Reefs under Siege—the Rise, Putative Drivers, and Consequences of Benthic Cyanobacterial Mats
Benthic cyanobacteria have commonly been a small but integral component of coral reef ecosystems, fulfilling the critical function of introducing bioavailable nitrogen to an inherently oligotrophic environment. Though surveys may have previously neglected benthic cyanobacteria, or grouped them with...
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doaj-00b6e4c7f86441bdb63f839767c41b702020-11-25T02:02:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452018-02-01510.3389/fmars.2018.00018320011Reefs under Siege—the Rise, Putative Drivers, and Consequences of Benthic Cyanobacterial MatsAmanda K. Ford0Amanda K. Ford1Sonia Bejarano2Maggy M. Nugues3Maggy M. Nugues4Petra M. Visser5Simon Albert6Sebastian C. A. Ferse7Sebastian C. A. Ferse8Ecology Department, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, GermanyFaculty of Biology and Chemistry (FB2), University of Bremen, Bremen, GermanyEcology Department, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, GermanyEPHE, PSL Research University, UPVD-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, USR3278 CRIOBE, Perpignan, FranceLabex Corail, CRIOBE, Moorea, French PolynesiaDepartment of Freshwater and Marine Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsSchool of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaEcology Department, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, GermanyFaculty of Biology and Chemistry (FB2), University of Bremen, Bremen, GermanyBenthic cyanobacteria have commonly been a small but integral component of coral reef ecosystems, fulfilling the critical function of introducing bioavailable nitrogen to an inherently oligotrophic environment. Though surveys may have previously neglected benthic cyanobacteria, or grouped them with more conspicuous benthic groups, emerging evidence strongly indicates that they are becoming increasingly prevalent on reefs worldwide. Some species can form mats comprised by a diverse microbial consortium which allows them to exist across a wide range of environmental conditions. This review evaluates the putative driving factors of increasing benthic cyanobacterial mats, including climate change, declining coastal water quality, iron input, and overexploitation of key consumer and ecosystem engineer species. Ongoing global environmental change can increase growth rates and toxin production of physiologically plastic benthic cyanobacterial mats, placing them at a considerable competitive advantage against reef-building corals. Once established, strong ecological feedbacks [e.g., inhibition of coral recruitment, release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC)] reinforce reef degradation. The review also highlights previously overlooked implications of mat proliferation, which can extend beyond reef health and affect human health and welfare. Though identifying (opportunistic) consumers of mats remains a priority, their perceived low palatability implies that herbivore management alone may be insufficient to control their proliferation and must be accompanied by local measures to improve water quality and watershed management.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00018/fullcoral reefsecosystem degradationalternative statesecological feedbacksglobal environmental changesocial-ecological traps |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Amanda K. Ford Amanda K. Ford Sonia Bejarano Maggy M. Nugues Maggy M. Nugues Petra M. Visser Simon Albert Sebastian C. A. Ferse Sebastian C. A. Ferse |
spellingShingle |
Amanda K. Ford Amanda K. Ford Sonia Bejarano Maggy M. Nugues Maggy M. Nugues Petra M. Visser Simon Albert Sebastian C. A. Ferse Sebastian C. A. Ferse Reefs under Siege—the Rise, Putative Drivers, and Consequences of Benthic Cyanobacterial Mats Frontiers in Marine Science coral reefs ecosystem degradation alternative states ecological feedbacks global environmental change social-ecological traps |
author_facet |
Amanda K. Ford Amanda K. Ford Sonia Bejarano Maggy M. Nugues Maggy M. Nugues Petra M. Visser Simon Albert Sebastian C. A. Ferse Sebastian C. A. Ferse |
author_sort |
Amanda K. Ford |
title |
Reefs under Siege—the Rise, Putative Drivers, and Consequences of Benthic Cyanobacterial Mats |
title_short |
Reefs under Siege—the Rise, Putative Drivers, and Consequences of Benthic Cyanobacterial Mats |
title_full |
Reefs under Siege—the Rise, Putative Drivers, and Consequences of Benthic Cyanobacterial Mats |
title_fullStr |
Reefs under Siege—the Rise, Putative Drivers, and Consequences of Benthic Cyanobacterial Mats |
title_full_unstemmed |
Reefs under Siege—the Rise, Putative Drivers, and Consequences of Benthic Cyanobacterial Mats |
title_sort |
reefs under siege—the rise, putative drivers, and consequences of benthic cyanobacterial mats |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
issn |
2296-7745 |
publishDate |
2018-02-01 |
description |
Benthic cyanobacteria have commonly been a small but integral component of coral reef ecosystems, fulfilling the critical function of introducing bioavailable nitrogen to an inherently oligotrophic environment. Though surveys may have previously neglected benthic cyanobacteria, or grouped them with more conspicuous benthic groups, emerging evidence strongly indicates that they are becoming increasingly prevalent on reefs worldwide. Some species can form mats comprised by a diverse microbial consortium which allows them to exist across a wide range of environmental conditions. This review evaluates the putative driving factors of increasing benthic cyanobacterial mats, including climate change, declining coastal water quality, iron input, and overexploitation of key consumer and ecosystem engineer species. Ongoing global environmental change can increase growth rates and toxin production of physiologically plastic benthic cyanobacterial mats, placing them at a considerable competitive advantage against reef-building corals. Once established, strong ecological feedbacks [e.g., inhibition of coral recruitment, release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC)] reinforce reef degradation. The review also highlights previously overlooked implications of mat proliferation, which can extend beyond reef health and affect human health and welfare. Though identifying (opportunistic) consumers of mats remains a priority, their perceived low palatability implies that herbivore management alone may be insufficient to control their proliferation and must be accompanied by local measures to improve water quality and watershed management. |
topic |
coral reefs ecosystem degradation alternative states ecological feedbacks global environmental change social-ecological traps |
url |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00018/full |
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