Widespread loss of Caribbean acroporid corals was underway before coral bleaching and disease outbreaks
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Science Advances
Publication Date
4-1-2020
Abstract
The mass mortality of acroporid corals has transformed Caribbean reefs from coral- to macroalgal-dominated habitats since systematic monitoring began in the 1970s. Declines have been attributed to overfishing, pollution, sea urchin and coral disease, and climate change, but the mechanisms are unresolved due to the dearth of pre-1970s data. We used paleoecological, historical, and survey data to track Acropora presence and dominance throughout the Caribbean from the prehuman period to present. Declines in dominance from prehuman values first occurred in the 1950s for Acropora palmata and the 1960s for Acropora cervicornis, decades before outbreaks of acroporid disease or bleaching. We compared trends in Acropora dominance since 1950 to potential regional and local drivers. Human population negatively affected and consumption of fertilizer for agriculture positively affected A. palmata dominance, the latter likely due to lower human presence in agricultural areas. The earlier, local roots of Caribbean Acropora declines highlight the urgency of mitigating local human impacts.
Volume
6
Issue
17
DOI
10.1126/sciadv.aax9395
Recommended Citation
Cramer, K., Jackson, J., Donovan, M., Greenstein, B., Korpanty, C., Cook, G., & Pandolfi, J. (2020). Widespread loss of Caribbean acroporid corals was underway before coral bleaching and disease outbreaks. Science Advances, 6 (17) https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax9395
E-ISSN
23752548
Funding Sponsor
Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute
