Blakeway David, Byers Michael, Stoddart James, Rossendell Jason
Marine Research, MScience Pty Ltd, Nedlands, western Australia, Australia.
PLoS One. 2013 Sep 10;8(9):e75281. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075281. eCollection 2013.
A 0.6 hectare artificial reef of local rock and recycled concrete sleepers was constructed in December 2006 at Parker Point in the industrial port of Dampier, western Australia, with the aim of providing an environmental offset for a nearshore coral community lost to land reclamation. Corals successfully colonised the artificial reef, despite the relatively harsh environmental conditions at the site (annual water temperature range 18-32°C, intermittent high turbidity, frequent cyclones, frequent nearby ship movements). Coral settlement to the artificial reef was examined by terracotta tile deployments, and later stages of coral community development were examined by in-situ visual surveys within fixed 25 x 25 cm quadrats on the rock and concrete substrates. Mean coral density on the tiles varied from 113 ± 17 SE to 909 ± 85 SE per m(2) over five deployments, whereas mean coral density in the quadrats was only 6.0 ± 1.0 SE per m(2) at eight months post construction, increasing to 24.0 ± 2.1 SE per m(2) at 62 months post construction. Coral taxa colonising the artificial reef were a subset of those on the surrounding natural reef, but occurred in different proportions--Pseudosiderastrea tayami, Mycedium elephantotus and Leptastrea purpurea being disproportionately abundant on the artificial reef. Coral cover increased rapidly in the later stages of the study, reaching 2.3 ± 0.7 SE % at 62 months post construction. This study indicates that simple materials of opportunity can provide a suitable substrate for coral recruitment in Dampier Harbour, and that natural colonisation at the study site remains sufficient to initiate a coral community on artificial substrate despite ongoing natural and anthropogenic perturbations.
2006年12月，在西澳大利亚丹皮尔工业港的帕克角建造了一个面积为0.6公顷的人工鱼礁，其由当地岩石和回收混凝土轨枕构成，目的是为因填海而消失的近岸珊瑚群落提供环境补偿。尽管该地点环境条件相对恶劣（年水温范围为18 - 至32°C，间歇性高浊度，频繁的气旋，附近频繁的船舶活动），珊瑚仍成功地在人工鱼礁上定殖。通过兵马俑瓷砖部署来检查珊瑚在人工鱼礁上的附着情况，并且通过在岩石和混凝土基质上固定的25×25厘米样方内进行现场目视调查来检查珊瑚群落发育的后期阶段。在五次部署中，瓷砖上的平均珊瑚密度每平方米从113±17标准误变化到909±85标准误，而在建造后八个月时，样方内的平均珊瑚密度仅为每平方米6.0±1.0标准误，在建造后62个月时增加到每平方米24.0±2.1标准误。在人工鱼礁上定殖的珊瑚分类群是周围天然珊瑚礁上的分类群的一个子集，但比例不同——泰勒拟侧星珊瑚、象鼻菌珊瑚和紫细薄星珊瑚在人工鱼礁上的数量特别多。在研究后期，珊瑚覆盖度迅速增加，在建造后62个月时达到2.3±0.7标准误%。这项研究表明，简单的现成材料可以为丹皮尔港的珊瑚附着提供合适的基质，并且尽管存在持续的自然和人为干扰，但研究地点的自然定殖仍然足以在人工基质上启动珊瑚群落。
