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Geographically conserved rates of background mortality among common reef-building corals in Lhaviyani Atoll, Maldives, versus northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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Abstract

Even in the absence of major disturbances (e.g., cyclones and bleaching), corals are consistently subject to high levels of background mortality, which undermines individual fitness and resilience of coral colonies. Most studies of coral mortality however only focus on catastrophic mortality associated with major acute disturbance events, neglecting to consider background levels of chronic mortality that have a significant influence on population structure and turnover. If, for example, there are geographic differences in the prevalence of injuries and rates of background mortality, coral communities may vary in their susceptibility to acute large-scale disturbances and environmental change. This study quantified the prevalence and severity of partial mortality for four dominant and widespread coral taxa (massive Porites, encrusting Montipora, Acropora hyacinthus, and branching Pocillopora) at Lhaviyani Atoll, Maldives, and on the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The prevalence and severity of sublethal injuries varied greatly among taxa, but was generally similar between locations; on the Great Barrier Reef, 99.4 % Porites colonies, 66 % of A. hyacinthus, and 64 % of Pocillopora had conspicuous injuries, compared to 92.4 % of Porites, 47.5 % of A. hyacinthus, and 44 % of Pocillopora colonies in Lhaviyani Atoll. These results suggest that background rates of mortality and injury, and associated resilience of coral populations and communities to large-scale disturbances, are conserved at large geographic scales, though adjacent colonies can have markedly different injury regimes, likely to lead to strong intraspecific variation in colony fitness and resilience.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the ARC Centre of Excellence of Coral Reef Studies and AIMS@JCU. The authors are indebted to M. Trapon, K. Anderson, J. Casey, D. Burn, and B. Taylor for assistance in the field and to the staff at Lizard Island Research Station, and Korallionlab for field and logistical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Chiara Pisapia & Morgan Stuart Pratchett

  2. AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science, School of Marine Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia

    Chiara Pisapia

  3. Molecular Health and Disease Laboratory, Department of Conservation, Biology and Ecosystems, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB, UK

    Michael Sweet

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

    Hugh Sweatman

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  1. Chiara Pisapia
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  4. Morgan Stuart Pratchett
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Correspondence to Chiara Pisapia.

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Communicated by L. Mydlarz.

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Pisapia, C., Sweet, M., Sweatman, H. et al. Geographically conserved rates of background mortality among common reef-building corals in Lhaviyani Atoll, Maldives, versus northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Mar Biol 162, 1579–1586 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-015-2694-9

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