School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Program in Ocean Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Sci Rep. 2024 Sep 27;14(1):22349. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-73185-2.
Coral reefs are declining due to anthropogenic warming. Nonetheless, some have recovered quickly from repeated bleaching events. Coral recovery depends on adaptation capabilities, fishing pressure, overall number of stressors, reef conditions before the event, and degree of connectivity. Coral reefs that are connected to many others can receive viable larvae and regain coverage faster. Around Moorea and Tahiti, within the Society Islands of French Polynesia, coral cover has regained its previous levels rapidly, despite several mass bleaching events over the past three decades. Here it is explored whether the connectivity with distant reefs may support such recovery by modeling the transport of coral larvae around the islands over 28 years. Ocean currents enable connectivity with the Tuamotu Islands, ~ 250 km to the northeast, that act as sources to Moorea and Tahiti for pelagic larval durations of three weeks or longer. The circulation around Moorea and Tahiti is very dynamic; mesoscale eddies can also halt the connectivity with the Tuamotu Islands and sporadically transport larvae from reefs to the west and southeast instead. With many undisturbed coral reefs within a 300 km radius and strong mesoscale variability, a dynamic, long-range connectivity may explain the recovery of reefs around Moorea and Tahiti.
由于人为变暖，珊瑚礁正在减少。尽管如此，一些珊瑚礁已经从反复的白化事件中迅速恢复。珊瑚礁的恢复取决于适应能力、捕捞压力、总体压力因素数量、事件发生前的珊瑚礁状况以及连通性。与许多其他珊瑚礁相连的珊瑚礁可以接收可行的幼虫并更快地恢复覆盖。在法属波利尼西亚的社会群岛的莫雷阿岛和塔希提岛周围，尽管在过去三十年中发生了几次大规模白化事件，但珊瑚覆盖率已迅速恢复到以前的水平。在这里，通过模拟 28 年来岛屿周围珊瑚幼虫的运输情况，探讨了与遥远珊瑚礁的连通性是否可以支持这种恢复。洋流使与 Tuamotu 群岛（东北约 250 公里）的连通成为可能，Tuamotu 群岛是 Moorea 和 Tahiti 的浮游幼虫源，持续时间为三周或更长时间。莫雷阿岛和塔希提岛周围的环流非常活跃；中尺度涡流也可能中断与 Tuamotu 群岛的连通，并偶尔将幼虫从珊瑚礁运送到西部和东南部。由于在 300 公里半径范围内有许多未受干扰的珊瑚礁和强烈的中尺度可变性，动态的远距离连通性可能解释了莫雷阿岛和塔希提岛周围珊瑚礁的恢复。
