine Hauser Nikki Jackson Phi Lang Mary Liesegang Orion McCarthy Nicole Pedersen Elena Pilch Samantha Scheibler Rex Shettlesworth Jackson Shoultz Blake Stoner-Osborne Brian J Zgliczynski Stuart A Sandin |
| author_facet | Ahmyia J Cacapit Anela K Akiona Esmeralda A Alcantar Alex Araújo Isa Bersamin Ninoshka Betancourt Daeyla' Boyd Bostony Braoudakis Zachary Capilitan Angelica Dimas Theresa Duncan Clinton B Edwards Audrey Ellias Beverly J French Nahir Guadaloupe Charles Hambley Maxine Hauser Nikki Jackson Phi Lang Mary Liesegang Orion McCarthy Nicole Pedersen Elena Pilch Samantha Scheibler Rex Shettlesworth Jackson Shoultz Blake Stoner-Osborne Brian J Zgliczynski Stuart A Sandin |
| author_sort | Ahmyia J Cacapit |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | An increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme environmental conditions due to anthropogenic climate change impacts coral reefs through myriad stressors, from elevated sea-surface temperatures to increased storm activity. A reef's response to these disturbances can be influenced by factors including taxonomic composition, life history strategies, or spatial patterning of the reef community members. We explored the disturbance-specific responses of coral reefs by following changes in benthic cover of major functional groups, community assemblage, and the response of common coral taxa at six islands across the central Pacific over the course of two years. We observed a decrease in average coral cover at four of the six islands, with differing underlying shifts in assemblage structure. Reefs with the highest pre-disturbance benthic coverage of Montipora spp. displayed significant increases in average hard coral cover compared to those where Acropora spp. was in the highest abundance; Acropora-dominated reefs showed significant declines in coral cover especially when exposed to the physical stress associated with a cyclone. Change in total coral cover was variable between islands within the same region, even among adjacent islands facing similar disturbance. These results highlight the importance of assemblage composition in influencing how benthic communities respond to major disturbance events such as thermal stress or cyclones. Improving our understanding of the drivers of differential community responses to disturbance will be important in predicting future changes in reef structure under changing ocean conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2e83cea8c50543bc98f80ea8750a80cf |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-2e83cea8c50543bc98f80ea8750a80cf2025-08-20T02:23:15ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01205e031751510.1371/journal.pone.0317515Initial coral assemblage drives benthic community response to different disturbance type events.Ahmyia J CacapitAnela K AkionaEsmeralda A AlcantarAlex AraújoIsa BersaminNinoshka BetancourtDaeyla' BoydBostony BraoudakisZachary CapilitanAngelica DimasTheresa DuncanClinton B EdwardsAudrey ElliasBeverly J FrenchNahir GuadaloupeCharles HambleyMaxine HauserNikki JacksonPhi LangMary LiesegangOrion McCarthyNicole PedersenElena PilchSamantha ScheiblerRex ShettlesworthJackson ShoultzBlake Stoner-OsborneBrian J ZgliczynskiStuart A SandinAn increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme environmental conditions due to anthropogenic climate change impacts coral reefs through myriad stressors, from elevated sea-surface temperatures to increased storm activity. A reef's response to these disturbances can be influenced by factors including taxonomic composition, life history strategies, or spatial patterning of the reef community members. We explored the disturbance-specific responses of coral reefs by following changes in benthic cover of major functional groups, community assemblage, and the response of common coral taxa at six islands across the central Pacific over the course of two years. We observed a decrease in average coral cover at four of the six islands, with differing underlying shifts in assemblage structure. Reefs with the highest pre-disturbance benthic coverage of Montipora spp. displayed significant increases in average hard coral cover compared to those where Acropora spp. was in the highest abundance; Acropora-dominated reefs showed significant declines in coral cover especially when exposed to the physical stress associated with a cyclone. Change in total coral cover was variable between islands within the same region, even among adjacent islands facing similar disturbance. These results highlight the importance of assemblage composition in influencing how benthic communities respond to major disturbance events such as thermal stress or cyclones. Improving our understanding of the drivers of differential community responses to disturbance will be important in predicting future changes in reef structure under changing ocean conditions.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317515 |
| spellingShingle | Ahmyia J Cacapit Anela K Akiona Esmeralda A Alcantar Alex Araújo Isa Bersamin Ninoshka Betancourt Daeyla' Boyd Bostony Braoudakis Zachary Capilitan Angelica Dimas Theresa Duncan Clinton B Edwards Audrey Ellias Beverly J French Nahir Guadaloupe Charles Hambley Maxine Hauser Nikki Jackson Phi Lang Mary Liesegang Orion McCarthy Nicole Pedersen Elena Pilch Samantha Scheibler Rex Shettlesworth Jackson Shoultz Blake Stoner-Osborne Brian J Zgliczynski Stuart A Sandin Initial coral assemblage drives benthic community response to different disturbance type events. PLoS ONE |
| title | Initial coral assemblage drives benthic community response to different disturbance type events. |
| title_full | Initial coral assemblage drives benthic community response to different disturbance type events. |
| title_fullStr | Initial coral assemblage drives benthic community response to different disturbance type events. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Initial coral assemblage drives benthic community response to different disturbance type events. |
| title_short | Initial coral assemblage drives benthic community response to different disturbance type events. |
| title_sort | initial coral assemblage drives benthic community response to different disturbance type events |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317515 |
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