ESTABLISHING REFERENCE POINTS TO ASSESS LONG-TERM CHANGE IN ZOOXANTHELLATE CORAL COMMUNITIES OF THE NORTHERN GALAPAGOS CORAL REEFS
ESTABLISHING REFERENCE POINTS TO ASSESS LONG-TERM CHANGE IN ZOOXANTHELLATE CORAL COMMUNITIES OF THE NORTHERN GALAPAGOS CORAL REEFS
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建立参考点来评估加拉帕戈斯北部珊瑚礁虫黄藻珊瑚群落的长期变化
DOI：
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发表时间：
2009
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
A. Chiriboga
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
S. Banks;M. Vera;A. Chiriboga
摘要1982-2003年厄尔尼诺事件期间，由于漂白和随后的生物侵蚀，虫黄藻类珊瑚数量急剧减少，导致全岛珊瑚栖息地丧失和碎片化。缓慢的自然恢复和全球气候变化对珊瑚的风险在一个多用途保护区提出了重要的珊瑚保护问题。对沃尔夫岛、达尔文岛和马尔切纳岛上剩余的最大珊瑚礁群落进行了调查，以提供关于这些最后存留的珊瑚礁系统的状况的信息，作为今后评估气候变化、人类利用和管理对这些珊瑚礁系统影响的基础。在2005年9月至2007年2月期间，在四个研究地点调查了2250米的潮下生境，深度分别为15米和6米。在每个地点，我们记录了底物异质性、底栖动物珊瑚多样性和相对丰度、群体大小、珊瑚礁浮雕和健康的简单测量，以及相关潮下海洋群落(固着的大型无脊椎动物和藻类、可移动的大型无脊椎动物和珊瑚鱼)的相对丰度和大小分布。鉴于旅游观光率高，珊瑚礁范围有限，地点间珊瑚物种组成和相关潮下组合的规模相当小，北部岛屿特有的潮下物种多样性高，以及频繁的气候压力，建议采取适当的额外保护措施，如低影响的固定系泊。这些措施将有助于保护这些在北部和整个群岛形成栖息地的关键物种的生态系统功能。结果
SUMMARY Dramatic reduction in zooxanthellate corals through bleaching during the 1982–3 El Nino event and subsequent bioerosion have resulted in archipelago-wide loss and fragmentation of coral habitat. Slow natural recovery and the risk to corals from global climate change raise important coral conservation questions in a multi-use reserve. The largest coral reef communities remaining at Wolf, Darwin and Marchena islands were surveyed, to provide information on the conditionof these last persisting reef systems as a basis for future evaluation of the effects of climate change, human use and management upon them. Over the period September 2005 to February 2007, 2250 m of subtidal habitat were surveyed at 15 m and 6 m depth at four study sites. At each site we recorded substrate heterogeneity, zooxanthellate coral diversity and relative abundance, simple measurements of colony size, reef relief and health, and relative abundances and size distributions of the associated subtidal marine community (sessile macroinvertebrates and algae, mobile macro-invertebrates and reef fish). Given the high level of tourism visitation, restricted range of the coral reef, considerable small scale between-site differences in coral species composition and associated subtidal assemblages, high subtidal species diversity unique to the northerly islands, and strong frequent climatic stress, appropriate additional protective measures, such as low impact fixed moorings, are recommended. Such measures will help conserve the ecosystem function of these key habitat-forming species both in the north and for the archipelago as a whole. RESUMEN