TY - JOUR
T1 - A window to the past
T2 - Documenting the status of one of the last remaining 'megapopulations' of the threatened staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis in the Dominican Republic
AU - Lirman, D.
AU - Bowden-Kerby, A.
AU - Schopmeyer, S.
AU - Huntington, B.
AU - Thyberg, T.
AU - Gough, M.
AU - Gough, T.
AU - Gough, R.
AU - Gough, Y.
PY - 2010/11
Y1 - 2010/11
N2 - Acropora cervicornis (staghorn coral) and Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral), once common features of shallow Caribbean reefs observed growing as large stands or thickets, are now found mainly as remnant pockets or isolated colonies at a fraction of their historical areal extent. In February 2010, a large, surviving population of A. cervicornis was surveyed at Cabezos del Cayo, Punta Rusia, Dominican Republic to document its present condition and potential threats to its persistence. The A. cervicornis surveyed at Cabezos del Cayo provides a rare glimpse of the habitat structure that these keystone components of coral reefs once provided. The staghorn population covers an area of 2 ha and is formed by interlocking skeletons of unusually large and thick A. cervicornis colonies. The large size of its colonies (maximum branch length 250 cm; average linear length of live tissue 471 cm; maximum number of branch tips 141 per colony; maximum branch diameter 5 cm) and the complex open canopy of these colonies, have not been described, to our knowledge, in the recent literature. The site is within Montecristi National Park but there is no active protection in this area and signs of overfishing are evident based on low fish abundance and complete lack of fish >20 cm in length. The stressors associated with this population include significant predation by gastropods and fireworms, overgrowth by macroalgae, damselfish 'gardening' activities, and white band disease. The management priority for the staghorn population at Cabezos del Cayo, Dominican Republic, should be to enforce the legal framework that is already in place for the protection of Montecristi National Park, limiting unsustainable and damaging fishing practices, and limiting land-based sources of pollution associated with increasing population numbers and future coastal development.
AB - Acropora cervicornis (staghorn coral) and Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral), once common features of shallow Caribbean reefs observed growing as large stands or thickets, are now found mainly as remnant pockets or isolated colonies at a fraction of their historical areal extent. In February 2010, a large, surviving population of A. cervicornis was surveyed at Cabezos del Cayo, Punta Rusia, Dominican Republic to document its present condition and potential threats to its persistence. The A. cervicornis surveyed at Cabezos del Cayo provides a rare glimpse of the habitat structure that these keystone components of coral reefs once provided. The staghorn population covers an area of 2 ha and is formed by interlocking skeletons of unusually large and thick A. cervicornis colonies. The large size of its colonies (maximum branch length 250 cm; average linear length of live tissue 471 cm; maximum number of branch tips 141 per colony; maximum branch diameter 5 cm) and the complex open canopy of these colonies, have not been described, to our knowledge, in the recent literature. The site is within Montecristi National Park but there is no active protection in this area and signs of overfishing are evident based on low fish abundance and complete lack of fish >20 cm in length. The stressors associated with this population include significant predation by gastropods and fireworms, overgrowth by macroalgae, damselfish 'gardening' activities, and white band disease. The management priority for the staghorn population at Cabezos del Cayo, Dominican Republic, should be to enforce the legal framework that is already in place for the protection of Montecristi National Park, limiting unsustainable and damaging fishing practices, and limiting land-based sources of pollution associated with increasing population numbers and future coastal development.
KW - Acropora cervicornis
KW - Disease
KW - Dominican Republic
KW - Overfishing
KW - Predation
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U2 - 10.1002/aqc.1146
DO - 10.1002/aqc.1146
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77958565528
VL - 20
SP - 773
EP - 781
JO - Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
JF - Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
SN - 1052-7613
IS - 7
ER -