TY - JOUR
T1 - Pre- and post-1998 ENSO records of shallow-water octocorals (Alcyonacea) in the Chagos Archipelago
AU - Schleyer, Michael H.
AU - Benayahu, Yehuda
N1 - Funding Information:
Participation by MHS in the 2006 expedition to the Chagos Archipelago was funded by the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Environment Programme , the British Indian Ocean Territory Administration, Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean (CORDIO) and the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) . Identification of the collection was jointly funded by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) and SAAMBR . Laboratory assistance provided by Alex Shlagman at the University of Tel Aviv is gratefully acknowledged.
PY - 2010/12
Y1 - 2010/12
N2 - When compared, principal octocorals collected in the Chagos Archipelago before and after the 1998 ENSO shared many common taxa. While a few discontinuities in their biodiversity revealed subtle changes in more persistent genera (Lobophytum, Sarcophyton), some fast-growing "fugitive" genera (e.g. Cespitularia, Efflatounaria, Heteroxenia) disappeared after the ENSO-related coral bleaching. Such transient fugitives might thus be eliminated from soft coral communities on isolated reef systems, possibly in the long term, by events of this nature. The appearance of Carijoa riseii, a species often considered a fouling organism, even an invasive, may well be indicative of reef degradation during the ENSO event. The post-ENSO recovery manifested by this fauna nevertheless gives cause for hope for their survival in the face of climate change.
AB - When compared, principal octocorals collected in the Chagos Archipelago before and after the 1998 ENSO shared many common taxa. While a few discontinuities in their biodiversity revealed subtle changes in more persistent genera (Lobophytum, Sarcophyton), some fast-growing "fugitive" genera (e.g. Cespitularia, Efflatounaria, Heteroxenia) disappeared after the ENSO-related coral bleaching. Such transient fugitives might thus be eliminated from soft coral communities on isolated reef systems, possibly in the long term, by events of this nature. The appearance of Carijoa riseii, a species often considered a fouling organism, even an invasive, may well be indicative of reef degradation during the ENSO event. The post-ENSO recovery manifested by this fauna nevertheless gives cause for hope for their survival in the face of climate change.
KW - Alcyonacea
KW - Chagos Archipelago
KW - Coral bleaching
KW - Indian Ocean
KW - Octocorallia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78650188984&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.08.019
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.08.019
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AN - SCOPUS:78650188984
SN - 0025-326X
VL - 60
SP - 2197
EP - 2200
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
IS - 12
ER -