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The Expanding Scale of Species Turnover Events on Coral Reefs in Belize

2002; Wiley; Volume: 72; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3100026

1557-7015

Richard B. Aronson, Ian G. Macintyre, William F. Precht, Thaddeus J. T. Murdoch, Cheryl M. Wapnick,

Marine Biology and Ecology Research

Ecological MonographsVolume 72, Issue 2 p. 233-249 Regular Article THE EXPANDING SCALE OF SPECIES TURNOVER EVENTS ON CORAL REEFS IN BELIZE Richard B. Aronson, Richard B. Aronson Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Boulevard, Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528 USA. Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688 USA E-mail: raronson@disl.orgSearch for more papers by this authorIan G. Macintyre, Ian G. Macintyre Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560 USASearch for more papers by this authorWilliam F. Precht, William F. Precht PBS&J, 2001 Northwest 107th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33172 USASearch for more papers by this authorThaddeus J. T. Murdoch, Thaddeus J. T. Murdoch Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Boulevard, Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528 USA. Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688 USASearch for more papers by this authorCheryl M. Wapnick, Cheryl M. Wapnick Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Boulevard, Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528 USA.Search for more papers by this author Richard B. Aronson, Richard B. Aronson Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Boulevard, Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528 USA. Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688 USA E-mail: raronson@disl.orgSearch for more papers by this authorIan G. Macintyre, Ian G. Macintyre Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560 USASearch for more papers by this authorWilliam F. Precht, William F. Precht PBS&J, 2001 Northwest 107th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33172 USASearch for more papers by this authorThaddeus J. T. Murdoch, Thaddeus J. T. Murdoch Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Boulevard, Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528 USA. Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688 USASearch for more papers by this authorCheryl M. Wapnick, Cheryl M. Wapnick Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Boulevard, Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528 USA.Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 May 2002 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9615(2002)072[0233:TESOST]2.0.CO;2Citations: 116 Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Beginning in the late 1980s, white-band disease nearly eliminated the staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis from reefs in the central shelf lagoon of Belize. The lettuce coral Agaricia tenuifolia replaced Acropora cervicornis in the early 1990s, but anomalously high water temperatures in 1998 caused severe bleaching and catastrophic mortality of Agaricia tenuifolia. The short-lived transition in dominance from Acropora cervicornis to Agaricia tenuifolia left an unambiguous signature in the fossil record of these uncemented lagoonal reefs. Analysis of 38 cores, extracted from 22 sampling stations in a 375-km2 area of the central lagoon, showed that Acropora cervicornis dominated continuously for at least 3000 years prior to the recent events. Agaricia tenuifolia occasionally grew in small patches, but no coral-to-coral replacement sequence occurred over the entire area until the late 1980s. Within a decade, the scale of species turnover increased from tens of square meters or less to hundreds of square kilometers or more. This unprecedented increase in the scale of turnover events is rooted in the accelerating pace of ecological change on coral reefs at the regional level. Citing Literature Volume72, Issue2mAY 2002Pages 233-249 RelatedInformation