[Coral-List] Liagora outbreaks after hurricanes

[Peter Mumby]

Hi folks

Continuing this thread, we saw Liagora outbreaks after hurricane Mitch in Belize and Typhoon Bopha in Palau. Bob Steneck refers to it as an 'ambulance chaser'! 

In Palau, the magnitude of the Liagora outbreak was positively correlated to chronic wave exposure and coral settlement failed on those reefs affected.. Quite remarkably, although the Liagora canopy only existed for around 6 months, it created large areas where fish grazing were impeded. The alga Lobophora managed to get established in these refuges from herbivory and persisted for several years, slowing down subsequent coral recovery. 

This story is covered in the following papers. Feel free to email me for PDFs. 

Roff, G., I. Chollett, C. Doropoulos, Y. Golbuu, R. S. Steneck, A. L. Isechal, R. van Woesik, and P. Mumby. 2015. Exposure-driven macroalgal phase shift following catastrophic disturbance on coral reefs. Coral Reefs 34:715-725.

Doropoulos, C., G. Roff, M. Zupan, V. Nestor, A. L. Isechal, and P. J. Mumby. 2014. Reef-scale failure of coral settlement following typhoon disturbance and macroalgal bloom in Palau, Western Pacific. Coral Reefs 33:613-623.

Roff, G., C. Doropoulos, M. Zupan, A. Rogers, R. S. Steneck, Y. Golbuu, and P. J. Mumby. 2015. Phase shift facilitation following cyclone disturbance on coral reefs. Oecologia 178:1193-1203.

Doropoulos, C. D., G. Roff, M.-S. Visser, and P. J. Mumby. 2016. Sensitivity of coral recruitment to subtle shifts in early community succession. Ecology 98:304-314.

Cheers
Pete

Professor Peter J Mumby
Marine Spatial Ecology Lab

School of Biological Sciences
Goddard Building, Room 170
University of Queensland
St Lucia Campus
Brisbane
Qld 4072
Australia 
 
www.marinespatialecologylab.org 
http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=X66LkeAAAAAJ
Email: p.j.mumby at uq.edu.au
Tel: +61 7 33651686
Skype: pete_mumby

-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Eugene Shinn
Sent: 28 October 2017 01:21
To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: [Coral-List] Post Hurricane Algal Outbreak

After Hurricane Donna in 1960 we had an explosive bloom of /Chalmasia antillana/

in Florida Keys near shore areas. Commonly called Mermaids Wineglass this genus (family Dasycladaceae) looks like Acetabularia but is calcified. It produces tiny calcified spherical fruiting bodies. We had been puzzled by these calcispheres that that we had been identifying in thin sections of sediment in cores.We thought them important because similar fossils occur in Devonian age limestone. Hurricane Donna finally answered the question of what made them. In areas such as the foot deep water on Rodriguez Key bank Chalmasia was so think they were crowding out turtle grass beds. For more information go to <http://www.phycologia.org/doi/pdf/10.2216/i0031-8884-9-1-45.1?code=iphy-site>

The explosive bloom did not last long. We suspected the calcified spheres had been dormant, buried in the sediment and were suddenly released when the storm stirred up the sediment. I mention this so researchers can be watching to see if this happens again. Gene

-- 


No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
College of Marine Science Room 221A
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu>
Tel 727 553-1158
---------------------------------- -----------------------------------

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