Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Species composition and distribution of algae on the fringing coral reef of Sesoko Island (Ryukyu Archipelago) before and after the natural catastrophe of 1998

Species composition and distribution of algae on the fringing coral reef of Sesoko Island (Ryukyu... The species composition and distribution of marine plants on the fringing reef of Secoko Island were studied before and after the mass coral mortality in 1998. The study showed that changes in the bottom communities that occurred after bleaching of corals were caused by the presumed development of marine plants substituting reef-building corals on the bottom. The number of algal species grew from 211 to 345. The projective cover (PC) of hard substrate with macroalgae increased: in 1998, it was 1–10% in the subtidal zone and 20–50% in the intertidal zone, while in 2002 through 2005, the PC reached 71% in the subtidal and 40–85% in the intertidal zone. It is assumed that the phase of the “plant reef” on Sesoko Island is a temporary event, and that the coral reef can recover within several decades, unless a natural catastrophe occurs again. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Russian Journal of Marine Biology Springer Journals

Species composition and distribution of algae on the fringing coral reef of Sesoko Island (Ryukyu Archipelago) before and after the natural catastrophe of 1998

Download PDF
13 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer_journal/species-composition-and-distribution-of-algae-on-the-fringing-coral-GmORufwZ80

References (12)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 by Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.
Subject
Life Sciences; Freshwater & Marine Ecology
ISSN
1063-0740
eISSN
1608-3377
DOI
10.1134/S1063074007010038
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The species composition and distribution of marine plants on the fringing reef of Secoko Island were studied before and after the mass coral mortality in 1998. The study showed that changes in the bottom communities that occurred after bleaching of corals were caused by the presumed development of marine plants substituting reef-building corals on the bottom. The number of algal species grew from 211 to 345. The projective cover (PC) of hard substrate with macroalgae increased: in 1998, it was 1–10% in the subtidal zone and 20–50% in the intertidal zone, while in 2002 through 2005, the PC reached 71% in the subtidal and 40–85% in the intertidal zone. It is assumed that the phase of the “plant reef” on Sesoko Island is a temporary event, and that the coral reef can recover within several decades, unless a natural catastrophe occurs again.

Journal

Russian Journal of Marine Biology – Springer Journals

Published: Mar 20, 2007

There are no references for this article.