Preview

PDF (Published version) 147500 - Coral ...pdf | Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Many temperate reefs are experiencing a shift towards a greater abundance of tropical species in response to marine heatwaves and long-term ocean warming worldwide. Baseline data for coral communities growing in high-latitude reefs is required to better understand ecosystem changes over time. In this study, we explore spatial and temporal trends in the distribution of coral communities from 1999 to 2019 at 118 reef sites within the five marine parks located in the south-west of Western Australia (WA) between 30° to 35° S. Our estimates of coral cover were generally low (Turbinaria spp. at Marmion Marine Park and Ngari Capes Marine Park, and Pocillopora spp. and Dipsastraea spp. at Rottnest Island and Jurien Bay. Our findings suggest that conditions in south-west WA are favorable to the ongoing survival of existing genera and there were minimal signs of expansion in coral cover at most study sites. Coral cover and composition on these reefs may, however, change with ongoing ocean warming and increased occurrence of marine heatwaves. This study provides a valuable benchmark for assessing future changes in coral assemblages and highlights the need for targeted hard-coral surveys to quantify subtle changes in high-latitude coral community assemblages.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Ross, CL and French, B and Lester, EK and Wilson, SK and Day, PB and Taylor, MD and Barrett, N
Keywords:	coral leading edge range extension MPAs, marine heatwaves, Western Australia, temperate reef monitoring surveys, tropicalization, temperate reefs, climate change, long-term monitoring, seawater temperature
Journal or Publication Title:	Diversity
Publisher:	MDPIAG
ISSN:	1424-2818
DOI / ID Number:	10.3390/d13110554
Copyright Information:	Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Related URLs:	Google Scholar: Barrett, N UTAS Profile: Barrett, N
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

Actions (login required)

Item Control Page