Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Coral settlement onto Halimeda opuntia: a fatal attraction to an ephemeral substrate?

  • Report
  • Published:
Coral Reefs Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Degraded reefs with a high abundance of macroalgae usually also have low densities of coral recruits. Few studies, however, have examined whether these algae affect coral larval settlement. This study demonstrates, experimentally, that larvae of the Caribbean coral Favia fragrum can settle on the green alga Halimeda opuntia even when another substrate more suitable for settlement is present. Larval settlement onto experimental substrates was quantified under three treatments: rubble only, rubble plus plastic algal mimic, and rubble plus live H. opuntia. Similar total larval settlement was observed in all treatments. No larvae settled on the algal mimic, but total settlement was similar on the rubble in the first two treatments, showing that the rubble alone offered sufficient substrate for high settlement success. About half the larvae in the live algal treatment settled on H. opuntia instead of on the rubble, showing that larvae did not reject this substrate as they did the algal mimic. This result raises the possibility that corals will settle on some macroalgae when their abundance is high. Most macroalgae, including H. opuntia, are ephemeral substrates unsuitable for post-settlement survival. Such unexpected settlement may therefore have significant consequences for coral recruitment success on algal-dominated reefs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bak RPM (1977) Coral reefs and their zonation in the Netherlands Antilles. AAPG Stud Geol 4:3–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Beach K, Walters L, Borgeas H, Smith C, Coyer J, Vroom P (2003) The impact of Dictyota spp. on Halimeda populations of Conch Reef, Florida Keys. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 297:141–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood DR, Hughes TP, Folke C, Nyström M (2004) Confronting the coral reef crisis. Nature 429:827–833

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birrell CL, McCook LJ, Willis BL (2005) Effects of algal turfs and sediment on coral settlement. Mar Pollut Bull 51:408–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlon DB, Olson RR (1993) Larval dispersal distance as an explanation for adult spatial pattern in two Caribbean reef corals. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 173:247–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clifton KE (1997) Mass spawning by green algae on coral reefs. Science 275:1116–1118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clifton KE, Clifton LM (1999) The phenology of sexual reproduction by green algae (Bryopsidales) on Caribbean coral reefs. J Phycol 35:24–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz-Pulido G, McCook LJ (2002) The fate of bleached corals: patterns and dynamics of algal recruitment. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 232:115–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner TA, Côtė IM, Gill JA, Grant A, Watkinson AR (2003) Long-term region-wide decline in Caribbean corals. Science 301:958–960

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrington L, Fabricius K, De’ath G, Negri A (2004) Recognition and selection of settlement substrata determine post-settlement survival in corals. Ecology 85:3428–3437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heyward AJ, Negri AP (1999) Natural inducers for coral larval metamorphosis. Coral Reefs 18:273–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillis-Colinvaux L (1980) Ecology and taxanomy of Halimeda: primary producer of coral reefs. Adv Mar Biol 17:1–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP, Tanner JE (2000) Recruitment failure, life histories, and long-term decline of Caribbean corals. Ecology 81:2250–2263

    Google Scholar 

  • Jompa J, McCook LJ (2002) Effects of competition and herbivory on interactions between a hard coral and a brown alga. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 271:25–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jompa J, McCook LJ (2003) Coral-algal competition: macroalgae with different properties have different effects on corals. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 258:87–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuffner IB, Walters LJ, Becerro MA, Paul VJ, Ritson-Williams R, Beach KS (2006) Inhibition of coral recruitment by macroalgae and cyanobacteria. Mar Ecol Prog Ser (in press)

  • Lirman D, Biber P (2000) Seasonal dynamics of macroalgal communities of the Northern Florida Reef Tract. Bot Mar 43:305–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClanahan TR, Muthiga NA (1998) An ecological shift in a remote coral atoll of Belize over 25 years. Environ Conserv 25:122–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCook LJ (1999) Macroalgae, nutrients and phase shifts on coral reefs: scientific issues and management consequences for the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 18:357–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCook LJ, Jompa J, Diaz-Pulido G (2001) Competition between corals and algae on coral reefs: a review of evidence and mechanisms. Coral Reefs 19:400–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merten MJ (1971) Ecological observations of Halimeda macrolobata Decaisne (Chlorophyta) on Guam. Micronesia 7:27–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Morse DE, Hooker N, Morse ANC, Jensen RA (1988) Control of larval metamorphosis and recruitment in sympatric agariciid corals. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 116:193–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Negri AP, Webster NS, Hill RT, Heyward AJ (2001) Metamorphosis of broadcast spawning corals in response to bacteria isolated from crustose algae. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 223:121–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Nugues MM, Bak RPM (2006) Differential competitive abilities between Caribbean coral species and a brown alga: a year of experiments and a long term perspective. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 315:75–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Nugues MM, Smith GW, van Hooidonk RJ, Seabra MI, Bak RPM (2004) Algal contact as a trigger for coral disease. Ecol Lett 7:919–923

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul VJ, van Alstyne KL (1992) Activation of chemical defenses in the tropical green algae Halimeda spp. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 160:191–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen D, Laterveer M, Schuhmacher H (2005) Spatial and temporal variation in larval settlement of reefbuilding corals in mariculture. Aquaculture 249:317–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raimondi PT, Morse ANC (2000) The consequences of complex larval behavior in a coral. Ecology 81:3193–3211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • River GF, Edmunds PJ (2001) Mechanisms of interaction between macroalgae and scleractinians on a coral reef in Jamaica. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 261:159–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sammarco PW (1982) Polyp bail-out: an escape response to environmental stress and a new means of reproduction in corals. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 10:57–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Shulman MJ, Robertson DR (1996) Changes in the coral reef of San Blas, Caribbean Panama: 1983 to 1990. Coral Reefs 15:231–236

    Google Scholar 

  • Szmant-Froelich AM, Reutter M, Riggs L (1985) Sexual reproduction of Favia Fragrum (Esper): lunar patterns of gametogenesis, embryogenesis and planulation in Puerto Rico. Bull Mar Sci 37:880–892

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Duyl FC (1985) Atlas of the living reefs of Curaçao and Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles). Foundation for Scientific Research in Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles, vol 117. Utrecht, the Netherlands, pp 1–63

  • Vermeij MJA, Bak RPM (2002) Corals on the move: rambling of Madracis pharensis polyps early after settlement. Coral Reefs 21:262–263

    Google Scholar 

  • Vroom PS, Smith CM, Coyer JA, Walters LJ, Hunter CL, Beach KS, Smith JE (2003) Field biology of Halimeda tuna (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) across a depth gradient: comparative growth, survivorship, recruitment, and reproduction. Hydrobiologia 501:149–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walters LJ, Smith CM, Coyer JA, Hunter CL, Beach KS, Vroom PS (2002) Asexual propagation in the coral reef macroalga Halimeda (Chlorophyta, Bryosidales): production, dispersal and attachment of small fragments. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 278:47–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walters LJ, Smith CM, Hadfield MG (2003) Recruitment of sessile marine invertebrates on Hawaiian macrophytes: do pre-settlement or post-settlement processes keep plant free from fouling? Bull Mar Sci 72:813–839

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster NS, Smith LD, Heyward AJ, Watts JEM, Webb RI, Blackall LL, Negri AP (2004) Metamorphosis of a scleractinian coral in response to microbial biofilms. Appl Environ Microbiol 70:1213–1221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams ID, Polunin NVC (2001) Large scale associations between macroalgal cover and grazer biomass on mid-depth reefs in the Caribbean. Coral Reefs 19:358–366

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the staff of the CARMABI research institute—especially Walter Bakhuis, Adolphe Debrot, Leon Pors, Bryan Leysner and Carlos Winterdaal—and the staff of the Office of International Program at UNCW. We are grateful to Daniel Nugues for assistance in the field and laboratory. Funding was provided by the Coral Reef Research programme at UNCW.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 5600 Marvin K. Moss Lane, Wilmington, NC, 28409-5928, USA

    Maggy M. Nugues & Alina M. Szmant

  2. Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands

    Maggy M. Nugues

Authors
  1. Maggy M. Nugues
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alina M. Szmant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maggy M. Nugues.

Additional information

Communicated by Biology Editor H.R. Lasker

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nugues, M.M., Szmant, A.M. Coral settlement onto Halimeda opuntia: a fatal attraction to an ephemeral substrate?. Coral Reefs 25, 585–591 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-006-0147-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-006-0147-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation