Bruce Thiago, Meirelles Pedro M, Garcia Gizele, Paranhos Rodolfo, Rezende Carlos E, de Moura Rodrigo L, Filho Ronaldo-Francini, Coni Ericka O C, Vasconcelos Ana Tereza, Amado Filho Gilberto, Hatay Mark, Schmieder Robert, Edwards Robert, Dinsdale Elizabeth, Thompson Fabiano L
Department of Marine Biology, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e36687. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036687. Epub 2012 Jun 5.
The health of the coral reefs of the Abrolhos Bank (Southwestern Atlantic) was characterized with a holistic approach using measurements of four ecosystem components: (i) inorganic and organic nutrient concentrations, [1] fish biomass, [1] macroalgal and coral cover and (iv) microbial community composition and abundance. The possible benefits of protection from fishing were particularly evaluated by comparing sites with varying levels of protection. Two reefs within the well-enforced no-take area of the National Marine Park of Abrolhos (Parcel dos Abrolhos and California) were compared with two unprotected coastal reefs (Sebastião Gomes and Pedra de Leste) and one legally protected but poorly enforced coastal reef (the "paper park" of Timbebas Reef). The fish biomass was lower and the fleshy macroalgal cover was higher in the unprotected reefs compared with the protected areas. The unprotected and protected reefs had similar seawater chemistry. Lower vibrio CFU counts were observed in the fully protected area of California Reef. Metagenome analysis showed that the unprotected reefs had a higher abundance of archaeal and viral sequences and more bacterial pathogens, while the protected reefs had a higher abundance of genes related to photosynthesis. Similar to other reef systems in the world, there was evidence that reductions in the biomass of herbivorous fishes and the consequent increase in macroalgal cover in the Abrolhos Bank may be affecting microbial diversity and abundance. Through the integration of different types of ecological data, the present study showed that protection from fishing may lead to greater reef health. The data presented herein suggest that protected coral reefs have higher microbial diversity, with the most degraded reef (Sebastião Gomes) showing a marked reduction in microbial species richness. It is concluded that ecological conditions in unprotected reefs may promote the growth and rapid evolution of opportunistic microbial pathogens.
通过对四个生态系统组成部分进行测量，采用整体方法对阿布洛霍斯浅滩（西南大西洋）珊瑚礁的健康状况进行了表征：（i）无机和有机营养物浓度，[1]鱼类生物量，[1]大型藻类和珊瑚覆盖率，以及（iv）微生物群落组成和丰度。通过比较不同保护水平的地点，特别评估了禁止捕鱼保护措施可能带来的益处。将阿布洛霍斯国家海洋公园严格执行的禁捕区内的两个珊瑚礁（阿布洛霍斯地块和加利福尼亚）与两个未受保护的沿海珊瑚礁（塞巴斯蒂昂·戈麦斯和佩德拉·德·莱斯特）以及一个受法律保护但执行不力的沿海珊瑚礁（廷贝巴斯礁“纸上公园”）进行了比较。与保护区相比，未受保护的珊瑚礁鱼类生物量较低，肉质大型藻类覆盖率较高。未受保护和受保护的珊瑚礁海水化学性质相似。在加利福尼亚礁的完全保护区观察到较低的弧菌菌落形成单位数量。宏基因组分析表明，未受保护的珊瑚礁古菌和病毒序列丰度较高，细菌病原体较多，而受保护的珊瑚礁与光合作用相关的基因丰度较高。与世界上其他珊瑚礁系统类似，有证据表明，阿布洛霍斯浅滩食草鱼类生物量的减少以及随之而来的大型藻类覆盖率的增加可能正在影响微生物的多样性和丰度。通过整合不同类型的生态数据，本研究表明禁止捕鱼保护措施可能会使珊瑚礁更健康。本文提供的数据表明，受保护的珊瑚礁具有更高的微生物多样性，退化最严重的珊瑚礁（塞巴斯蒂昂·戈麦斯）微生物物种丰富度显著降低。得出的结论是，未受保护珊瑚礁的生态条件可能会促进机会性微生物病原体的生长和快速进化。
