Abstract
Recruitment patterns of scleractinian corals were investigated at the Gneering Shoals, a coral-dominated rocky-reef south of the Great Barrier Reef, in subtropical Queensland. The density of recruits (mean of 0.8 to 6.3 recruits per tile (15 cm × 15 cm) pair from 4 sites) was the lowest ever recorded from six regions in tropical or subtropical eastern Australia that have been studied using directly comparable methods. Recruitment in summer was dominated by recruits from the Family Acroporidae, while corals from the Family Pocilloporidae recruited throughout the year. Recruits of massive corals andTurbinaria sp., which dominate the established coral communities, were absent. Possible explanations for the low recruitment rate in the region, include the depth of most sites (> 10m), competition for space with fouling organisms, and isolation, that is the failure of the south flowing East Australian Current to supply tropical larvae regularly from the Great Barrier Reef, 250 km to the north. The low coral recruitment rate at Gneering Shoals indicates that this region is unlikely to act as a “stepping-stone” for dispersal of tropical corals to more southern regions, which are more directly influenced by the East Australian Current.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Babcock RC (1988) Fine-scale spatial and temporal patterns in coral settlement. Proc 6th Int Coral Reef Symp 2:635–638
Banks SA (1995) Aspects of the benthic community structure and hard coral recruitment at the Gneering Shoals, south east Queensland. M. App. Sci. Thesis, Centre for Coastal Management, Southern Cross University, Lismore. 118 pp
Banks SA, Harriott VJ (1995) Coral communities of the Gneering Shoals and Mudjimba Island, southeastern Queensland. Mar Freshwater Res 46:1137–1144
Berry P, Marsh L (1985) Scott Reef and the Rowley Shoals shelf-edge atolls off North Western Australia. Proc 5th Int Coral Reef Symp 6:317–322
Birkeland C, Randall RH (1981) Facilitation of coral recruitment by Echinoid excavations. Proc 4th Int Coral Reef Symp 1:695–698
Birkeland C, Rowley D, Randall RH (1981) Coral recruitment patterns at Guam. Proc 4th Int Coral Reef Symp 2:339–344
Cresswell GR (1987) The East Australian Current. CSIRO Marine Laboratories Information Sheet 3, June 1987, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Done TJ (1982) Patterns in the distribution of coral communities across the Central Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 1:95–107
Fisk DA, Harriott VJ (1990) Spatial and temporal variation in coral recruitment on the Great Barrier Reef: implications for dispersal hypotheses. Mar Biol 107:485–490.
Fitzhardinge RC (1985) Spatial and temporal variability in coral recruitment in Kaneohe Bay (Oahu, Hawaii). Proc 5th Int Coral Reef Cong 4:373–78
Fitzhardinge RC (1988) Coral recruitment: the importance of interspecific differences in juvenile growth and mortality. Proc 6th Int Coral Reef Symp 2:673–78
Harriott VJ (1992) Recruitment patterns of scleractinian corals in an isolated sub-tropical reef system. Coral Reefs 11:215–219
Harriott VJ (1995) Is the crown-of-thorns starfish a threat to the reefs of Lord Howe Island? Aquat Con Mar Freshwater Ecosystems V5:179–190
Harriott VJ, Banks SA (1995) Recruitment of scleractinian corals in the Solitary Island Marine Reserve, a high latitude coraldominated community in Eastern Australia. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 123:155–161.
Harriott VJ, Fisk DA (1987) A comparsion of settlement plate types for experiments on the recruitment of scleractinian corals. Mar EcolProg Ser 37:201–208
Harriott VJ, Fisk DA (1988) Recruitment patterns of Scleractinian corals: a study of three reefs. Aust J Mar Freshwater Res 39:409–416
Harriott VJ, Harrison PL, Banks SA (1995) The coral communities of Lord Howe Island. Aust J Mar Freshwater Res 46:457–465
Harriott VJ, Smith SDA, Harrison PL (1994) Patterns of coral community structure of sub-tropical reefs in the Solitary Island Marine Reserve, Eastern Australia. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 109:67–76
Harrison PL, Wallace CC (1990) Reproduction, dispersal and recruitment of scleractinian corals. In: Z Dubinsky (ed) Coral reef ecosystems. Elesevier Science, Amsterdam pp 133–207
Longmore R (1992) (ed.) Reef biology: a survey of Elizabeth and Middleton reefs, South Pacific. Kowari 3. Australian National Parks and Wildife Service, Canberra, Australia
Middleton JH, Coutis P, Griffin DA, Macks A, McTaggart A, Merrifield MA, Nippard GJ (1994) Circulation and water mass characteristics of the southern Great Barrier Reef. Aust J Mar Freshwater Res 45:1–18
Sammarco PW, Andrews JC (1988) Localised dispersal and recruitment in Great Barrier Reef corals: the Helix experiment. Science 239:1422–1424
Veron JEN (1993) A biogeographic database of hermatypic corals. Aust Instit Mar Sci Mono Ser 10, 433 pp
Veron JEN, Done TJ (1979) Corals and coral communities of Lord Howe Island. Aust J Mar Freshwater Res 30:203–236
Wallace CC (1985a) Four years of juvenile coral recruitment to five reef front sites. Proc 5th Int Coral Reef Cong 4:385–390
Wallace CC (1985b) Seasonal peaks and annual fluctuations in recruitment of juvenile scleractinian corals. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 21:289–298
Williams DM, Wolanski E, Andrews JC (1984) Transport mechanisms and the potential movement of planktonic larvae in the Central Region of the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs. 3:229–236
Willis BL, Oliver JK (1988) Inter-reef dispersal of coral larvae following the annual mass spawning of the Great Barrier Reef. Proc 6th Int Coral Reef Symp 2:853–859
Wright J (1990) Diving southern Queensland: a guide to 40 of the top dive sites from Heron Island to Byron Bay. Division of Information, Department of Lands, Queensland, Australia
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Banks, S.A., Harriott, V.J. Patterns of coral recruitment at the Gneering Shoals, southeast Queensland, Australia. Coral Reefs 15, 225–230 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01787456
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01787456