A doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize from 2014 to 2019

Abstract To better understand the decline of one of earth’s most biodiverse habitats, coral reefs, many survey programs employ regular photographs of the benthos. An emerging challenge is the time required to annotate the large volume of digital imagery generated by these surveys. Here, we leverage...

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Autores principales:	Luis X. de Pablo, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Leah Harper, Valerie J. Paul, Scott Jones, Ross Whippo, Janina Seemann, David I. Kline, J. Emmett Duffy
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/4545d9c6b4c642859d23b6277a55cb99
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:4545d9c6b4c642859d23b6277a55cb992021-12-02T19:17:05ZA doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize from 2014 to 201910.1038/s41598-021-96799-22045-2322https://doaj.org/article/4545d9c6b4c642859d23b6277a55cb992021-09-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96799-2https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract To better understand the decline of one of earth’s most biodiverse habitats, coral reefs, many survey programs employ regular photographs of the benthos. An emerging challenge is the time required to annotate the large volume of digital imagery generated by these surveys. Here, we leverage existing machine-learning tools (CoralNet) and develop new fit-to-purpose programs to process and score benthic photoquadrats using five years of data from the Smithsonian MarineGEO Network’s biodiversity monitoring program at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. Our analysis shows that scleractinian coral cover on forereef sites (at depths of 3–10 m) along our surveyed transects increased significantly from 6 to 13% during this period. More modest changes in macroalgae, turf algae, and sponge cover were also observed. Community-wide analysis confirmed a significant shift in benthic structure, and follow-up in situ surveys of coral demographics in 2019 revealed that the emerging coral communities are dominated by fast-recruiting and growing coral species belonging to the genera Agaricia and Porites. While the positive trajectory reported here is promising, Belizean reefs face persistent challenges related to overfishing and climate change. Open-source computational toolkits offer promise for increasing the efficiency of reef monitoring, and therefore our ability to assess the future of coral reefs in the face of rapid environmental change.Luis X. de PabloJonathan S. LefcheckLeah HarperValerie J. PaulScott JonesRoss WhippoJanina SeemannDavid I. KlineJ. Emmett DuffyNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Luis X. de Pablo Jonathan S. Lefcheck Leah Harper Valerie J. Paul Scott Jones Ross Whippo Janina Seemann David I. Kline J. Emmett Duffy A doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize from 2014 to 2019
description	Abstract To better understand the decline of one of earth’s most biodiverse habitats, coral reefs, many survey programs employ regular photographs of the benthos. An emerging challenge is the time required to annotate the large volume of digital imagery generated by these surveys. Here, we leverage existing machine-learning tools (CoralNet) and develop new fit-to-purpose programs to process and score benthic photoquadrats using five years of data from the Smithsonian MarineGEO Network’s biodiversity monitoring program at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. Our analysis shows that scleractinian coral cover on forereef sites (at depths of 3–10 m) along our surveyed transects increased significantly from 6 to 13% during this period. More modest changes in macroalgae, turf algae, and sponge cover were also observed. Community-wide analysis confirmed a significant shift in benthic structure, and follow-up in situ surveys of coral demographics in 2019 revealed that the emerging coral communities are dominated by fast-recruiting and growing coral species belonging to the genera Agaricia and Porites. While the positive trajectory reported here is promising, Belizean reefs face persistent challenges related to overfishing and climate change. Open-source computational toolkits offer promise for increasing the efficiency of reef monitoring, and therefore our ability to assess the future of coral reefs in the face of rapid environmental change.
format	article
author	Luis X. de Pablo Jonathan S. Lefcheck Leah Harper Valerie J. Paul Scott Jones Ross Whippo Janina Seemann David I. Kline J. Emmett Duffy
author_facet	Luis X. de Pablo Jonathan S. Lefcheck Leah Harper Valerie J. Paul Scott Jones Ross Whippo Janina Seemann David I. Kline J. Emmett Duffy
author_sort	Luis X. de Pablo
title	A doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize from 2014 to 2019
title_short	A doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize from 2014 to 2019
title_full	A doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize from 2014 to 2019
title_fullStr	A doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize from 2014 to 2019
title_full_unstemmed	A doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize from 2014 to 2019
title_sort	doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at carrie bow cay, belize from 2014 to 2019
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/4545d9c6b4c642859d23b6277a55cb99
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A doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize from 2014 to 2019

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