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Lower Florida Keys Surveys. Yellow lines indicate shoreline and channels surveyed. Red points labeled P4-P16 indicate prop-root-coral sites described in Table 2. Blue points labeled C5 and C6 indicate channel-coral sites described in Table 2. Map image is the intellectual property of Esri and is used herein under license. Copyright ©2019 Esri and its licensors. All rights reserved. Full-size DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9776/fig-4
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Coral reefs are degrading due to many synergistic stressors. Recently there have been a number of global reports of corals occupying mangrove habitats that provide a supportive environment or refugium for corals, sheltering them by reducing stressors such as oxidative light stress and low pH. This study used satellite imagery and manual ground-trut...
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... 21 km of linear mangrove shoreline was surveyed in the Lower Florida Keys between Big Pine Key and Boca Chica Key from 7 to 11 January 2020 (Fig. 4). Both prop-root-and channel-coral habitats were observed in the Lower Keys and environmental data were collected at representative sites (Tables 2 and 3). Although surveys included mangrove shorelines on the ocean side islands and in the more ...
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... from USGS, Esri, USDA Farm Service fig-2 backcountry islands, all prop-root-coral sites were found in natural tidal channels or man-made canals connecting the Atlantic Ocean with Upper Sugarloaf Sound, with the exception of Park Channel, which connects Lower and Upper Sugarloaf Sounds (Fig. 4). The most common species observed growing on prop roots was again various morphs of Porites porites, dominated by P. divaricata ( Fig. 5). Prop-root corals in the Lower Keys ranged in size (longest nominal axis) from 5 to 25 cm and channel corals ranged between 1 and 35 cm in size. Differences between Lower Keys channel-coral habitats ...
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... growing directly on and immediately adjacent to mangrove prop roots, and (2) narrow mangrove-lined tidal channels with coral colonies growing mid-channel, but still under the canopy's shade. Table 2 Mangrove-coral habitat data for Lower Florida Keys sites. Sites indicate locations of channel corals (C) and prop-root corals (P) as depicted in Fig. 4 The prop-root habitat was dominated by various morphs of P. porites (P. furcata, P. divaricata; Prada et al., 2014), but also included S. radians and F. fragum. The channel-coral habitat was dominated by S. radians and S. siderea, although single colonies of Solenastrea bournoni and Stephanocoenia intersepta were observed. Predictably, ...
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... indicates prop-root coral habitats. (GMT-4); Lat/Long, latitude and longitude in decimal degrees; DO, (optical) dissolved oxygen; FNU, Formazin Nephelometric Units. ...
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... (2019), water flow likely plays a key role. The prop-root corals in the Upper Keys occurred where we hypothesized, on the edges of deep channels with fast-moving currents that were directly connected to open-ocean water (Fig. 1). However, in the Lower Keys, all the mangrove-coral habitats were observed in protected internal/inland water bodies (Fig. 4) rather than on mangrove islands closer to oceanic water (i.e., along the Atlantic-facing side of offshore islands or along the Gulf of Mexico coast of the backcountry islands). In fact, the most heavily populated area of mangrove-coral habitat (both prop-root and channel corals) surveyed was in the 430 Sugarloaf Key Merged Canal ...
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... (Fig. 4) rather than on mangrove islands closer to oceanic water (i.e., along the Atlantic-facing side of offshore islands or along the Gulf of Mexico coast of the backcountry islands). In fact, the most heavily populated area of mangrove-coral habitat (both prop-root and channel corals) surveyed was in the 430 Sugarloaf Key Merged Canal (inset, Fig. 4). Using spatio-temporal modeling, a recent paper determined that SCTLD appears to move via bottom currents and sediment (Muller et al., 2020), so the disease may not easily transmit into channels and canals where corals are growing, affording them some protection. Further, Bayesian models suggested that corals on high-diversity reefs ...
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... Across all samples, 75% ± 0.04% (mean ± s.e.m.) of all reads belonged to P. lutea. Additionally, we identified the dominant Common dynamics in biological traits observed in corals living in mangrove environments, characterized of higher temperatures (red color in the scheme), higher or lower salinity levels (red and blue color together), and lower oxygen, light, and pH levels (blue color) compared to neighboring reef sites [8][9][10][11][13][14][15]17,18,97,98 (see Supplemental Table 1). To cope with such climate change like fluctuations in abiotic environmental features, corals put in place trade-offs spanning between different scales of biological organization (organismal to population levels). ...
The alarming rate of climate change demands new management strategies to protect coral reefs. Environments such as mangrove lagoons, characterized by extreme variations in multiple abiotic factors, are viewed as potential sources of stress-tolerant corals for strategies such as assisted evolution and coral propagation. However, biological trade-offs for adaptation to such extremes are poorly known. Here, we investigate the reef-building coral Porites lutea thriving in both mangrove and reef sites and show that stress-tolerance comes with compromises in genetic and energetic mechanisms and skeletal characteristics. We observe reduced genetic diversity and gene expression variability in mangrove corals, a disadvantage under future harsher selective pressure. We find reduced density, thickness and higher porosity in coral skeletons from mangroves, symptoms of metabolic energy redirection to stress response functions. These findings demonstrate the need for caution when utilizing stress-tolerant corals in human interventions, as current survival in extremes may compromise future competitive fitness.
... This allows for red mangroves to commonly occur near coral reefs, and several studies have documented corals growing in mangrove habitats (Kellogg et al., 2020;Scavo Lord et al., 2020;Yates et al., 2014). ...
We conducted visual fish surveys in coexisting mangrove‐coral (CMC) habitats in Panama to analyze the effect of coral presence in mangrove habitats on the fish assemblage. Our study revealed that CMC habitats harbor distinct fish assemblages compared to mangrove habitats without coral, with greater species richness and increased herbivore abundance. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material. Realizamos estudios visuales de comunidades de peces en hábitats coexistentes de manglares y corales (CMC) en Panamá para analizar el efecto de la presencia de coral en comunidades ícticas asociadas al mangle. Nuestro estudio reveló que los hábitats CMC albergan comunidades de peces distintas en comparación con los hábitats de manglar sin coral, presentando una mayor riqueza de especies y una mayor abundancia de peces herbívoros. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material. We conducted visual fish surveys in coexisting mangrove‐coral (CMC) habitats to analyze the effect of coral presence in mangrove habitats on the fish assemblage. Our study revealed that CMC habitats harbor distinct fish assemblages compared to mangrove habitats without coral, with greater species richness and increased herbivore abundance.
... Shading was also used to elucidate different effects of light on coral growth (Rinkevich and Loya, 1984;Rocha et al., 2013b), which resulted in health improvements of corals grown for the aquarium trade (Rocha et al., 2013a). More recently, shading research has also been used to understand coral distribution patterns and physiology among mesophotic and shallow reefs (Tamir et al., 2019;Ben-Zvi et al., 2021;Lesser et al., 2021), and to describe how low light environments may act as refugia for corals against climate change (Kellogg et al., 2020;Stewart et al., 2021). ...
... Shaded corals subject to high temperature stress will, therefore, be less likely to bleach than unshaded corals under the same stress (Baker et al., 2008). Recent research is finding positive effects of reduced light habitats (e.g., corals growing under mangrove shade) (Yates et al., 2014;Kellogg et al., 2020;Stewart et al., 2021) and other shading sources (e.g., also including turbidity, clouds and artificial shades). A number of authors suggest that such natural shading could help conserve corals under climate change scenarios (Cacciapaglia and van Woesik, 2016;Bellworthy and Fine, 2017;Coelho et al., 2017;Gonzalez-Espinosa and Donner, 2021), but the percentage cover of such natural shading only impacts a tiny fraction of coral reefs around the world. ...
The current coral reefs crisis is motivating a number of innovative projects attempting to leverage new mechanisms to avoid coral bleaching, reduce coral mortality and restore damaged reefs. Shading the reef, through seawater atomised fogging, is one tool in development to reduce levels of irradiance and temperature. To evaluate the potential viability of this concept, here we review 91 years (1930–2021) of published research looking at the effects of different levels of shade and light on coral reefs. We summarised the types of studies, places, coral species used, common responses variable measured, and types of shades used among studies. We discuss issues related to reef scale shading applicability, different methods used to measure light, standardisation methods and most importantly the positive and negative effects of shading corals.
... Providing safe havens for coral reefs and its inhabitants is not a new concept and forms the basis of marine protected areas [18]. Intensifying risk to reefs from climate change has, however, driven efforts to identify novel types of reef safe havens [19][20][21]. Reef safe havens typically have different environmental pressures and/or abiotic conditions than neighbouring reef sites that shape the environmental histories of resident species and define the potential ecosystem services they can provide [22] (Table 1). For example, local abiotic conditions may promote stress hardened phenotypes [23,24], while in other locations, the environment may buffer residents from stress [25,26]. ...
Reducing the global reliance on fossil fuels is essential to ensure the long-term survival of coral reefs, but until this happens, alternative tools are required to safeguard their future. One emerging tool is to locate areas where corals are surviving well despite the changing climate. Such locations include refuges, refugia, hotspots of resilience, bright spots, contemporary near-pristine reefs, and hope spots that are collectively named reef ‘safe havens' in this mini-review. Safe havens have intrinsic value for reefs through services such as environmental buffering, maintaining near-pristine reef conditions, or housing corals naturally adapted to future environmental conditions. Spatial and temporal variance in physicochemical conditions and exposure to stress however preclude certainty over the ubiquitous long-term capacity of reef safe havens to maintain protective service provision. To effectively integrate reef safe havens into proactive reef management and contingency planning for climate change scenarios, thus requires an understanding of their differences, potential values, and predispositions to stress. To this purpose, I provide a high-level review on the defining characteristics of different coral reef safe havens, how they are being utilised in proactive reef management and what risk and susceptibilities they inherently have. The mini-review concludes with an outline of the potential for reef safe haven habitats to support contingency planning of coral reefs under an uncertain future from intensifying climate change.
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Genetic diversity has an important role in the stability of coral populations in coping with disturbances. In the last three bleaching events, the coral Echinopora lamellosa survived better in the eastern- than the western- Lombok waters that are not related to algal symbiont diversity. The present study aimed to assess the genetic diversity of E. lamellosa from the two locations in the Lombok waters. The ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (whole ITS region) marker was used to identify and to determine the genetic structure, genetic variation, and demographic pattern of E. lamellosa. The results showed that E. lamellosa of the two locations are two different populations. The haplotype diversity was very high indicating a predominance of sexual reproduction mode for both eastern and western populations. The phylogenetic topology suggests there is possible connectivity between populations, whereas the haplotype network exhibits a restricted gene flow between the two populations. The results suggest that the present E. lamellosa populations were from both surviving colonies and new recruitment of long-distance larvae. Both population likely shares the same larvae supply brought from source-reefs in the Flores Sea or Makassar Strait by the Indonesian Throughflow. The present and previous studies revealed that genetic diversity alone yet to explain the resistance of E. lamellosa in eastern and western Lombok waters.
... Many coral species are habitat generalists that can thrive in a multitude of different environments in addition to coral reefs, including seagrass beds (Camp et al., 2016;Lohr et al., 2017) and mangroves. With respect to mangroves, corals have been reported growing directly on mangrove prop roots (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Hernández Fernández, 2015;Rogers, 2017;Bengtsson et al., 2019;Kellogg et al., 2020), on the benthos under the shade of the mangrove canopy (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Rogers, 2017;Kellogg et al., 2020), and in lagoonal habits bounded by mangroves, although not shaded by the mangrove canopy (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Camp et al., 2016Camp et al., , 2019Rogers, 2017). About half of the approximately 75 coral species that occur on Caribbean reefs also occur in mangrove habitats (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Hernández Fernández, 2015;Rogers, 2017;Bengtsson et al., 2019;Kellogg et al., 2020). ...
... Many coral species are habitat generalists that can thrive in a multitude of different environments in addition to coral reefs, including seagrass beds (Camp et al., 2016;Lohr et al., 2017) and mangroves. With respect to mangroves, corals have been reported growing directly on mangrove prop roots (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Hernández Fernández, 2015;Rogers, 2017;Bengtsson et al., 2019;Kellogg et al., 2020), on the benthos under the shade of the mangrove canopy (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Rogers, 2017;Kellogg et al., 2020), and in lagoonal habits bounded by mangroves, although not shaded by the mangrove canopy (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Camp et al., 2016Camp et al., , 2019Rogers, 2017). About half of the approximately 75 coral species that occur on Caribbean reefs also occur in mangrove habitats (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Hernández Fernández, 2015;Rogers, 2017;Bengtsson et al., 2019;Kellogg et al., 2020). ...
... With respect to mangroves, corals have been reported growing directly on mangrove prop roots (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Hernández Fernández, 2015;Rogers, 2017;Bengtsson et al., 2019;Kellogg et al., 2020), on the benthos under the shade of the mangrove canopy (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Rogers, 2017;Kellogg et al., 2020), and in lagoonal habits bounded by mangroves, although not shaded by the mangrove canopy (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Camp et al., 2016Camp et al., , 2019Rogers, 2017). About half of the approximately 75 coral species that occur on Caribbean reefs also occur in mangrove habitats (Rogers and Herlan, 2012;Yates et al., 2014;Hernández Fernández, 2015;Rogers, 2017;Bengtsson et al., 2019;Kellogg et al., 2020). ...
As coral reefs experience dramatic declines in coral cover throughout the tropics, there is an urgent need to understand the role that non-reef habitats, such as mangroves, play in the ecological niche of corals. Mangrove habitats present a challenge to reef-dwelling corals because they can differ dramatically from adjacent reef habitats with respect to key environmental parameters, such as light. Because variation in light within reef habitats is known to drive intraspecific differences in coral phenotype, we hypothesized that coral species that can exploit both reef and mangrove habitats will exhibit predictable differences in phenotypes between habitats. To investigate how intraspecific variation, driven by either local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity, might enable particular coral species to exploit these two qualitatively different habitat types, we compared the phenotypes of two widespread Caribbean corals, Porites divaricata and Porites astreoides, in mangrove versus lagoon habitats on Turneffe Atoll, Belize. We document significant differences in colony size, color, structural complexity, and corallite morphology between habitats. In every instance, the phenotypic differences between mangrove prop root and lagoon corals exhibited consistent trends in both P. divaricata and P. astreoides. We believe this study is the first to document intraspecific phenotypic diversity in corals occupying mangrove prop root versus lagoonal patch reef habitats. A difference in the capacity to adopt an alternative phenotype that is well suited to the mangrove habitat may explain why some reef coral species can exploit mangroves, while others cannot.
... Red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) frequently occur in close proximity to reefs, and there are a few studies documenting the occurrence of corals growing among and near the mangrove roots such as in the saltwater ponds and channels of Belize (Macintyre et al. 2000, Bengtsson et al. 2019, Scavo Lord et al. 2020, bays of the U.S. Virgin Islands (Rogers 2009, Rogers and Herlan 2012, Yates et al. 2014, and the Florida Keys (Kellogg et al. 2020). These observational studies suggest that mangroves can serve as an alternative habitat for corals and perhaps a refugium in the face of continued reef degradation. ...
Foundation species structure communities by creating habitat and modifying environmental conditions, and there is increasing interest in how foundation species, such as corals and mangroves, interact with one another as these interactions can have cascading effects on diversity and abundance of associated organisms. Given recent reports of corals living on or between mangrove roots under the canopy, we hypothesized that mangroves can serve as a refuge for corals from stresses such as high solar irradiance and temperatures that are associated with the adjacent shallow reef. Using field surveys and a reciprocal transplant experiment, we tested the effects of light and habitat (e.g., reef or mangrove) on coral community structure (i.e., coral species richness, abundance, and diversity) and condition (i.e., level of bleaching, tissue loss, and mortality). The surveys revealed higher coral richness in mangroves than on the adjacent reef, indicating that mangroves can serve as refugia for numerous coral species. Our experimental manipulation of light in mangrove and reef habitats indicated that light intensity is a key environmental parameter mediating coral bleaching and survival, with mangrove habitats providing a refuge from the light stress experienced on nearby shallow reefs. Moreover, our experiment revealed that reef corals bleached less than mangrove corals following transplantation, regardless of whether they were transplanted into mangrove or reef habitats. We suggest that the lower coral richness of the shallow reef is the result of the extreme environmental conditions that select for a subset of coral species able to tolerate these conditions. The facilitative interactions that allow mangroves to act as coral refugia by reducing environmental stress will likely become increasingly important with global climate change.
Ocean acidification (OA) has resulted in global-scale changes in ocean chemistry, which can disturb marine organisms and ecosystems. Despite its extensively populated coastline, many marine-dependent communities, and valuable economies, the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) remains a relatively understudied region with respect to acidification. In general, the warm waters of the GOM are better buffered from acidification compared to higher latitude seas, yet long-term acidification has been documented in several GOM regions. OA within the GOM is recognized as spatially variable, particularly within the coastal zone where numerous physical and biogeochemical processes contribute to carbonate chemistry dynamics. The historical progression of OA within the entire GOM is difficult to assess because only a few dedicated long-term monitoring sites have recently been established, and full-water column observations are limited. However, environmental drivers on smaller scales that affect GOM acidification were found to include freshwater, nutrient, and carbonate discharge from large rivers; ocean warming, circulation and residence times; and episodic extreme weather events. GOM marine ecosystems provide essential services, including coastline protection and carbon dioxide removal, and habitats for many marine species that are economically and ecologically important. However, organismal and ecosystem responses to OA are not well constrained for the GOM due to a lack of studies examining the specific effects of OA on regionally relevant species under contemporary and projected conditions. Tackling the vast number of remaining scientific unknowns in this region can be coordinated through regional capacity networks, such as the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Acidification Network (GCAN), working to achieve a system-wide understanding of Gulf OA and its impacts. Here we synthesize the current peer-reviewed literature on GOM acidification across the ocean-estuarine continuum and identify critical knowledge, research, and monitoring gaps that limit our current understanding of environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic impacts from acidification.
Marine ecosystems are structured by coexisting species occurring in adjacent or nested assemblages. Mangroves and corals are typically observed in adjacent assemblages (i.e., mangrove forests and coral reefs) but are increasingly reported in nested mangrove-coral assemblages with corals living within mangrove habitats. Here we define these nested assemblages as “coexisting mangrove-coral” (CMC) habitats and review the scientific literature to date to formalize a baseline understanding of these ecosystems and create a foundation for future studies. We identify 130 species of corals living within mangrove habitats across 12 locations spanning the Caribbean Sea, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and South Pacific. We then provide the first description, to our knowledge, of a canopy CMC habitat type located in Bocas del Toro, Panama. This canopy CMC habitat is one of the most coral rich CMC habitats reported in the world, with 34 species of corals growing on and/or among submerged red mangrove aerial roots. Based on our literature review and field data, we identify biotic and abiotic characteristics common to CMC systems to create a classification framework of CMC habitat categories: (1) Lagoon, (2) Inlet, (3) Edge, and (4) Canopy. We then use the compiled data to create a GIS model to suggest where additional CMC habitats may occur globally. In a time where many ecosystems are at risk of disappearing, discovery and description of alternative habitats for species of critical concern are of utmost importance for their conservation and management.
