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Shakya AW, Allgeier JE. Water column contributions to coral reef productivity: overcoming challenges of context dependence. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:1812-1828. [PMID: 37315947 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Coral reefs are declining at an unprecedented rate. Effective management and conservation initiatives necessitate improved understanding of the drivers of production because the high rates found in these ecosystems are the foundation of the many services they provide. The water column is the nexus of coral reef ecosystem dynamics, and functions as the interface through which essentially all energy and nutrients are transferred to fuel both new and recycled production. Substantial research has described many aspects of water column dynamics, often focusing on specific components because water column dynamics are highly spatially and temporally context dependent. Although necessary, a cost of this approach is that these dynamics are often not well linked to the broader ecosystem or across systems. To help overcome the challenge of context dependence, we provide a comprehensive review of this literature, and synthesise it through the perspective of ecosystem ecology. Specifically, we provide a framework to organise the drivers of temporal and spatial variation in production dynamics, structured around five primary state factors. These state factors are used to deconstruct the environmental contexts in which three water column sub-food webs mediate 'new' and 'recycled' production. We then highlight critical pathways by which global change drivers are altering coral reefs via the water column. We end by discussing four key knowledge gaps hindering understanding of the role of the water column for mediating coral reef production, and how overcoming these could improve conservation and management strategies. Throughout, we identify areas of extensive research and those where studies remain lacking and provide a database of 84 published studies. Improved integration of water column dynamics into models of coral reef ecosystem function is imperative to achieve the understanding of ecosystem production necessary to develop effective conservation and management strategies needed to stem global coral loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anjali W Shakya
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1105 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Jacob E Allgeier
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1105 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
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Bouvy M, Bélières A, Carré C, Got P, Pagano M, Agogué H, Bec B, Roques C, Bigot L, Chabanet P, Dupuy C. Do microbial planktonic communities reflect the ecological changes of Glorieuses coral reefs (Iles Eparses, Western Indian Ocean)? MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2022; 174:113218. [PMID: 34952405 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Ecological baselines for the structure and functioning of ecosystems in the absence of human activity can provide essential information on their health status. The Glorieuses islands are located in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) and can be considered as "pristine" ecosystems that have not been subjected to anthropogenic pressure. Their nutrient context and the microbial assemblages were assessed by determining the abundance of heterotrophic prokaryotes (archaea and bacteria), picocyanobacteria, picoeukaryotes, microphytoplankton and protozooplankton communities in five stations, during two contrasted periods (November 2015 and May 2016). Chlorophyll-a concentrations were always under 1 μg/L and associated to very low levels in orthophosphates, nitrate and dissolved organic carbon, revealing an ultra-oligotrophic status for the Glorieuses waters. Picocyanobacteria confirmed the ultra-oligotrophic status with a predominance of Synechococcus. Zeaxanthin associated with the presence of picocyanobacteria represented the major pigment in both surveys. Three indices of diversity (species richness, Shannon and Pielou indexes) from microscopy observations highlighted the difference of diversity in microphytoplankton between the surveys. A focus on a 16S metabarcoding approach showed a high dominance of picocyanobacteria, Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria, regardless of station or period. Multivariate analyses (co-inertia analyses) revealed a strong variability of ecological conditions between the two periods, with (i) high nutrient concentrations and heterotrophic nanoflagellate abundance in November 2015, and (ii) high heterotrophic prokaryote and picoeukaryote abundance in May 2016. The impact of a category 5 tropical cyclone (Fantala) on the regional zone in April 2016 is also advanced to explain these contrasted situations. Relative importance of top-down factors between bacterial and heterotrophic nanoflagellates was observed in November 2015 with an active microbial food web. All the results indicate that three microbial indexes potentially can be considered to assess the ecological change in Glorieuses marine waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Bouvy
- Marine Diversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Université de Montpellier, IRD, Ifremer, CNRS, France; Université de Montpellier, Place Eugene Bataillon, Case 093, 34095 Montpellier, Cedex 5, France.
| | - Alice Bélières
- Marine Diversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Université de Montpellier, IRD, Ifremer, CNRS, France; Université de Montpellier, Place Eugene Bataillon, Case 093, 34095 Montpellier, Cedex 5, France
| | - Claire Carré
- Marine Diversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Université de Montpellier, IRD, Ifremer, CNRS, France; Université de Montpellier, Place Eugene Bataillon, Case 093, 34095 Montpellier, Cedex 5, France
| | - Patrice Got
- Marine Diversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Université de Montpellier, IRD, Ifremer, CNRS, France; Université de Montpellier, Place Eugene Bataillon, Case 093, 34095 Montpellier, Cedex 5, France
| | - Marc Pagano
- Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO), IRD, UMR 235, 13288 Marseille, Cedex 09, France
| | - Hélène Agogué
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université, UMR 7266 CNRS-ULR, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, Cedex, France
| | - Béatrice Bec
- Marine Diversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Université de Montpellier, IRD, Ifremer, CNRS, France; Université de Montpellier, Place Eugene Bataillon, Case 093, 34095 Montpellier, Cedex 5, France
| | - Cécile Roques
- Marine Diversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Université de Montpellier, IRD, Ifremer, CNRS, France; Université de Montpellier, Place Eugene Bataillon, Case 093, 34095 Montpellier, Cedex 5, France
| | - Lionel Bigot
- Entropie (IRD, UR, CNRS, UNC, IFREMER), Labex CORAIL, IRD-Université La Réunion, CS 92003, 97744 Saint Denis cedex 9, France
| | - Pascale Chabanet
- Entropie (IRD, UR, CNRS, UNC, IFREMER), Labex CORAIL, IRD-Université La Réunion, CS 92003, 97744 Saint Denis cedex 9, France
| | - Christine Dupuy
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université, UMR 7266 CNRS-ULR, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, Cedex, France
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Landolfi A, Prowe AEF, Pahlow M, Somes CJ, Chien CT, Schartau M, Koeve W, Oschlies A. Can Top-Down Controls Expand the Ecological Niche of Marine N 2 Fixers? Front Microbiol 2021; 12:690200. [PMID: 34489886 PMCID: PMC8416505 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.690200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability of marine diazotrophs to fix dinitrogen gas (N2) is one of the most influential yet enigmatic processes in the ocean. With their activity diazotrophs support biological production by fixing about 100–200 Tg N/year and turning otherwise unavailable dinitrogen into bioavailable nitrogen (N), an essential limiting nutrient. Despite their important role, the factors that control the distribution of diazotrophs and their ability to fix N2 are not fully elucidated. We discuss insights that can be gained from the emerging picture of a wide geographical distribution of marine diazotrophs and provide a critical assessment of environmental (bottom-up) versus trophic (top-down) controls. We expand a simplified theoretical framework to understand how top-down control affects competition for resources that determine ecological niches. Selective mortality, mediated by grazing or viral-lysis, on non-fixing phytoplankton is identified as a critical process that can broaden the ability of diazotrophs to compete for resources in top-down controlled systems and explain an expanded ecological niche for diazotrophs. Our simplified analysis predicts a larger importance of top-down control on competition patterns as resource levels increase. As grazing controls the faster growing phytoplankton, coexistence of the slower growing diazotrophs can be established. However, these predictions require corroboration by experimental and field data, together with the identification of specific traits of organisms and associated trade-offs related to selective top-down control. Elucidation of these factors could greatly improve our predictive capability for patterns and rates of marine N2 fixation. The susceptibility of this key biogeochemical process to future changes may not only be determined by changes in environmental conditions but also via changes in the ecological interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Landolfi
- Institute of Marine Sciences, National Research Council, Rome, Italy.,Marine Biogeochemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
| | - A E Friederike Prowe
- Marine Biogeochemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
| | - Markus Pahlow
- Marine Biogeochemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
| | - Christopher J Somes
- Marine Biogeochemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
| | - Chia-Te Chien
- Marine Biogeochemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
| | - Markus Schartau
- Marine Biogeochemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Koeve
- Marine Biogeochemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
| | - Andreas Oschlies
- Marine Biogeochemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
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