Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs

Sara E. Cannon, Simon D. Donner, Angela Liu, Pedro C. González Espinosa, Andrew H. Baird, Julia K. Baum, Andrew G. Bauman, Maria Beger, Cassandra E. Benkwitt, Matthew J. Birt, Yannick Chancerelle, Joshua E. Cinner, Nicole L. Crane, Vianney Denis, Martial Depczynski, Nur Fadli, Douglas Fenner, Christopher J. Fulton, Yimnang Golbuu, Nicholas A.J. GrahamJames Guest, Hugo B. Harrison, Jean Paul A. Hobbs, Andrew S. Hoey, Thomas H. Holmes, Peter Houk, Fraser A. Januchowski-Hartley, Jamaluddin Jompa, Chao Yang Kuo, Gino Valentino Limmon, Yuting V. Lin, Timothy R. McClanahan, Dominic Muenzel, Michelle J. Paddack, Serge Planes, Morgan S. Pratchett, Ben Radford, James Davis Reimer, Zoe T. Richards, Claire L. Ross, John Rulmal, Brigitte Sommer, Gareth J. Williams, Shaun K. Wilson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Scientists and managers rely on indicator taxa such as coral and macroalgal cover to evaluate the effects of human disturbance on coral reefs, often assuming a universally positive relationship between local human disturbance and macroalgae. Despite evidence that macroalgae respond to local stressors in diverse ways, there have been few efforts to evaluate relationships between specific macroalgae taxa and local human-driven disturbance. Using genus-level monitoring data from 1205 sites in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, we assess whether macroalgae percent cover correlates with local human disturbance while accounting for factors that could obscure or confound relationships. Assessing macroalgae at genus level revealed that no genera were positively correlated with all human disturbance metrics. Instead, we found relationships between the division or genera of algae and specific human disturbances that were not detectable when pooling taxa into a single functional category, which is common to many analyses. The convention to use percent cover of macroalgae as an indication of local human disturbance therefore likely obscures signatures of local anthropogenic threats to reefs. Our limited understanding of relationships between human disturbance, macroalgae taxa, and their responses to human disturbances impedes the ability to diagnose and respond appropriately to these threats.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3318-3330
Number of pages13
JournalGlobal Change Biology
Volume29
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2023

Funding

The authors are grateful to the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of earlier drafts and their constructive input. See the Supporting Information for full acknowledgments.

FundersFunder number
Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación.Grant Number: 7/AMD/E1/KP.PTNBH/2020
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University
Australian Institute of Marine Science
Australian Research CouncilGrant Numbers: ARC Linkage Project LP160101508, CE140100020, DP0877905, FT160100047, P110101540
AXA Research FundGrant Number: 154-000-649-507
Canadian Foundation for Innovation
Canadian Network for Research and Innovation in Machining Technology, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.Grant Numbers: Discovery Grant, RGPIN-2019-04056
Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Australian Research CouncilGrant Number: CE110001014
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
Director of National Parks Australia
European Regional Development FundGrant Number: 80761-SU-1365
Fondation Bertarelli
French Minister for Ecology
Government of Palau
Indonesian Ministry of Research and Technology
INSU-CNRS
IR ILICO
Japan International Cooperation Agency
Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science
Leverhulme Trust
Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation
Marie Sklodowska-Curie ActionsGrant Number: TRIM-DLV-747102
Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan104-2611-M-002-020-MY2, 106-2611-M-002-008, 107-2611-M-002-011, 108-2611-M-002-013, 109-2611-M-002-017
National Geographic Society#7941-05
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNA15NMF4270336
National Research Foundation SingaporeGrant Number: Marine Science Research and Development Programme
National Science Foundation1546374, 1622339
Natural Environment Research CouncilNE/S006931/1
Newton Fund
Ocean Affairs Council of TaiwanOAC-UNIV-108-004
Office of Insular AffairsCRI-Ulithi1-2
Pacific Rim Research Program
Paul M. Angell Family Foundation
Pew Charitable Trusts
Royal SocietyUF140691
Rufford Foundation
The Isobel Bennett Fellowship
Tiffany & Co Foundation
University of Technology Sydney
Welsh European Funding Office
Western Australian Museum
Western Indian Ocean Marine Science for Management
Wildlife Conservation Society
Woodside

    ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

    • Global and Planetary Change
    • Environmental Chemistry
    • Ecology
    • General Environmental Science

    Keywords

    • coral reef health
    • coral reefs
    • Indian Ocean
    • local human disturbance
    • macroalgae
    • multiple stressors
    • Pacific Ocean

    Disciplines

    • Marine Biology

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