Abstract
Extensive partial mortality of intertidal corals was observed at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia, associated with extended and recurrent daytime low water levels from September to November 2018. Branching Acropora corals on shallow leeward reef platforms were emersed during the middle of day during the Austral spring due to diurnal tidal influences, seasonal mean sea-level minima associated with the southward flowing Leeuwin Current and interannual variability related to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Pre-emersion total live coral cover was estimated to be ~ 35%, dominated by Acropora (~ 24%). Post-emersion, live Acropora cover decreased to 11.1% (± 1.5 SE) and total cover to 21.7% (± 0.8 SE). Mortality of non-acroporid corals which were lower in the water column was not observed. Partial coral mortality associated with seasonal low tides and interannual variability in mean sea level is a universal process and under-reported driver of temporal variability in coral cover on intertidal reef platforms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achituv Y, Dubinsky Z (1990) Evolution and zoogeography of coral reefs. Ecosystems of the world—coral reefs. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Ampou EE, Johan O, Menkes CE, Niño F, Birol F, Ouillon S, Andréfouët S (2017) Coral mortality induced by the 2015–2016 El-Niño in Indonesia: the effect of rapid sea level fall. Biogeosciences 14(4):817–826
Anthony KRN, Kerswell AP (2007) Coral mortality following extreme low tides and high solar radiation. Mar Biol 151(5):1623–1631
Armstrong S (2007) Low temperatures cause coral bleaching at Ningaloo Reef. Ningaloo Marine Park Symposium, Western Australia, p 2007
Brown BE (1997) Coral bleaching: causes and consequences. Coral Reefs 16:129–138
Brown BE, Dunne RP, Scoffin TP, Le Tissioe MDA (1994) Solar damage in intertidal corals. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 105:219–230
Brown BE, Phongsuwan N (2012) Delayed mortality in bleached massive corals on intertidal reef flats around Phuket, and Andaman Sea, Thailand. Res Bull/Phuket Marine Biological Center 71:43–48
Brown BE, Dunne RP, Phongsuwan N, Somerfield PJ (2011) Increased sea level promotes coral cover on shallow reef flats in the Andaman Sea, Eastern Indian Ocean. Coral Reefs 30(4):867–878
Blakeway D, Hamblin MG (2015) Self-generated morphology in lagoon reefs. PeerJ 3:e935
Claar DC, Szostek L, McDevitt-Irwin JM, Schanze JJ, Baum JK (2018) Global patterns and impacts of El Niño events on coral reefs: a meta-analysis. PLOS One 13(2):e0190957
Crossland CJ (1982) Seasonal growth of Acropora cf. formosa and Pocillopora damicornis on a high latitude reef (Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia). In: Proceedings of the 4th International Coral Reef Symposium 1:663–667
Fadlallah Y, Allen KW, Estudillo RA (1995) Mortality of shallow reef corals in the Western Arabian gulf following aerial exposure in winter. Coral Reefs 14:99–107
Glynn PW (1976) Some physical and biological determinants of coral community structure in the Eastern Pacific. Ecol Monogr 4:431–456
Haigh IM, Eliot M, Pattiaratchi C, Wahl T (2009) Regional changes in mean sea level around Western Australia between 1897 and 2008. In: Proceedings of the 20th Australasian Coastal and Ocean Engineering conference and the 13th Australasian Port and Harbour Conference, Perth, 28–30 September
Haigh ID, Eliot M, Pattiaratchi CB (2011) Global influences of the 186-year nodal cycle and 885-year cycle of lunar perigee on high tidal levels. J Geophys Res Oceans 116:C06025
Harriot VJ (1998) Growth of the staghorn coral Acropora formosa at Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia. Marine Biology 132:319–325
Hatcher BG (1991) Coral Reefs in the Leeuwin Current—an ecological perspective. J R Soc West Aus 74:115–127
Hatcher A, Hatcher BG, Wright G (1988) A preliminary report on the interaction between the major human activities and the marine environments at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands of Western Australia. Unpublished report for the Abrolhos Islands Task Force
Hoegh-Guldberg O, Fine M, Skirving W, Johnstone R, Dove S, Strong A (2005) Coral bleaching following wintry weather. Limnol Oceanogr 50(1):265–271
Hoegh-Guldberg O (2011) The impact of climate change on coral reef ecosystems. In: Dubinsky Z, Stambler NP (eds) Coral reefs: an ecosystem in transition. Springer, New York, pp 391–405
Hughes TP, Kerry JT, Álvarez-Noriega M, Álvarez-Romero JG, Anderson KD, Baird A et al (2017) Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature 543(7645):373–377
Kohler KE, Gill SM (2006) Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe): a Visual Basic program for the determination of coral and substrate coverage using random point count methodology. Computers and Geosciences 32:1259–1269
Leggat W, Ainsworth TD, Dove S, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2006) Aerial exposure influences bleaching patterns. Coral Reefs 25(3):452. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-006-0128-3
Loya Y (1976) Recolonization of Red Sea corals affected by natural catastrophes and man-made perturbations. Ecology 57(2):278–289
Menéndez M, Woodworth PL (2010) Changes in extreme high water levels based on a quasi-global tide-gauge data set. J Geophys Res Oceans 115:C10011
Pattiaratchi C, Woo M (2009) The mean state of the Leeuwin Current system between North West Cape and Cape Leeuwin. J R Soc Western Aust 92(2):221–241
Pattiaratchi C (2011) Coastal Tide Guage observations: dynamic processes present in the fremantle record. In: Schiller A, Brassington GB (eds) Operational Oceanography in the 21st Century. Springer, Berlin
Phillips JC, Huisman JM (2009) Influence of the Leeuwin Current on the marine flora of the Houtman Abrolhos. J R Soc West Aust 92:139–146
Saville-Kent WS (1908) The naturalist in Australia. Chapman and Hall Ltd., London
Slack-Smith RJ (1960) An investigation of coral deaths at Peel Island, Moreton Bay, in early 1956. Pap Dep Zoo/Univ Qd 1(7):211–222
Smith SV (1981) The Houtman Abrolhos Islands: carbon metabolism of coral reefs at high latitude Limnol. Oceanogr 26:612–621
Veron JEN, Marsh LM (1988) Hermatypic corals of Western Australia: records and annotated species list. Rec West Aust Mus, Perth (suppl 29):136
Webster FJ, Dibden CJ, Weir KE, Chubb CF (2002) Towards an assessment of the natural and human use impacts on the marine environment of the Abrolhos Islands. Fisheries Research Report No. 134. Department of Fisheries WA, Perth, Australia
Wells FE (1997) Introduction to the marine environment of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. In: Wells FE (ed) The marine flora and fauna of the Houtman Abrolhos islands, Western Australia, vol 1. Western Australian Museum, pp. 1–10
Wijeratne EMS, Pattiaratchi CB, Proctor R (2018) Estimates of surface and subsurface boundary current transport around Australia. J Geophys Res: Oceans 123(5):3444–3466
Woodroffe CD, Webster JM (2014) Coral reefs and sea-level change. Mar Geol 352:248–267
Yonge CM (1940) The biology of reef-building corals. Sci Rep Great Barrier Reef Exped 1:353–391
Zapata FA, Rodríguez-Ramírez A, Caro-Zambrano C, Garzón-Ferreira J (2010) Mid-term coral-algal dynamics and conservation status of a Gorgona Island (Tropical Eastern Pacific) coral reef. Rev Biol Trop 58:81–94
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Topic Editor Bernhard Michael Riegl
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Buckee, J., Pattiaratchi, C. & Verduin, J. Partial mortality of intertidal corals due to seasonal daytime low water levels at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands. Coral Reefs 39, 537–543 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-019-01887-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-019-01887-5