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Climate change and coral reef connectivity

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Abstract

This review assesses and predicts the impacts that rapid climate change will have on population connectivity in coral reef ecosystems, using fishes as a model group. Increased ocean temperatures are expected to accelerate larval development, potentially leading to reduced pelagic durations and earlier reef-seeking behaviour. Depending on the spatial arrangement of reefs, the expectation would be a reduction in dispersal distances and the spatial scale of connectivity. Small increase in temperature might enhance the number of larvae surviving the pelagic phase, but larger increases are likely to reduce reproductive output and increase larval mortality. Changes to ocean currents could alter the dynamics of larval supply and changes to planktonic productivity could affect how many larvae survive the pelagic stage and their condition at settlement; however, these patterns are likely to vary greatly from place-to-place and projections of how oceanographic features will change in the future lack sufficient certainty and resolution to make robust predictions. Connectivity could also be compromised by the increased fragmentation of reef habitat due to the effects of coral bleaching and ocean acidification. Changes to the spatial and temporal scales of connectivity have implications for the management of coral reef ecosystems, especially the design and placement of marine-protected areas. The size and spacing of protected areas may need to be strategically adjusted if reserve networks are to retain their efficacy in the future.

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Acknowledgements

This article is a product of a joint ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and Coral Reef Targeted Research and Capacity Building for Management Program workshop on coral reef connectivity. The authors thank G. Jones, P. Sale, G. Russ and B. Steneck for organizing the workshop and the participants for stimulating discussions and suggestions. J. Lambrechts acknowledges the Belgian Fund for Research in Industry and Agriculture where he is working within the project “A second-generation model of the ocean system” funded under contract ARC 04/09-316 by the Communaute Francaise de Belgique.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    P. L. Munday, J. M. Lough & M. J. Kingsford

  2. School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    P. L. Munday & M. J. Kingsford

  3. Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, 2010, Australia

    J. M. Leis

  4. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    J. M. Lough

  5. Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, USA

    C. B. Paris

  6. Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    M. L. Berumen

  7. Centre for Systems Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Université catholique de Louvain, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    J. Lambrechts

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  1. P. L. Munday
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  2. J. M. Leis
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  3. J. M. Lough
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  4. C. B. Paris
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  5. M. J. Kingsford
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  6. M. L. Berumen
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  7. J. Lambrechts
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Correspondence to P. L. Munday.

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Communicated by Ecology Editor Prof. Peter Mumby

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Munday, P.L., Leis, J.M., Lough, J.M. et al. Climate change and coral reef connectivity. Coral Reefs 28, 379–395 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-008-0461-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-008-0461-9

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