The association between coral communities and disease assemblages in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, south-eastern Sulawesi, Indonesia
J. Haapkylä A D , J. Melbourne-Thomas B C and M. Flavell A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Marine and Tropical Biology, and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.
B Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tas. 7005, Australia.
C Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 80, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: anna.haapkyla@my.jcu.edu.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 66(10) 948-955 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF14192
Submitted: 2 July 2014 Accepted: 18 November 2014 Published: 1 April 2015
Abstract
The relationship between coral community structure and disease prevalence is poorly understood, particularly in the Coral Triangle. Improved understanding of this relationship will assist in identifying assemblages that might be particularly vulnerable to disease, and in predicting possible future impacts. Here, we report results from the last 2 years (2010 and 2011) of a 4-year coral disease-monitoring program (2005, 2007, 2010, 2011) in the Wakatobi Marine National Park (Indonesia), and evaluate changes in total disease prevalence and coral cover since 2005. A comparison with previously published results from 2005 and 2007 indicates that the number of coral diseases increased from two to eight and total disease prevalence tripled between 2005 and 2011. We observed a dramatic decline in coral cover and an increase in disease prevalence at a site with a unique community of foliose corals. However, because of the 3-year period between surveys (2007, 2010), it is likely that the peak of the disease event was not observed. While multi-year studies provide useful insights into the relationships between community structure and disease, our results emphasise how determining the drivers of change in remote reef locations is especially challenging if events such as disease outbreaks are missed.
Additional keywords: coral disease dynamics, disease drivers.
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