Sediment and Turbidity Associated with Offshore Dredging Increase Coral Disease Prevalence on Nearby Reefs
Sediment and Turbidity Associated with Offshore Dredging Increase Coral Disease Prevalence on Nearby Reefs
复制标题
与近海疏浚相关的沉积物和浑浊度增加了附近珊瑚礁的珊瑚病患病率
作者：
F. Pollock;J. Lamb;S. Field;S. Heron;B. Schaffelke;G. Shedrawi;D. Bourne;B. Willis;C. Fulton
近几十年来，珊瑚礁生态系统已经下降到珊瑚礁现在受到全球威胁的程度。虽然许多水质参数已被提出，以促进珊瑚礁的下降，没有什么证据存在确凿的联系，具体的水质参数与增加的疾病流行率在原地。在这里，我们报告的证据，从原位珊瑚健康调查证实，长期暴露于疏浚相关的沉积物羽显着增加流行的白色综合征，一组破坏性的全球重要的珊瑚疾病。珊瑚健康调查是沿着与疏浚有关的沉积物羽流梯度进行的，以评估沉积、浊度和珊瑚健康之间的关系。暴露在沉积物羽流下天数最多的珊瑚礁（296至347天）的疾病水平高出两倍，这主要是由于白色综合症增加了2.5倍，以及其他迹象增加了六倍相对于很少或没有羽流暴露的珊瑚礁（0至9天）。将沉积物暴露水平、珊瑚群落组成和覆盖、捕食和多种热应力指数纳入的多变量建模和排序进一步证实，沉积物羽流暴露水平是疾病和其他珊瑚健康指标受损的主要驱动因素。这项研究提供了第一个证据，将疏浚相关的沉积和浑浊度与原位珊瑚疾病患病率升高联系起来。我们的研究结果可能有助于解释近几十年来观察到的全球珊瑚病流行率的增加，并表明，最大限度地减少与沿海开发相关的沉积和浊度将为控制珊瑚病流行病提供一个重要的管理工具。
In recent decades, coral reef ecosystems have declined to the extent that reefs are now threatened globally. While many water quality parameters have been proposed to contribute to reef declines, little evidence exists conclusively linking specific water quality parameters with increased disease prevalence in situ. Here we report evidence from in situ coral health surveys confirming that chronic exposure to dredging-associated sediment plumes significantly increase the prevalence of white syndromes, a devastating group of globally important coral diseases. Coral health surveys were conducted along a dredging-associated sediment plume gradient to assess the relationship between sedimentation, turbidity and coral health. Reefs exposed to the highest number of days under the sediment plume (296 to 347 days) had two-fold higher levels of disease, largely driven by a 2.5-fold increase in white syndromes, and a six-fold increase in other signs of compromised coral health relative to reefs with little or no plume exposure (0 to 9 days). Multivariate modeling and ordination incorporating sediment exposure level, coral community composition and cover, predation and multiple thermal stress indices provided further confirmation that sediment plume exposure level was the main driver of elevated disease and other compromised coral health indicators. This study provides the first evidence linking dredging-associated sedimentation and turbidity with elevated coral disease prevalence in situ. Our results may help to explain observed increases in global coral disease prevalence in recent decades and suggest that minimizing sedimentation and turbidity associated with coastal development will provide an important management tool for controlling coral disease epizootics.
影响因子：
56.9
作者：
Harvell, CD;Kim, K;Vasta, GR
通讯作者：
Vasta, GR