New recruitment of Acropora Oken, 1815 in South Andaman: A proof of recovery of Corals after 2010 mass bleaching
Abstract
Mass bleaching of corals in 2010 seriously affected the corals in Andaman group of islands. Rise in Sea Surface Temperature (SST) was the primary reason due to less than normal rainfall during the bleaching period. Now three years after the bleaching episode the corals in South Andaman seems to recovering. The primary indicator of recovery being the new recruitment of corals especially Acropora spp. (branching corals) throughout the reef areas along with the increase in overall live coral cover. Multiple surveys were conducted in three stations viz. North Bay, Chidiyatapu and Marina Park along the eastern coast of South Andaman during this study and all the sites were found to have new recruitment of Acropora spp. which were severely affected during 2010 mass bleaching.
References
Arthur R. 2000. Coral bleaching and mortality in three Indian reef regions during an El Niño Southern Oscillation event. Current Science, 79 (12): 1723-1728.
Baird AH, Marshall PA. 1998. Mass bleaching of corals of Great Barrier Reefs. Coral Reefs, 17(4): 376.
Berkelmans R, Oliver JK. 1999. Large scale bleaching of corals on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 18(1): 55–60
Berkelmans R, De’ath G, Kininmonth S, Skirving WJ. 2004. A comparison of 1998 and 2002 coral bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef: spatial correlation, patterns, and predictions. Coral Reefs 23(1): 74-83.
Coles SL, Fadlallah YH. 1991. Reef coral survival and mortality at low-temperatures in Arabian Gulf – new species-specific lower temperature limits. Coral Reefs 9(4): 231-237.
Drollet JH, Faucon M, Martin PMV. 1995. Elevated sea-water temperature and solar UV-B flux associated with two successive coral mass bleaching events in Tahiti. Mar Freshw Res 46(8): 1153–1157
Farr T, Broom J, Hart D, Neill K, Nelson W. 2009. Common coralline algae of northern New Zealand: an identification guide. NIWA Information Series No. 70. p.124
Glynn PW, Imai R, Sakai K, Nakano Y, Yamazato K. 1994. Experimental responses of Okinawan (Ryukyu Islands, Japan) reef corals to high sea temperature and UV radiation. Proceedings of the 7th International Coral Reef Symposium, Guam, pp. 7–37
Harvey AS, Woelkerling WJ, Farr TJ, Neill KF, Nelson WA. 2005. Coralline algae of central New Zealand: An identification guide to common ‘crustose’ species. NIWA Information Series No. 57. p.145
Hill J, Wilkinson C. 2004. Methods for ecological monitoring of coral reefs. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Australia. p.117. ISBN No: 0 642 322 376.
Hoegh-Guldberg O. 1999. Climate change, coral bleaching and the future of the world’s coral reefs. Mar Freshwater Res 50(8): 839–866.
Jones GP, McCormick MI, Srinivasan M, Eagle JV. 2004. Coral decline threatens fish biodiversity in marine reserves. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101(21): 8251–8253
Krishnan P, George G, Immanuel T, Malakar B, Anand A. 2013. Studies on the recovery of bleached corals in Andaman: Fishes as indicators of reef health. In: Venkataraman K, Sivaperuman C, Raghunathan C (eds.) Ecology and Conservation of Tropical Marine Faunal Communities, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 395-407. ISBN No: 978-3-642-38199-7
Krishnan P, Roy DS, George G, Srivastava RC, Anand A, Murugesan S, Kaliyamoorthy M, Vikas N, Soundararajan R. 2011. Elevated sea surface temperature during May 2010 induces mass bleaching of corals in the Andaman. Current Science, 100 (1): 111-117.
Kumaraguru AK, Jeyakumar K, Ramakritinan CM. 2003. Coral bleaching 2002 in the Palkbay, Southeast Coast of India. Current Science, 85 (12): 1787-1793.
Marimuthu N, Dharani G, Vinithkumar NV, Vijayakumaran M, Kirubagaran R. 2011. Recovery status of sea anemones from bleaching event of 2010 in the Andaman waters. Current Science, 101 (6): 734-736.
Marimuthu N, Wilson JJ, Vinithkumar NV, Kirubagaran R. 2012. Coral reef recovery status in South Andaman Islands after the Bleaching Event 2010. J. Ocean Univ. China, 12(1): 91-96. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
McField MD. 1999. Coral response during and after mass bleaching in Belize. Bull Mar Sci 64(1): 155–172
Ohman MC, Rajasuriya A, Svensson S. 1998. The use of butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae) as bio-indicators of habitat structure and human disturbance. AMBIO 27(8): 708–716
Pratchett MS, Munday MS, Wilson SK, Graham NAJ, Cinner JE, Bellwood DR, Jones GP, Polunin NVC, McClanahan TR. 2008. Effects of climate-induced coral bleaching on coral reef fishes: ecological and economic consequences. Oceanogr Mar Biol Ann Rev 46: 251–296
Raghuraman R, Raghunathan C, Venkataraman K. 2013. Present Status of Coral Reefs in India. In: Venkataraman K, Sivaperuman C, Raghunathan C (eds.) Ecology and Conservation of Tropical Marine Faunal Communities, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 351-379. ISBN No: 978-3-642-38199-7
Szmant AM. 2005. Nutrient enrichment on coral reefs: is it a major cause of coral reef decline? Estuaries 25(4b): 743–766
Turner JR, Vousden D, Klaus R, Satyanarayana C, Fenner D, Venkataraman K, Rajan PT, Subba Rao NV. 2001. Remote sensing and rapid site assessment survey. In: Coral Reef Systems of the Andaman Island. Government of India and United Nations Development Programme, Global Environment Facility, p.76
Vermeij MA, Dailer ML, Smith CM. 2011. Crustose coralline algae can suppress macroalgal growth and recruitment on Hawaiian coral reefs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 422: 1–7
Veron JEN. 1986. Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. p.644. ISBN No: 0-8248-1504-1
Vivekanandan E, Hussain Ali M, Jasper B, Rajagopalan M. 2008. Thermal thresholds for coral bleaching in the Indian seas. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. India 50 (2): 209 - 214
Wilkinson C. 2000. Status of coral reefs of the world 2000. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville. p.280
Wilson SK, Graham NAJ, Pratchett MS, Jones GP, Polunin NVC. 2006. Multiple disturbances and the global degradation of coral reefs: are reef fishes at risk or resilient? Global Change Biol 12(11): 2220–2234
Winter A, Appealdoorn RS, Bruckner A, Williams Jr. EH, Goenaga C. 1998. Sea surface temperatures and coral reef bleaching off La Peraguera, Puerto Rico (Northern Caribbean Sea). Coral Reefs, 17(4): 377-382.