Diversity and Biogeography of the Scleractinian Coral Fauna of Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

Authors

Peter W. Glynn, University of Miami
Gerard M. Wellington, University of Houston
Bernhard Riegl, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Donald B. Olson, University of Miami
Eric Borneman, University of Houston
Evie A. Wieters, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile - Santiago

ORCID

0000-0002-6003-9324

ResearcherID

F-8807-2011

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Pacific Science

ISSN

0030-8870

Publication Date

1-2007

Abstract

Three surveys at Easter Island (Rapa Nui) spanning the period 1999-2005, and examination of private and museum collections, have revealed a depauperate zooxanthellate scleractinian fauna. Collections were all made off island shelf exposures, from tide pools to 70 m with scuba, and by dredging to 100 m. With synonymies, reassignments, and two new records in the families Pocilloporidae and Faviidae, the Easter Island coral fauna now comprises 13 species. Pocilloporid and poritid coral abundances were generally high on all island shelves protected from southern swells. A cluster analysis of the coral fauna relationships of 19 south, central, and far-eastern Pacific sites indicates a strong affinity between those of Easter Island and the far-eastern Pacific equatorial region (e.g., Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá, and the Galápagos Islands). The precipitous drop in coral species richness from the Pitcairn Island group (61 species) to Easter Island suggests the presence of a dispersal barrier between these two remote southeastern Pacific areas, separated by ~1,800 km of deep ocean waters. Consideration of the surface circulation based on satellite-tracked surface drifters confirms this conclusion. Surface currents are from east to west along the topography on which Easter and Sala-y-Gómez Islands sit, suggesting a substantial barrier to recruitment from the west.

DOI

10.1353/psc.2007.0005

Volume

61

Issue

1

First Page

67

Last Page

90

Comments

©2007 by University of Hawai'I Press

Additional Comments

National Geographic Society grant #: 6047-97; NSF grant #s: OCE-0002317, OCE-0036525000, OCE-0119976; NOAA grant #: NA16OA1443

NSUWorks Citation

Peter W. Glynn, Gerard M. Wellington, Bernhard Riegl, Donald B. Olson, Eric Borneman, and Evie A. Wieters. 2007. Diversity and Biogeography of the Scleractinian Coral Fauna of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) .Pacific Science , (1) : 67 -90. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facarticles/310.