2014
Díaz-Ortega, Geraldine; Hernández-Delgado, Edwin A.
In: Natural Resources, vol. 5, pp. 561-581, 2014.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Acropora palmata, Coral Reef Decline, Eutrophication, Land-Based Source Pollution
@article{Díaz-Ortega2014,
title = {Unsustainable Land-Based Source Pollution in a Climate of Change: A Roadblock to the Conservation and Recovery of Elkhorn Coral Acropora palmata (Lamarck 1816)},
author = {Geraldine Díaz-Ortega and Edwin A. Hernández-Delgado},
url = {https://www.sampr.org/sam/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Diaz-Ortega-and-Hernandez-Delgado-2014.pdf},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-07-18},
journal = {Natural Resources},
volume = { 5},
pages = {561-581},
abstract = {Chronic eutrophication and turbidity are critical detrimental factors impacting coral reef ecosystems,
adversely affecting their ecological functions, services, benefits, and resilience across multiple
spatial scales and over prolonged periods of time. Inadequate land use practices and lack of
appropriate sewage treatment can adversely contribute to increase land-based source pollution
(LBSP) impacts in coastal waters and to magnify impacts by sea surface warming trends associated
to climate change. Fringing coral reefs off Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, support extensive remnant
patches of Elkhorn coral Acropora palmata (Lamarck 1816), which was listed in 2006 as a threatened
species under the US Endangered Species Act. Chronic impacts by LBSP have significantly affected
local downstream fringing reefs. We characterized the spatial extent of a water quality
stress gradient across 12 reefs along the Vega Baja coast through monthly measurements of multiple
physico-chemical parameters. Most parameters, particularly PO4, + NH4 , chlorophyll-a, and
the concentration of optical brighteners (OABs), showed a statistically significant increase
(PERMANOVA, p < 0.05) in waters close to the main pollution sources, but also in waters adjacent
to Cibuco River effluents. Dissolved oxygen also declined and turbidity increased on polluted sites.
PO4, + NH4 , and chlorophyll-a, exceeded recommended concentrations for coral reef ecosystems by factors of 7 - 50 times, 600 - 1240 times, and 17 - 83 times, respectively, depending on the source
of the effluents and the distance from sewage pollution sources. Also, water turbidity exceeded 4 -
10 times the recommended value for pristine coral reefs. Coral reefs showed significant decline in
close proximity to the polluted zone, showing a significantly different benthic community structure
(PERMANOVA, p < 0.0001) dominated by non-reef building taxa (i.e., macroalgae, algal turf)
and bare substrate. Percent coral cover and abundance of A. palmata, showed a significant increase
with distance. Coral species richness, species diversity index, and the variance in taxonomic
distinctness were very low on reef patches adjacent to the polluted zone, increased at a moderate
distance with increasing coral cover and co-existence of multiple species, and declined far
from the pollution source due to dominance exerted by A. palmata. This study suggests that
chronic LBSP resulted in a major decline of one of the largest and most dense remnant stands of A.
palmata across the northeastern Caribbean and that nutrient and chlorophyll-a concentrations
were unsustainable for coral reefs. This situation requires immediate solution to prevent further
damage to these unprecedented resources. It further suggests that chronic LBSP may synergistically
magnify sea-surface warming impacts driving corals to an increased state of risk in face of
forecasted climate change impacts. Actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts on
coral reefs must require a priori controls of LBSP to be effective.},
keywords = {Acropora palmata, Coral Reef Decline, Eutrophication, Land-Based Source Pollution},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Chronic eutrophication and turbidity are critical detrimental factors impacting coral reef ecosystems,
adversely affecting their ecological functions, services, benefits, and resilience across multiple
spatial scales and over prolonged periods of time. Inadequate land use practices and lack of
appropriate sewage treatment can adversely contribute to increase land-based source pollution
(LBSP) impacts in coastal waters and to magnify impacts by sea surface warming trends associated
to climate change. Fringing coral reefs off Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, support extensive remnant
patches of Elkhorn coral Acropora palmata (Lamarck 1816), which was listed in 2006 as a threatened
species under the US Endangered Species Act. Chronic impacts by LBSP have significantly affected
local downstream fringing reefs. We characterized the spatial extent of a water quality
stress gradient across 12 reefs along the Vega Baja coast through monthly measurements of multiple
physico-chemical parameters. Most parameters, particularly PO4, + NH4 , chlorophyll-a, and
the concentration of optical brighteners (OABs), showed a statistically significant increase
(PERMANOVA, p < 0.05) in waters close to the main pollution sources, but also in waters adjacent
to Cibuco River effluents. Dissolved oxygen also declined and turbidity increased on polluted sites.
PO4, + NH4 , and chlorophyll-a, exceeded recommended concentrations for coral reef ecosystems by factors of 7 - 50 times, 600 - 1240 times, and 17 - 83 times, respectively, depending on the source
of the effluents and the distance from sewage pollution sources. Also, water turbidity exceeded 4 -
10 times the recommended value for pristine coral reefs. Coral reefs showed significant decline in
close proximity to the polluted zone, showing a significantly different benthic community structure
(PERMANOVA, p < 0.0001) dominated by non-reef building taxa (i.e., macroalgae, algal turf)
and bare substrate. Percent coral cover and abundance of A. palmata, showed a significant increase
with distance. Coral species richness, species diversity index, and the variance in taxonomic
distinctness were very low on reef patches adjacent to the polluted zone, increased at a moderate
distance with increasing coral cover and co-existence of multiple species, and declined far
from the pollution source due to dominance exerted by A. palmata. This study suggests that
chronic LBSP resulted in a major decline of one of the largest and most dense remnant stands of A.
palmata across the northeastern Caribbean and that nutrient and chlorophyll-a concentrations
were unsustainable for coral reefs. This situation requires immediate solution to prevent further
damage to these unprecedented resources. It further suggests that chronic LBSP may synergistically
magnify sea-surface warming impacts driving corals to an increased state of risk in face of
forecasted climate change impacts. Actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts on
coral reefs must require a priori controls of LBSP to be effective.
adversely affecting their ecological functions, services, benefits, and resilience across multiple
spatial scales and over prolonged periods of time. Inadequate land use practices and lack of
appropriate sewage treatment can adversely contribute to increase land-based source pollution
(LBSP) impacts in coastal waters and to magnify impacts by sea surface warming trends associated
to climate change. Fringing coral reefs off Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, support extensive remnant
patches of Elkhorn coral Acropora palmata (Lamarck 1816), which was listed in 2006 as a threatened
species under the US Endangered Species Act. Chronic impacts by LBSP have significantly affected
local downstream fringing reefs. We characterized the spatial extent of a water quality
stress gradient across 12 reefs along the Vega Baja coast through monthly measurements of multiple
physico-chemical parameters. Most parameters, particularly PO4, + NH4 , chlorophyll-a, and
the concentration of optical brighteners (OABs), showed a statistically significant increase
(PERMANOVA, p < 0.05) in waters close to the main pollution sources, but also in waters adjacent
to Cibuco River effluents. Dissolved oxygen also declined and turbidity increased on polluted sites.
PO4, + NH4 , and chlorophyll-a, exceeded recommended concentrations for coral reef ecosystems by factors of 7 - 50 times, 600 - 1240 times, and 17 - 83 times, respectively, depending on the source
of the effluents and the distance from sewage pollution sources. Also, water turbidity exceeded 4 -
10 times the recommended value for pristine coral reefs. Coral reefs showed significant decline in
close proximity to the polluted zone, showing a significantly different benthic community structure
(PERMANOVA, p < 0.0001) dominated by non-reef building taxa (i.e., macroalgae, algal turf)
and bare substrate. Percent coral cover and abundance of A. palmata, showed a significant increase
with distance. Coral species richness, species diversity index, and the variance in taxonomic
distinctness were very low on reef patches adjacent to the polluted zone, increased at a moderate
distance with increasing coral cover and co-existence of multiple species, and declined far
from the pollution source due to dominance exerted by A. palmata. This study suggests that
chronic LBSP resulted in a major decline of one of the largest and most dense remnant stands of A.
palmata across the northeastern Caribbean and that nutrient and chlorophyll-a concentrations
were unsustainable for coral reefs. This situation requires immediate solution to prevent further
damage to these unprecedented resources. It further suggests that chronic LBSP may synergistically
magnify sea-surface warming impacts driving corals to an increased state of risk in face of
forecasted climate change impacts. Actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts on
coral reefs must require a priori controls of LBSP to be effective.
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