Revista de Biología Tropical ISSN Impreso: 0034-7744 ISSN electrónico: 2215-2075

OAI: https://www.revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/oai
Possible recovery of Acropora palmata (Scleractinia:Acroporidae) within the Veracruz Reef System, Gulf of Mexico: a survey of 24 reefs to assess the benthic communities
PDF
HTML

Keywords

Acropora palmata
population recovery
Veracruz
Mexico
colony size class frequency
Acropora palmata
recuperación poblacional
Veracruz
Mexico
distribución de frecuencia de tamaño

How to Cite

Larson, E. A., Gilliam, D. S., López Padiema, M., & Walker, B. K. (2014). Possible recovery of Acropora palmata (Scleractinia:Acroporidae) within the Veracruz Reef System, Gulf of Mexico: a survey of 24 reefs to assess the benthic communities. Revista De Biología Tropical, 62(S3), 75–84. https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v62i0.15903

Abstract

Recent evidence shows that Acropora palmata within the Veracruz Reef System, located in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, may be recovering after the die off from the flooding of the Jamapa River and a dramatic cold water event in the 1970s. Since this decline, few surveys have documented the status of A. palmata. The 28 named reefs in the system are divided into 13 northern and 15 southern groups by the River. Between 2007 and 2013, we surveyed 24 reefs to assess the benthic communities. Seven of the 11 reefs surveyed in the northern group and all in the southern group had A. palmata. Colonies were typically found on the windward side of the reefs in shallow waters along the reef edges or crest. We also recorded colony diameter and condition along belt transects at two reefs in the north (Anegada de Adentro and Verde) and two in the south (Periferico and Sargazo), between 2011 and 2013. In addition, eight permanent transects were surveyed at Rizo (south). A total of 1 804 colonies were assessed; densities ranged from 0.02 to 0.28 colonies/m² (mean (±SD), colony diameter of 58 ± 73cm, and 89 ± 18% live tissue per colony). Total prevalence of predation by damselfish was 5%, by snails 2%, and <1% by fireworms, disease prevalence was <3%. Size frequency distributions indicated that all of the sites had a moderate to high spawning potential, 15-68% of the colonies at each site were mature, measuring over 1 600cm². The presence of these healthy and potentially reproductive colonies is important for species recovery, particularly because much of the greater Caribbean still shows little to no signs of recovery. Conservation and management efforts of these reefs are vital. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (Suppl. 3): 75-84. Epub 2014 September 01.

https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v62i0.15903
PDF
HTML

References

Acropora Biological Review Team. (2005). Atlantic Acropora status review document. Report to National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office.

Adey, W. H. (1978). Coral reef morphogenesis: a multidimensional model. Science, 202, 831-837.

Aronson, R. B., Bruckner, A. W., Moore, J.,. Precht W. F., & Weil, E. (2008a). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Acropora cervicornis. Retrieved from www.iucnredlist.org

Aronson, R. B., Bruckner, A. W., Moore, J., Precht W. F., & Weil, E. (2008b). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Acropora palmata. Version 2012.2. Retrieved from www.iucnredlist.org

Aronson, R. B., & Precht, W. F. (2001). White-band disease and the changing face of Caribbean coral reefs. Hydrobiologia, 460, 25-38.

Blake, E. S. (2011). Tropical Cyclone Report. Tropical Cyclone Harvey. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA.

Bruckner, A. W. (2002). Proceedings of the Caribbean Acropora Workshop: Potential Application of the U.S. Endangered Species Act as a Conservation Strategy. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-24.

Diario Oficial, D. (1992). Decreto por el que se declara área natural protegida con el carácter de Parque Marino Nacional, la zona conocida como Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, ubicada frente a las Costas de los municipios de Veracruz, Boca del Río y Alvarado del estado de Veracruz Llave, con superficie de 52,238-91-50 hectáreas. Diario Oficial de la Federacion, Mexico.

Dustan, P. & Halas, J. C. (1987). Changes in the reef-coral community of Carysfort reef, Key Largo, Florida: 1974 to 1982. Coral Reefs, 6, 91-106.

Emery, K. O. (1963). Coral reefs off Veracruz, Mexico. Geofisica internacional, 3, 11-17.

Grober-Dunsmore, R., Bonito, V., & Frazer, T. K. (2006). Potential inhibitors to recovery of Acropora palmata populations in St. John, US Virgin Islands. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 321, 123-132.

Heilprin, A. (1890). The Corals and Coral Reefs of the Western Waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 42, 303-316.

Horta-Puga, G. (2007). Environmental Impacts, p. 126-141. In Tunnell J. W. Jr., Chavez E. A., & Withers K. (eds.). Coral Reefs of the Southern Gulf of Mexico. Texas: A&M University Press, College Station.

Jones, J., Withers, K., & Tunnell, J. W. Jr. (2008). Comparison of Benthic Communities on Six Coral Reefs inthe Veracruz Reef System (Mexico). Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Fort Lauderdale, FL USA, 757-760.

Jordan-Dahlgren, E. (1992). Recolonization Patterns of Acropora Palmata in a Marginal Environment. Bulletin of Marine Science, 51, 104-117.

Keck, J., Houston, R. S., Purkis, S., & Riegl, B. M. (2005). Unexpectedly high cover of Acropora cervicornis on offshore reef in Roatan (Honduras). Coral Reefs, 24, 509.

Kimberlain, T. B. (2011). Tropical Cyclone Report. Hurricane Nate. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA.

Knowlton, N. (2001). The future of coral reefs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, 5419-5425.

Knowlton, N., Lang, J. C. & Keller, B. D. (1990). Case study of natural population collapse: post-hurricane predation on Jamaican Staghorn coral. Smithsonian Contributions to the Marine Sciences, 36.

Lara, M., Padilla, C., Garcia, C., & Espejel, J. J. (1992). Coral Reef of Veracruz Mexico I. Zonation and community. Proceedings of the 7th International Coral Reef Symposium, Guam., 1, 535-544.

Lirman, D., Bowden-Kerby, A., Schopmeyer, S., Huntington, B., Thyberg, T., Gough, M., Gough, T., Gough, R., & Gough, Y. (2010). A window to the past: documenting the status of one of the last remaining ‘megapopulations’ of the threatened staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis in the Dominican Republic. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 20, 773-781.

Mayor, P.A., Rogers, C.S. & Hillis-Starr, Z.M. (2006). Distribution and abundance of elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, and prevalence of white-band disease at Buck island reef national monument, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Coral Reefs, 25, 239-242.

Miller, M. W., Bourque, J., & Bohnsack, J. (2002). An analysis of the loss of Acroporid corals at Looe Key, Florida, USA 1983-2000. Coral Reefs, 21, 179-182.

Neigell, J. E., & Avise, J. C. (1983). Clonal diversity and population structure in a reef-building coral, Acropora cervicornis: self recognition analysis and demographic interpretation. Evolution, 37, 437-453.

NOAA. (2006). Endangered and threatened species: final listing determinations for Elkhorn coral and Staghorn coral Federal Register 71: 26852-26861.

Rangel Avalos, M. A., Jordan, L. K. B., Walker, B. K., Gilliam, D. S., Carvajal Hinojosa, E., & Spieler, R. E. (2007). Fish and Coral Reef Communities of the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano (Veracruz Coral Reef System National Park) Veracruz, Mexico: Preliminary Results. Proceedings of the 60th Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute Meeting, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, 60, 427-435.

Rannefeld, J. W. (1972). The stony corals of Enmedio Reef off Veracruz, Mexico. M.S Thesis. Texas A & M University, College Station.

Richmond, R. H. (1997). Reproduction and recruitment in corals: critical links in the persistence of reefs, p. 175-197. In Brikeland, C. (eds.). Life and Death of Coral Reefs. New York: Chapman & Hall.

Schärer, M., Nemeth, M., Valdivia, A., Miller, M., Williams, D., & Diez, C. (2008). Elkhorn coral distribution and condition throughout the Puerto Rican Archipelago. Proc. of the 11th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Fort Lauderdale, FL USA., 815-819.

Soong, K., & Lang, J. C. (1992). Reproductive integration in reef corals. Biological Bulletin, 183, 418-431.

Tunnell, J. W. J. (1988). Regional comparison of southwestern Gulf of Mexico to Caribbean sea coral reefs. Proceedings of the 6th International Coral Reef Symposium, Townsville, Australia, 3, 303-308.

Tunnell, J. W. J. (1992). Natural Versus Human Impacts to Southern Gulf of Mexico Coral Reef Resources. Proceedings of the 7th International Coral Reef Symposium, Guam., 1, 300-306.

Vargas-Angel, B., Thomas, J. D., & Hoke, S. M. (2003). High-latitude Acropora cervicornis thickets off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. Coral Reefs, 22, 465-473

Walker, B. K., Larson, E. A., Moulding, A. L., & Gilliam, D. S. (2012). Small-scale mapping of indeterminate arborescent acroporid coral (Acropora cervicornis) patches. Coral Reefs, 31, 885-894.

Williams, D. E., & Miller, M. W. (2005). Coral disease outbreak: pattern. prevalence and transmission in Acropora cervicornis. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 301, 119-128.

Williams, D. E., Miller, M. W., & Kramer, K. L. (2008). Recruitment failure in Florida Keys Acropora palmata, a threatened Caribbean coral. Coral Reefs, 27, 697-705.

Williams, D. E., & Miller, M. W. (2011). Attributing mortality among drivers of population decline in Acropora palmata in the Flordia Keys (USA). Coral Reefs, 31, 369-382.

Zubillaga, A. L., Márquez, L. M., Cráquer, A., & Bastidas, C. (2008). Ecological and genetic data indicate recovery of the endangered coral Acropora palmata in Los Roques, Southern Caribbean. Coral Reefs, 27, 63-72.

Comments

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2014 Revista de Biología Tropical

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.