Drivers of region-wide declines in architectural complexity on Caribbean reefs

Alvarez-Filip, Lorenzo, Gill, J. A., Dulvy, N. K., Perry, A. L., Watkinson, A. R. and Côté, I. M. (2011) Drivers of region-wide declines in architectural complexity on Caribbean reefs. Coral Reefs, 30 (4). pp. 1051-1060. ISSN 0722-4028

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Abstract

Severe declines in the cover of live hard coral on reefs have been reported worldwide, and in the Caribbean region, the architectural complexity of coral reefs has also declined markedly. While the drivers of coral cover loss are relatively well understood, little is known about the drivers of regional-scale declines in architectural complexity. We have used a dataset of 49 time series reporting reef architectural complexity to explore the effect of hurricanes, coral bleaching and fishing on Caribbean-wide annual rates of change in reef complexity. Hurricane impacts greatly influence reef complexity, with the most rapid rates of decline in complexity occurring at sites impacted during their survey period, and with lower rates of loss occurring at unimpacted sites. Reef architectural complexity did not change significantly following mass bleaching events (in a time frame of

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas
Depositing User:	Rosie Cullington
Date Deposited:	19 Jul 2011 14:01
Last Modified:	15 May 2023 00:04
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/33916
DOI:	10.1007/s00338-011-0795-6

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