Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions, College of Science and Engineering and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia.
Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions, College of Science and Engineering and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia.
Mar Environ Res. 2021 Jun;168:105311. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105311. Epub 2021 Mar 24.
Algal turfs are an abundant and highly productive component of coral reef ecosystems. However, our understanding of the drivers that shape algal turf productivity across studies and among reefs is limited. Based on published studies we considered how different factors may shape turf productivity and turnover rates. Of the factors considered, depth was the primary driver of turf productivity rates, while turnover was predominantly related to turf biomass. We also highlight shortcomings in the available data collected on turf productivity to-date; most data were collected prior to global coral bleaching events, within a limited geographic range, and were largely from experimental substrata. Despite the fact turfs are a widespread benthic covering on most coral reefs, and one of the major sources of benthic productivity, our understanding of their productivity is constrained by both a paucity of data and methodological limitations. We offer a potential way forward to address these challenges.
藻坪是珊瑚礁生态系统中丰富且具有高生产力的组成部分。然而，我们对于驱动藻坪生产力的因素的理解在不同研究和不同珊瑚礁之间是有限的。基于已发表的研究，我们考虑了不同因素可能如何塑造藻坪生产力和周转率。在所考虑的因素中，深度是藻坪生产力的主要驱动因素，而周转率主要与藻坪生物量有关。我们还强调了迄今为止在藻坪生产力方面收集到的可用数据的不足之处；大多数数据是在全球珊瑚白化事件之前、在有限的地理范围内收集的，并且主要来自实验性基质。尽管藻坪是大多数珊瑚礁上广泛存在的底栖覆盖物，也是底栖生产力的主要来源之一，但由于数据匮乏和方法学限制，我们对其生产力的理解受到限制。我们提供了一种解决这些挑战的潜在方法。
