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Relationships between benthic cover, current strength, herbivory, and a fisheries closure in Glovers Reef Atoll, Belize

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Abstract

Benthic cover, current strengths, and fish abundance and diversity were examined on 150 lagoonal patch reefs and mapped to determine their distribution, inter-relationships, and relationship to the fisheries closure in Glovers Reef Atoll. Current strength was highest at both the northern and southern ends of the atoll and largely controlled by local wind and weakly by tidal forcing. Benthic functional group distributions varied throughout the atoll and had distinct areas of dominance. In contrast, dominance of coral species was weaker, reflecting the lost cover and zonation of Acropora, Porites, and Montastraea that were reported in the 1970s. Hard and soft corals dominated the windward rim, while the central and leeward lagoon had lower current strengths and sea grass and fleshy green algae were relatively more abundant. Brown erect algae were relatively more common in the north and calcifying green and red algae the southern ends of the atoll. Only Montastraea-Agaricia agaricites distributions were similar to reports from the 1970s with high relative dominance in the southern and northeast atoll. The central-northern zone, which was described as an Acropora zone in the 1970s, was not recognizable, and Porites porites, P. astreoides, Millepora alcicornis, and Favia fragum were the most abundant species during this survey. Hard and soft coral cover abundance declined away from the reef rim and tidal channels and was associated with fast seawater turnover and high surgeonfish abundance. Consequently, the windward rim area has retained the most original and persistent hard-soft coral and surgeonfish community and is considered a priority for future management, if the goal is to protect coral from fishing impacts.

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Acknowledgments

The cooperation of many aquariums and their employees made the large-scale field project possible. People and aquariums involved in the data collection included Toni Davi, Ernie Sawyer, Rich Toth, and Jim Vetter of Aquarium of the Americas; Randy Goodlet of Aquatic Systems Consultants; Nick Zarlinga, of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo; Brian Potvin of Dallas Zoo and Aquarium; Eric Hovland and Ken Yates of Florida State Aquarium; Timothy Huebner of Fort Worth Zoo; David Hoskins and Vickie Frey of Humboldt State University; George Parsons and Mark Schick of John G. Shedd Aquarium; Andy Case of Monterey Bay Aquarium; Greg Charbeneau and Robert Nawojchik of Mystic Aquarium; Brian Nelson and Steve Spina of New England Aquarium; Robert Fournier of New Jersey State Aquarium; Amy Drohan of New York Aquarium; Ken Billin of Pittsburgh Zoo; Denise Teeples and Don Zeisloft, of Sea World of Ohio; Joe Keyon, Al Oswald, Mark Telzrow of Sea World of Texas; Jay Hemdel of Toledo Zoo; Norton Chan of Waikiki Aquarium; Samual Jones and Dennis Thoney of the Osborn Aquarium, Mike Brittsan of Columbus Zoo and Aquarium; Pete Mohan of Sea World of Ohio; Jim Prappas of Pittsburgh Zoo; and Tom Schmidt of Texas State and Tim Goertemiller. The Conservation Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society—Conservation Endowment Fund, and American Zoo and Aquarium Association provided financial support for this research. Assistance by Brie Cokos with the water flow field studies is appreciated. M. Karnauskas was supported by a graduate student fellowship at RSMAS. Middle Cay Research Station provided logistic support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Programs, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY, 10460-1099, USA

    T. McClanahan

  2. Marine Biology and Fisheries, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL, 33149, USA

    M. Karnauskas

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  1. T. McClanahan
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Correspondence to T. McClanahan.

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Communicated by Ecology Editor Prof. Mark Hay

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McClanahan, T., Karnauskas, M. Relationships between benthic cover, current strength, herbivory, and a fisheries closure in Glovers Reef Atoll, Belize. Coral Reefs 30, 9–19 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-010-0690-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-010-0690-6

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