Recruitment pattern of Scleractinian coral spats on neighbouring artificial substrates at Kurusadai Reef Complex, Gulf of Mannar, India
Keywords:
coral reef, spat settlement, invertebrate recruitment, sedimentation rateAbstract
This study was conducted to assess the recruitment rate of coral spats and other invertebrates near to the coral reef ecosystem of Gulf of Mannar. The reef region examined was at Kurusadai Reef Complex (Gulf of Mannar) for this assessment. There were two sets of invertebrate settlement tripods deployed and exposed at a depth of 2m. Seventy two settlement tiles measuring 20x20 cm in two different angles were fixed in these tripods in the benthic reef ecosystem. In order to assess the impact of Sea surface temperature on the invertebrate settlement, Onset Hobo Pendant® Temperature logger was also attached with the tripods. The sediment traps in duplicate were also erected in the study site to assess the sedimentation rate of the reef ecosystem. About 80% of recruited coral spats were observed on the tiles which were exposed at 60° angle. Principal component analysis also supported that the most influencing species were coral spats followed by barnacles and bivalves in the 60° angle exposed settlement tiles. It was also observed that the most influencing place of coral spats’ recruitment was on the inner tiles. The mean sedimentation rate observed was 14.6 ± 4.8 mg.cm−2.d−1. The lower density of coral spats observed on 90° and 60° angle exposed outer tiles might be due to the observed sedimentation rate and it is believed that coral spats preferred the shaded environment initially for further perpetuation in the environment. Moreover, Bray-Curtis cluster analysis supported that the coral spats found on the inner tiles having 80% similarity in this assessment. The coral spats found in this assessment were species from Pocilloporidae and Poritidae.
References
Abelson, A.
, Olinky, R.
, Gaines, S.
, 2005. Coral recruitment to the reefs of Eilat, Red Sea: temporal and spatial variation, and possible effects of anthropogenic disturbances. Mar. Poll. Bull. 50, 576–582.
Al-Sofyani, A. A.
, 2012. Coral reef recruitment pattern of Jeddah coast, Red sea. Report submitted to Saudi Arabian-German collaborated project, Jeddah Transect Project, 2012, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Al-Sofyani, A.
, Marimuthu, N.
,Wilson, J.J.
, 2014. A rapid assessment of Scleractinian and Non- Scleractinian coral growth forms along the Saudi Arabian coast, Red Sea. J. Ocean Univ. China. 13(2), 243–248.
ARMDES
, 1996. AIMS reef monitoring data entry system; version 1.6-long term reef monitoring project. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville.
Arthur, R.
, 2000. Coral bleaching and mortality in three Indian reef regions during an El Niño southern oscillation event. Curr. Sci. 79(12), 1723–1729.
Babcock, R.C.
, Baird, A.H.
, Piromvaragorn, S.
, Thomson, D.P.
, Willis, B.L.
, 2003. Identification of scleractinian coral recruits from Indo-Pacific reefs. Zool. Studies. 42(1), 211–226.
Baird, A.H.
, Babcock, R.C.
, 2000. Morphological differences among three species of newly settled pocilloporid coral recruits. Coral Reefs 19, 179–183.
Baird, A.H.
, Emslie, M.J.
, Lewis, A.R
. 2012. Extended periods of coral recruitment on the Great Barrier Reef. Proceedings of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, 12A Life histories and reproduction, Cairns, Australia https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/22388/1/ICRS2012_12A_1.pdf
Banks, S.A.
, Harriott, V.J.
, 1996. Patterns of coral recruitment at the Gneering Shoals, southeast Queensland, Australia. Coral Reefs. 15, 225–230.
Bauman, A.G.
, Guest, J.R.
, Dunshea, G.
, Low, J.
, Todd, P.A.
, Steinberg, P.D
. 2015. Coral Settlement on a Highly Disturbed Equatorial Reef System. PLOS ONE. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0127874
Clarke, K.R.
, Gorley, R.N.
, 2015. PRIMER v7. PRIMER-E, Plymouth.
Crabbe, M.J.C.
, Smith, D.J.
, 2003. Computer modelling and estimation of recruitment patterns of non-branching coral colonies at three sites in the Wakatobi Marine Park, S.E. Sulawesi, Indonesia; implications for coral reef conservation. Comp. Biol. Chem. 27, 17–27.
Davies, S.W.
, Matz, M.V.
, Vize, P.D.
, 2013. Ecological Complexity of Coral Recruitment Processes: Effects of Invertebrate Herbivores on Coral Recruitment and Growth Depends Upon Substratum Properties and Coral Species. PLOS ONE. 8(9): e72830. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072830
Dunstan, P.K.
, Johnson, C.R.
, 1998. Spatio-temporal variation in coral recruitment at different scales on Heron Reef, southern Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs. 17, 71–81.
English, S.
, Wilkinson, C.
, Baker, V.
, 1997. Survey manual for Tropical Marine Resources. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Australia.
Fisk, D.A.
, Harriott, V.J.
, 1990. Spatial and temporal variation in coral recruitment on the Great Barrier Reef: implications for dispersal hypotheses. Mar. Biol. 107, 485–490.
Garcia, J.R.
, Aliño, P.M
. 2008. Factors influencing coral recruitment patterns in the Sulu Sea marine corridors. Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Session No. 10. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=58&article=1000&context=occ_icrs&type=additional
Gleason, M.G.
, 1996. Coral recruitment in Moorea, French Polynesia: the importance of patch type and temporal variation. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 207, 79–101.
Harriott, V.J.
, 1999. Coral recruitment at a high latitude Pacific site: A comparison with Atlantic Reefs. Bull. Mar. Sci. 65, 881–891.
Harriott, V.J.
, Banks, S.A.
, 1995. Recruitment of scleractinian corals in the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve, a high latitude coraldominated community in Eastern Australia. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 123, 155–161.
Ho, M.
, Dai, C.
, 2014. Coral recruitment of a subtropical coral community at Yenliao Bay, northern Taiwan. Zool. Studies. 53, 5.
Hughes, T.P.
, Connell, J.H
. 1999. Multiple stressors on coral reefs: A long-term perspective. Limnol. Oceanogr. 44, 932–940.
Hughes, T.P.
, Baird, A.H.
, Dinsdale, E.A.
, Moltschaniwskyj, A.
, Pratchett, M.S.
, Tanner, J.E.
, Willis, B.L.
, 1999. Patterns of recruitment and abundance of corals along the Great Barrier Reef. Nature 397, 59–63.
Kumaraguru, A.K.
, Jayakumar, K.
, Ramakritinan, C.M.
, 2003. Coral bleaching 2002 in the Palk Bay, southeast coast of India. Curr. Sci. 85(12), 1787–1793.
Lukoschek, V.
, Cross, P.
, Torda, G.
, Zimmerman, R.
, Willis, B.L
. 2013. The Importance of Coral Larval Recruitment for the Recovery of Reefs Impacted by Cyclone Yasi in the Central Great Barrier Reef. PLoS ONE. 8(6), e65363. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065363
Maida, M.
, Sammarco, P.W.
, Coll, J.C.
, 2001. Effects of Soft Corals on Scleractinian Coral Recruitment. II: Allelopathy, Spat Survivorship and Reef Community Structure. Mar. Ecol. 22, 397–414.
Mangubhai, S.
, Harrison, P.L.
, Obura, D.O.
, 2007. Patterns of coral larval settlement on lagoon reefs in the Mombasa Marine National Park and Reserve, Kenya. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 348, 149–159.
Marimuthu, N.
, Wilson, J.J.
, Kumaraguru, A.K.
, 2010. Reef status in the Mandapam group of Islands, Gulf of Mannar. Galaxea, J. Coral reef Studies 12, 65–75.
Marimuthu, N.
, Purvaja, R.
, Robin, R.S.
, Tudu, D.
, Hariharan, G.
, Ramesh, R.
, 2016. Spatial variation in the health of coral reef communities of Palk Bay, southeast coast of India. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 19(4), 10.1080/14634988.2016.1258925
Martinez, S.
, Abelson, A.
, 2013. Coral recruitment: the critical role of early post-settlement survival. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 70(7), 1294–1298.
Meesters, E.H.
, Bak, R.P.M.
, Westmacott, S.
, Ridgley, M.
, Dollar, S.
, 1998. A fuzzy logic model to predict coral reef development under nutrient and sediment stress. Conser. Biol. 12, 957–965.
Moulding, A.L
. 2005. Coral recruitment patterns in the Florida Keys. Rev. Biol. Trop. 53(1), 75–82.
Ravindran, J.
, Manikandan, B.
, Venkatesh, M.
, Murali, R.M.
, Marimuthu, N.
, Wafar, M.V.M.
, 2014. Repercussions of embarkation wharves in Lakshadweep Islands on coral communities and their ecology. Ind. J. Geo-Mar. Sci. 43(7), 1391–1400.
Rogers, C.S.
, Fitz, H
,
C., Gilnack
,
M., Beets
,
J., Hardin
, J., 1984. Scleractinian coral recruitment patterns at Salt River Submarine canyon, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Coral Reefs 3, 69–76.
Sawall, Y.
, Phongsuwan, N.
, Richter, C.
, 2010. Coral recruitment and recovery after the 2004 Tsunami around the Phi Phi Islands (Krabi Province) and Phuket, Andaman Sea, Thailand. Helgol. Mar. Res. 64, 357–365.
Sawall, Y.
, Jompa, J.
, Litaay, M.
, Maddusila, A.
, Richter, C
. 2013. Coral recruitment and potential recovery of eutrophied and blast fishing impacted reefs in Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 74, 374–382.
Sawall, Y.
, Al-Sofyani, A.
, Kürten, B.
, Al-Aidaroos, A.M.
, Hoang, B.X.
, Marimuthu, N.
, Khomayis, H.S.
, Sommer, U.
, Gharbawi, W.Y.
, Wahl, M.
, 2014. Coral communities, in contrast to fish communities, maintain a high assembly similarity along the steep latitudinal gradient of the Saudi Red Sea coast. J. Ecol. Ecogr. S4, 003. doi: 10.4172/2157-7625.S4-003.
Stubler, A.D.
, Stevens, A.K.
, Peterson, B.J.
, 2016. Using community-wide recruitment and succession patterns to assess sediment stress on Jamaican coral reefs. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 474, 29–38.
Tomascik, T.
, 1991. Settlement patterns of Caribbean Scleractinian corals on artificial substrata along a eutrophication gradient, Barbados, West Indies. Mari. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 77, 261–269.
Wilson, J. J.
, 2010. Impacts of natural and anthropogenic factors on the corals of Palk Bay, southeast coast of India. PhD thesis, 2010, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Manuscripts must be original. They must not be published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. It is required that the lead author of accepted papers complete and sign the MSU Press AEHM Author Publishing Agreement and provide it to the publisher upon acceptance.
