Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2016

Publication Title

Scientific Reports

Keywords

Ecological modelling, Environmental sciences, Tropical ecology

ISSN

2045-2322

Volume

6

Issue/No.

33324

First Page

1

Last Page

11

Abstract

Population models are important for resource management and can inform about potential trajectories useful for planning purposes, even with incomplete monitoring data. From size frequency data on Luhuitou fringing reef, Hainan, South China Sea, a matrix population model of massive corals (Porites lutea) was developed and trajectories over 100 years under no disturbance and random disturbances were projected. The model reflects a largely open population of Porites lutea, with low local recruitment and preponderance of imported recruitment. Under no further disturbance, the population of Porites lutea will grow and its size structure will change from predominance of small size classes to large size classes. Therewith, total Porites cover will increase. Even under random disturbances every 10 to 20 years, the Porites population could remain viable, albeit at lower space cover. The models suggest recovery at Luhuitou following the removal of chronic anthropogenic disturbance. Extending the area of coral reef reserves to protect the open coral community and the path of connectivity is advisable and imperative for the conservation of Hainan’s coral reefs.

Comments

©2016, The Author(s) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Additional Comments

National Key Basic Research Program of China project #: 2013CB956101; National Natural Science Foundation of China project #s: 91428203, 41272199, 41506061, 41302281; Chinese Academy of Sciences project #: XDA05080301

ORCID ID

0000-0002-6003-9324

ResearcherID

F-8807-2011

DOI

10.1038/srep33324

Peer Reviewed

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