Assessment of the Coral Reefs of the Turks and Caicos Islands (Part 1: Stony Corals and Algae)

Authors

Bernhard Riegl, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Carrie Manfrino, Kean University
Casey Hermoyian, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Marilyn Brandt, University of Miami
Kaho Hoshino, University of California - Santa Barbara

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2003

Publication Title

Atoll Research Bulletin

ISSN

0077-5630

Volume

496

Issue/No.

25

First Page

460

Last Page

479

Abstract

Major constituents of the benthic reef community (stony corals, algae) were assessed in 28 reefs on the Caicos, Turks and Mouchoir Banks. Living stony coral cover ranged from 8-28%, averaging 18% overall. Montastraea annularis and M. faveolata of “intermediate” sizes (cm) dominated all examined reefs. Acropora palmata and A. cervicornis were scarce. The most frequently recruiting scleractinians were Porites astreoides and Agaricia agaricites; Montastraea recruits were uncommon. Old partial-colony mortality (overall mean = 23%) was greater than recent partial-colony mortality (mean = 3%). Crustose coralline algae and turf algae were generally more abundant than macroalgae. Mouchoir Bank, with the most isolated reefs, was in relatively poor condition, which suggests that remoteness alone does not protect coral reefs.

Additional Comments

Austrian Science Foundation grant #: P-13165-GEO

NSUWorks Citation

Bernhard Riegl, Carrie Manfrino, Casey Hermoyian, Marilyn Brandt, and Kaho Hoshino. 2003. Assessment of the Coral Reefs of the Turks and Caicos Islands (Part 1: Stony Corals and Algae) .Atoll Research Bulletin , (25) : 460 -479. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facarticles/312.

ORCID ID

0000-0002-6003-9324

ResearcherID

F-8807-2011

DOI

10.5479/si.00775630.496-25.460