Publications

Erosion vs. recovery of coral reefs after 1998 El nino: Chagos reefs, Indian Ocean

Three years after most corals died on the central Indian Ocean reefs of Chagos, erosion and recovery were studied to 30 m depth. Mortality was near-total to 15 m deep in northern atolls, and to > 35 m in central and southern atolls. Some reef surfaces have `dropped' 1.5 m due to the loss of dense coral thickets. Coral bioerosion is substantial, reducing 3-D reef `structure' and forming unconsolidated rubble. Juvenile corals are abundant, though mostly on eroding or unstable substrates, and are of less robust species. Reef fish abundance and diversity at 15 m depth remains high; species dependent on corals have diminished, while some herbivores and detritivores have increased. A new sea surface temperature (SST) data set shows that mean SST has risen 0.65degreesC since 1950. The critical SST causing the mortality in Chagos was 29.9degreesC.

Authors

Sheppard Charles , Spalding Mark , Bradshaw C , Wilson Shaun .

Year

1

DOI

10.1639/0044-7447(2002)031[0040:EVROCR]2.0.CO;2

ISBN-13

0

Keywords

Scleractnia (hard corals)

Link

http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1579/0044-7447-31.1.40?journalCode=ambi