IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0044364.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Recurrent Disturbances and the Degradation of Hard Coral Communities in Taiwan

Author

Listed:
  • Chao-Yang Kuo
  • Yeong Shyan Yuen
  • Pei-Jie Meng
  • Ping-Ho Ho
  • Jih-Terng Wang
  • Pi-Jen Liu
  • Yang-Chi Chang
  • Chang-Feng Dai
  • Tung-Yung Fan
  • Hsing-Juh Lin
  • Andrew Hamilton Baird
  • Chaolun Allen Chen

Abstract

Recurrent disturbances can have a critical effect on the structure and function of coral reef communities. In this study, long-term changes were examined in the hard coral community at Wanlitung, in southern Taiwan, between 1985 and 2010. In this 26 year interval, the reef has experienced repeated disturbances that include six typhoons and two coral-bleaching events. The frequency of disturbance has meant that species susceptible to disturbance, such as those in the genus Acropora and Montipora have almost disappeared from the reef. Indeed, almost all hard coral species have declined in abundance, with the result that total hard coral cover in 2010 (17.7%) was less than half what it was in 1985 (47.5%). In addition, macro-algal cover has increased from 11.3% in 2003 to 28.5% in 2010. The frequency of disturbance combined with possible chronic influence of a growing human population mean that a diverse reef assemblage is unlikely to persist on this reef into the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Chao-Yang Kuo & Yeong Shyan Yuen & Pei-Jie Meng & Ping-Ho Ho & Jih-Terng Wang & Pi-Jen Liu & Yang-Chi Chang & Chang-Feng Dai & Tung-Yung Fan & Hsing-Juh Lin & Andrew Hamilton Baird & Chaolun Allen Che, 2012. "Recurrent Disturbances and the Degradation of Hard Coral Communities in Taiwan," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(8), pages 1-7, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0044364
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044364
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0044364
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0044364&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0044364?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. D. R. Bellwood & T. P. Hughes & C. Folke & M. Nyström, 2004. "Confronting the coral reef crisis," Nature, Nature, vol. 429(6994), pages 827-833, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yu-Rong Cheng & Chi-Hsiang Chin & Ding-Fa Lin & Chao-Kang Wang, 2020. "The Probability of an Unrecoverable Coral Community in Dongsha Atoll Marine National Park Due to Recurrent Disturbances," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Teh, Louise S.L. & Teh, Lydia C.L. & Rashid Sumaila, U., 2014. "Time preference of small-scale fishers in open access and traditionally managed reef fisheries," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 222-231.
    2. Yu-Rong Cheng & Chi-Hsiang Chin & Ding-Fa Lin & Chao-Kang Wang, 2020. "The Probability of an Unrecoverable Coral Community in Dongsha Atoll Marine National Park Due to Recurrent Disturbances," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Conrad W Speed & Russ C Babcock & Kevin P Bancroft & Lynnath E Beckley & Lynda M Bellchambers & Martial Depczynski & Stuart N Field & Kim J Friedman & James P Gilmour & Jean-Paul A Hobbs & Halina T Ko, 2013. "Dynamic Stability of Coral Reefs on the West Australian Coast," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(7), pages 1-12, July.
    4. Wamukota, A. & Brewer, T.D. & Crona, B., 2014. "Market integration and its relation to income distribution and inequality among fishers and traders: The case of two small-scale Kenyan reef fisheries," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 93-101.
    5. Reiji Masuda, 2020. "Tropical fishes vanished after the operation of a nuclear power plant was suspended in the Sea of Japan," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-13, May.
    6. Christine Bergman & Rochelle Good & Andrew Moreo, 2022. "Influencing Hotel Patrons to Use Reef-Safe Sunscreen," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-22, June.
    7. Chambers, Paul E. & Glenn Dutcher, E. & Mark Isaac, R., 2018. "Improving Environmental Quality Through Aid: An Experimental Analysis of Aid Structures With Heterogeneous Agents," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 435-446.
    8. Srinivasan, Venkatraman & Kumar, Praveen, 2015. "Emergent and divergent resilience behavior in catastrophic shift systems," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 298(C), pages 87-105.
    9. Pittman, S.J. & Christensen, J.D. & Caldow, C. & Menza, C. & Monaco, M.E., 2007. "Predictive mapping of fish species richness across shallow-water seascapes in the Caribbean," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 204(1), pages 9-21.
    10. Matthew J. Powell-Palm & E. Michael Henley & Anthony N. Consiglio & Claire Lager & Brooke Chang & Riley Perry & Kendall Fitzgerald & Jonathan Daly & Boris Rubinsky & Mary Hagedorn, 2023. "Cryopreservation and revival of Hawaiian stony corals using isochoric vitrification," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    11. Brathwaite, Angelique & Pascal, Nicolas & Clua, Eric, 2021. "When are payment for ecosystems services suitable for coral reef derived coastal protection?: A review of scientific requirements," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    12. Muko, Soyoka & Arakaki, Seiji & Tamai, Reiko & Sakai, Kazuhiko, 2014. "An individual-based model for population viability analysis of the brooding coral Seriatopora hystrix," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 277(C), pages 68-76.
    13. Alexandre C. Siqueira & Wolfgang Kiessling & David R. Bellwood, 2022. "Fast-growing species shape the evolution of reef corals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    14. Meixia Zhao & Haiyang Zhang & Yu Zhong & Dapeng Jiang & Guohui Liu & Hongqiang Yan & Hongyu Zhang & Pu Guo & Cuitian Li & Hongqiang Yang & Tegu Chen & Rui Wang, 2019. "The Status of Coral Reefs and Its Importance for Coastal Protection: A Case Study of Northeastern Hainan Island, South China Sea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-13, August.
    15. Jan Tebben & James R Guest & Tsai M Sin & Peter D Steinberg & Tilmann Harder, 2014. "Corals Like It Waxed: Paraffin-Based Antifouling Technology Enhances Coral Spat Survival," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, January.
    16. Dercole, Fabio & Prieu, Charlotte & Rinaldi, Sergio, 2010. "Technological change and fisheries sustainability: The point of view of Adaptive Dynamics," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(3), pages 379-387.
    17. Edwin A. Hernández-Delgado & Ricardo Laureano, 2024. "Bringing Back Reef Fish: Sustainable Impacts of Community-Based Restoration of Elkhorn Coral ( Acropora palmata ) in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico (2008–2023)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-43, July.
    18. Juan Shi & Chunhou Li & Teng Wang & Jinfa Zhao & Yong Liu & Yayuan Xiao, 2022. "Distribution Pattern of Coral Reef Fishes in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-16, November.
    19. Nicolai Konow & David R Bellwood, 2011. "Evolution of High Trophic Diversity Based on Limited Functional Disparity in the Feeding Apparatus of Marine Angelfishes (f. Pomacanthidae)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(9), pages 1-11, September.
    20. Doyen, L. & De Lara, M. & Ferraris, J. & Pelletier, D., 2007. "Sustainability of exploited marine ecosystems through protected areas: A viability model and a coral reef case study," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 208(2), pages 353-366.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0044364. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.