Community-Based Coral Reef Rehabilitation in a Changing Climate:Lessons Learned from Hurricanes,Extreme Rainfall,and Changing Land Use Impacts  

作　　者：Edwin A.Hernandez-Delgado Alex E.Mercado-Molina Pedro J.Alejandro-Camis Frances Candelas-Sanchez Jaime S.Fonseca-Miranda Carmen M.Gonzalez-Ramos Roger Guzman-Rodriguez Pascal Mege Alfredo A.Montanez-Acuna Ivan Olivo Maldonado Abimarie Otano-Cruz Samuel E.Suleiman-Ramos 

机构地区：[1]Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation,Coral Reef Research Group,University of Puerto Rico,San Juan,Puerto Rico [2]Department of Biology,University of Puerto Rico,San Juan,Puerto Rico [3]Sociedad Ambiente Marino,San Juan,Puerto Rico [4]Department of Environmental Sciences,University of Puerto Rico,San Juan,Puerto Rico

出　　处：《Open Journal of Ecology》2014年第14期918-944,共27页生态学期刊（英文）

基　　金：funding provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA)Restoration Center and The Nature Conservancy to Sociedad Ambiente Marino(MAR-SAM-110110);the National Science Foundation(HRD#0734826)through the Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation(CATEC),and the University of Puerto Rico’s Central Administration to E.A.Hernández-Delgado.

摘　　要：Coral reefs have largely declined across multiple spatial scales due to a combination of local-scale anthropogenic impacts, and due to regional-global climate change. This has resulted in a significant loss of entire coral functional groups, including western Atlantic Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) biotopes, and in a net decline of coral reef ecosystem resilience, ecological functions, services and benefits. Low-tech coral farming has become one of the most important tools to help restore depleted coral reefs across the Wider Caribbean Region. We tested a community-based, low-tech coral farming approach in Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, aimed at adapting to climate change-related impacts through a two-year project to propagate A. cervicornis under two contrasting fishing management conditions, in coastal areas experimenting significant land use changes. Extreme rainfall events and recurrent tropical storms and hurricanes had major site-and method-specific impacts on project outcome, particularly in areas adjacent to deforested lands and subjected to recurrent impacts from land-based source pollution (LBSP) and runoff. Overall, coral survival rate in “A frame” units improved from 73% during 2011-2012 to 81% during 2012-2013. Coral survival rate improved to 97% in horizontal line nurseries (HLN) incorporated during 2012-2013. Percent tissue cover ranged from 86% to 91% in “A frames”, but reached 98% in HLN. Mean coral skeletal extension was 27 cm/y in “A frames” and 40 cm/y in HLN. These growth rates were up to 545% to 857% faster than previous reports from coral farms from other parts of the Caribbean, and up to 438% faster than wild colonies. Branch production and branchiness index (no. harvestable branches > 6 cm) increased by several orders of magnitude in comparison to the original colonies at the beginning of the project. Coral mortality was associated to hurricane physical impacts and sediment-laden runoff impacts associated to extreme rainfall and deforestation of adjacent lands. This raiseCoral reefs have largely declined across multiple spatial scales due to a combination of local-scale anthropogenic impacts, and due to regional-global climate change. This has resulted in a significant loss of entire coral functional groups, including western Atlantic Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) biotopes, and in a net decline of coral reef ecosystem resilience, ecological functions, services and benefits. Low-tech coral farming has become one of the most important tools to help restore depleted coral reefs across the Wider Caribbean Region. We tested a community-based, low-tech coral farming approach in Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, aimed at adapting to climate change-related impacts through a two-year project to propagate A. cervicornis under two contrasting fishing management conditions, in coastal areas experimenting significant land use changes. Extreme rainfall events and recurrent tropical storms and hurricanes had major site-and method-specific impacts on project outcome, particularly in areas adjacent to deforested lands and subjected to recurrent impacts from land-based source pollution (LBSP) and runoff. Overall, coral survival rate in “A frame” units improved from 73% during 2011-2012 to 81% during 2012-2013. Coral survival rate improved to 97% in horizontal line nurseries (HLN) incorporated during 2012-2013. Percent tissue cover ranged from 86% to 91% in “A frames”, but reached 98% in HLN. Mean coral skeletal extension was 27 cm/y in “A frames” and 40 cm/y in HLN. These growth rates were up to 545% to 857% faster than previous reports from coral farms from other parts of the Caribbean, and up to 438% faster than wild colonies. Branch production and branchiness index (no. harvestable branches > 6 cm) increased by several orders of magnitude in comparison to the original colonies at the beginning of the project. Coral mortality was associated to hurricane physical impacts and sediment-laden runoff impacts associated to extreme rainfall and deforestation of adjacent lands. This raise

关 键 词：Acropora cervicornis Climate Change Coral Farming Extreme Weather Events 

分 类 号：R73[医药卫生—肿瘤]