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Reef-scale failure of coral settlement following typhoon disturbance and macroalgal bloom in Palau, Western Pacific

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Abstract

Factors affecting coral recruitment are critical in influencing the scope and rate of reef recovery after disturbance. In December 2012, super-typhoon Bopha caused immense damage to the eastern reefs of Palau, resulting in near complete loss of coral cover. Within weeks following the typhoon, an ephemeral monospecific bloom of the foliose red macroalga Liagora (up to 40 % cover in February 2013) was recorded at impacted reefs with moderate wave exposure. Conversely, impacted and un-impacted reefs in areas of low wave exposure remained Liagora free. To quantify the effect of this ephemeral macroalgal bloom on coral recruitment, we installed settlement tiles during the major spawning period (March–April 2013) at forereefs with and without Liagora. Reefs (n = 3) with Liagora (13–24 % cover in April) experienced an almost complete failure of settlement, with only two individual corals recorded on settlement tiles (n = 90). This settlement failure was unexpected, as tiles were situated adjacent to, and not within Liagora canopies. In contrast, settlement was significantly higher on reefs that lacked macroalgae (n = 3), ranging from an average of 0.5–2.5 and 2.7–18.9 individuals 25 cm−2 per top- and under-sided tile, respectively. Reefs with and without Liagora were in close proximity (≤8 km), and hydrodynamic models predicted that larval supply did not limit coral settlement among sites. While some differences in the community composition on the tiles were observed among sites, settlement substrate availability also did not limit coral settlement. Generalised linear mixed effects models indicated that while no settlement substrate explained more than 10 % of the variability in coral settlement, coral cover positively accounted for 26 %, and the cover of Liagora on reefs negatively accounted for more than 50 % of the observed variation. Combined, our results indicate that the typhoon induced ephemeral macroalgal bloom resulted in a reef-scale failure of coral settlement.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Koror State Government for permission to work within the Ngederrak Conservation Area. Y. Golbuu and S. Victor provided critical discussions; C. Brown provided statistical advice; and three anonymous reviewers provided constructive criticism of the original manuscript. Funding was received through an Australian Endeavour Award Postdoctoral Fellowship to C. Doropoulos, during which he was hosted by the Palau International Coral Reef Center, and a Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, and the EU FORCE project awarded to P.J. Mumby.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Christopher Doropoulos, George Roff, Mirta Zupan & Peter J. Mumby

  2. Palau International Coral Reef Center, Koror, 96940, Palau

    Christopher Doropoulos, Mirta Zupan, Victor Nestor & Adelle L. Isechal

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  1. Christopher Doropoulos
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  2. George Roff
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  3. Mirta Zupan
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  4. Victor Nestor
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Correspondence to Christopher Doropoulos.

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Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Mark Vermeij

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338_2014_1149_MOESM1_ESM.jpg

(a) Outer surface of a ceramic tile used for the study. The settlement tiles measured 25 cm−2 and had fine micro-rugosity on the outer surface. (b) A mounted tile pair at Short Drop Off (JPG 1389 kb)

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Doropoulos, C., Roff, G., Zupan, M. et al. Reef-scale failure of coral settlement following typhoon disturbance and macroalgal bloom in Palau, Western Pacific. Coral Reefs 33, 613–623 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-014-1149-y

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