Articles | Volume 17, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5909-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5909-2020
Research article
 | 
01 Dec 2020
Research article |  | 01 Dec 2020

Multi-decadal changes in structural complexity following mass coral mortality on a Caribbean reef

George Roff, Jennifer Joseph, and Peter J. Mumby

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Cited articles

Almany, G. R.: Does increased habitat complexity reduce predation and competition in coral reef fish assemblages?, Oikos, 106, 275–284, 2004. 
Alvarez-Filip, L., Dulvy, N. K., Gill, J. A., Cote, I. M., and Watkinson, A. R.: Flattening of Caribbean coral reefs: region-wide declines in architectural complexity, P. Roy. Soc. B-Biol. Sci., 276, 3019–3025, 2009. 
Alvarez-Filip, L., Gill, J. A., and Dulvy, N. K.: Complex reef architecture supports more small-bodied fishes and longer food chains on Caribbean reefs, Ecosphere, 2, 1–17, https://doi.org/10.1890/Es11-00185.1, 2011. 
Aronson, R. B., Precht, W. F., Toscano, M. A., and Koltes, K. H.: The 1998 bleaching event and its aftermath on a coral reef in Belize, Mar. Biol., 141, 435–447, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-002-0842-5, 2002. 
Beukers, J. S. and Jones, G. P.: Habitat complexity modifies the impact of piscivores on a coral reef fish population, Oecologia, 114, 50–59, 1998. 
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Short summary
In recent decades, extensive mortality of reef-building corals throughout the Caribbean region has led to the erosion of reef frameworks and declines in biodiversity. Using field observations, models, and high-precision U–Th dating, we quantified changes in the structural complexity of coral reef frameworks over the past 2 decades. Structural complexity was stable at reef scales, yet bioerosion led to declines in small-scale microhabitat complexity with cascading effects on cryptic fauna.
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