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The use of artificial substrate units to improve inventories of cryptic crustacean species on Caribbean coral reefs.

ABSTRACT: Motile cryptofauna inhabiting coral reefs are complex assemblages that utilize the space available among dead coral stands and the surrounding coral rubble substrate. They comprise a group of organisms largely overlooked in biodiversity estimates because they are hard to collect and identify, and their collection causes disturbance that is unsustainable in light of widespread reef degradation. Artificial substrate units (ASUs) provide a better sampling alternative and have the potential to enhance biodiversity estimates. The present study examines the effectiveness of ASUs made with defaunated coral rubble to estimate the diversity of motile cryptic crustaceans in the back-reef zone of the Puerto Morelos Reef National Park, Mexico. Species richness, Simpson's diversity index, Shannon-Wiener index and the composition of assemblages were compared between ASUs and samples from the surrounding coral rubble substrate. A combined total of 2,740 specimens of 178 different species, belonging to five orders of Crustacea (Amphipoda, Cumacea, Isopoda, Tanaidacea and Decapoda) were collected. Species richness was higher in the surrounding coral rubble and Shannon-Wiener and Simpson indexes were higher in ASUs. Species composition differed between methods, with only 71 species being shared among sampling methods. Decapoda was more speciose in ASUs and Peracarids in the surrounding coral rubble. Combining the use of ASUs with surrounding rubble provided a better inventory of motile cryptic crustacean biodiversity, as 65% of the species were represented by one or two specimens.

SUBMITTER: Monroy-Velazquez LV

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7690294 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The use of artificial substrate units to improve inventories of cryptic crustacean species on Caribbean coral reefs.

Monroy-Velázquez Luz Verónica LV Rodríguez-Martínez Rosa E RE Blanchon Paul P Alvarez Fernando F

PeerJ 20201123

Motile cryptofauna inhabiting coral reefs are complex assemblages that utilize the space available among dead coral stands and the surrounding coral rubble substrate. They comprise a group of organisms largely overlooked in biodiversity estimates because they are hard to collect and identify, and their collection causes disturbance that is unsustainable in light of widespread reef degradation. Artificial substrate units (ASUs) provide a better sampling alternative and have the potential to enhan ...[more]

PMID: 33282560

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Project description:BackgroundWhat are the determinant factors of community assemblies in the most diverse ecosystem in the ocean? Coral reefs can be divided in continental (i.e., reefs that develop on the continental shelf, including siliciclastic reefs) and oceanic (i.e., far off the continental shelf, usually on volcanic substratum); whether or not these habitat differences impose community-wide ecological divergence or species exclusion/coexistence with evolutionary consequences, is unknown.MethodsStudying Caribbean octocorals as model system, we determined the phylogenetic community structure in a coral reef community, making emphasis on species coexistence evidenced on trait evolution and environmental feedbacks. Forty-nine species represented in five families constituted the species pool from which a phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using mtDNA. We included data from 11 localities in the Western Caribbean (Colombia) including most reef types. To test diversity-environment and phenotype-environment relationships, phylogenetic community structure and trait evolution we carried out comparative analyses implementing ecological and evolutionary approaches.ResultsPhylogenetic inferences suggest clustering of oceanic reefs (e.g., atolls) contrasting with phylogenetic overdispersion of continental reefs (e.g., reefs banks). Additionally, atolls and barrier reefs had the highest species diversity (Shannon index) whereas phylogenetic diversity was higher in reef banks. The discriminant component analysis supported this differentiation between oceanic and continental reefs, where continental octocoral species tend to have greater calyx apertures, thicker branches, prominent calyces and azooxanthellate species. This analysis also indicated a clear separation between the slope and the remaining habitats, caused by the presence or absence of Symbiodinium. K statistic analysis showed that this trait is conserved as well as the branch shape.DiscussionThere was strong octocoral community structure with opposite diversity and composition patterns between oceanic and continental reefs. Even habitats with similar depths and overall environmental conditions did not share similar communities between oceanic and continental reefs. This indicates a strong regional influence over the local communities, probably due to water transparency differences between major reef types, i.e., oceanic vs. continental shelf-neritic. This was supported by contrasting patterns found in morphology, composition and evolutionary history of the species between atolls and reef banks.

Project description:Artificial reefs (ARs) have been used on coral reefs for ecological research, conservation, and socio-cultural purposes since the 1980s. We examined spatio-temporal patterns in AR deployment in tropical and subtropical coral reefs (up to 35° latitude) and evaluated their efficacy in meeting conservation objectives, using a systematic review of the scientific literature. Most deployments (136 studies) were in the North Atlantic and Central Indo-Pacific in 1980s - 2000s, with a pronounced shift to the Western Indo-Pacific in 2010s. Use of ARs in reef restoration or stressor mitigation increased markedly in response to accelerating coral decline over the last 2 decades. Studies that evaluated success in meeting conservation objectives (n = 51) commonly reported increasing fish abundance (55%), enhancing habitat quantity (31%) or coral cover (27%), and conserving target species (24%). Other objectives included stressor mitigation (22%), provision of coral nursery habitat (14%) or source populations (2%) and addressing socio-cultural and economic values (16%). Fish (55% of studies) and coral (53%) were the most commonly monitored taxa. Success in achieving conservation objectives was reported in 33 studies. Success rates were highest for provision of nursery habitat and increasing coral cover (each 71%). Increasing fish abundance or habitat quantity, mitigating environmental impacts, and attaining socio-cultural objectives were moderately successful (60-64%); conservation of target species was the least successful (42%). Failure in achieving objectives commonly was attributed to poor AR design or disruption by large-scale bleaching events. The scale of ARs generally was too small (m2 -10s m2) to address regional losses in coral cover, and study duration too short (< 5 years) to adequately assess ecologically relevant trends in coral cover and community composition. ARs are mostly likely to aid in reef conservation and restoration by providing nursery habitat for target species or recruitment substrate for corals and other organisms. Promoting local socio-cultural values also has potential for regional or global impact by increasing awareness of coral reef decline, if prioritized and properly monitored.

Dataset Information

The use of artificial substrate units to improve inventories of cryptic crustacean species on Caribbean coral reefs.

Publications

The use of artificial substrate units to improve inventories of cryptic crustacean species on Caribbean coral reefs.

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