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Biodiversity and resilience of coral reefs
April 08, 2003With over 3000 fish species, Indo-Pacific coral reefs represent one of the most diverse ecosystems on the globe. It is easy to assume that the loss of one or two species from these systems would have little impact.
However, in an article in the April issue of Ecology Letters, Bellwood and colleagues document major changes in Indo-Pacific coral reef ecosystems as a result of over-fishing just one species, the giant humphead parrotfish. As each parrotfish consumes over 5 tonnes of reef carbonate per year, this species represents a major bioeroding agent on reefs. On unexploited reefs this bioerosion balances reef growth.
This species, however, is highly vulnerable to spearfishing. The researchers found that human activity was negatively correlated with fish bioerosion rates, regardless of local fish biodiversity. High biodiversity does not ensure ecosystem resilience. The loss of just one species may markedly change the nature of coral reef ecosystems.
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Coral Reef News and Current Coral Reef Events RSSProtection zones in the wrong place to prevent coral reef collapse
Conservation zones are in the wrong place to protect vulnerable coral reefs from the effects of global warming, an international team of scientists warned today.
Protection zones in the wrong place to prevent coral reef collapse
Conservation zones are in the wrong place to protect vulnerable coral reefs from the effects of global warming, an international team of scientists warned today.
Shipwrecks on coral reefs harbor unwanted species
Shipwrecks on coral reefs may increase invasion of unwanted species, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey study. These unwanted species can completely overtake the reef and eliminate all the native coral, dramatically decreasing the diversity of marine organisms on the reef.
A recipe for saving the world's oceans from an extinction crisis
Jeremy Jackson, senior scientist emeritus of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, asserts in the Aug. 12 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that the following steps, if taken immediately, could reverse the demise of the oceans: Establish marine reserves, enforce fishing regulations, implement aquaculture, remove subsidies on fertilizer use, muster human ingenuity to limit fossil fuel consumption, buy time by establishing local conservation measures.
Fossil and molecular evidence reveals the history of major marine biodiversity hotspots
The journal "Science" has published in the issue of the 1st of August the results of a detailed research work about the evolution of marine diversity all through the last 50 million years.
Lionfish decimating tropical fish populations, threaten coral reefs
The invasion of predatory lionfish in the Caribbean region poses yet another major threat there to coral reef ecosystems - a new study has found that within a short period after the entry of lionfish into an area, the survival of other reef fishes is slashed by about 80 percent.
Scientists discover new reefs teeming with marine life in Brazil
Scientists announced today the discovery of reef structures they believe doubles the size of the Southern Atlantic Ocean's largest and richest reef system, the Abrolhos Bank, off the southern coast of Brazil's Bahia state. The newly discovered area is also far more abundant in marine life than the previously known Abrolhos reef system, one of the world's most unique and important reefs.
NOAA report states half of US coral reefs in 'poor' or 'fair' condition
Nearly half of U.S. coral reef ecosystems are considered to be in "poor" or "fair" condition according to a new NOAA analysis of the health of coral reefs under U.S. jurisdiction.
Dry Tortugas show positive trends: Protected area slowly rebounding
A team of 38 research divers from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, NOAA Fisheries Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, REEF, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington recently completed a successful 20-day biennial census to measure how the protected status of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's Tortugas Ecological Reserve and Dry Tortugas National Park's Research Natural Area are helping the regional ecosystem rebound from decades of overfishing and environmental changes.
Saltwater Sleuths: NOAA Researchers Seek Clues in Unusual Places to Help Determine the Ages of Fish and Shellfish Populations
Fishery biologist Sandy Sutherland looks through the lens of the microscope at tiny sections of fish earbones, known as otoliths, each showing annual bands of growth.
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