Tebbett Sterling B, Streit Robert P, Morais Juliano, Schlaefer Jodie A, Swan Sam, Bellwood David R
Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions, College of Science and Engineering, 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, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia.
Mar Environ Res. 2022 Nov;181:105752. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105752. Epub 2022 Sep 10.
Cyanobacterial mats are increasingly recognised as a symptom of coral reef change. However, the spatial distribution of cyanobacterial mats during coral bleaching has received limited attention. We explored cyanobacterial mat distribution during a bleaching event at Lizard Island and considered hydrodynamics as a potential modifier. During bleaching cyanobacterial mats covered up to 34% of the benthos at a transect scale, while some quadrats (1 m) were covered almost entirely (97.5%). The spatial distribution of cyanobacterial mats was limited to areas with slower water currents. Coral cover declined by 44% overall, although cyanobacterial mats were not spatially coupled to the magnitude of coral loss. Overall, the marked increase in cyanobacterial mat cover was an ephemeral spike, not a sustained change, with cover returning to 0.4% within 6 months. Cyanobacterial mats clearly represent dynamic space holders on coral reefs, with a marked capacity to rapidly exploit change, if conditions are right.
蓝藻席越来越被认为是珊瑚礁变化的一种表现。然而，在珊瑚白化期间蓝藻席的空间分布受到的关注有限。我们在蜥蜴岛的一次白化事件中探究了蓝藻席的分布，并将水动力作为一个潜在的影响因素进行了考量。在白化期间，在样带尺度上蓝藻席覆盖了高达34%的底栖生物，而一些样方（1米）几乎被完全覆盖（97.5%）。蓝藻席的空间分布局限于水流较缓的区域。珊瑚覆盖率总体下降了44%，尽管蓝藻席在空间上与珊瑚损失的程度并无关联。总体而言，蓝藻席覆盖的显著增加是一个短暂的峰值，而非持续变化，其覆盖率在6个月内就恢复到了0.4%。蓝藻席显然是珊瑚礁上动态的空间占据者，若条件适宜，具有迅速利用变化的显著能力。
