Diversity Partitioning of Stony Corals Across Multiple Spatial Scales Around Zanzibar Island, Tanzania

The coral reefs of Zanzibar Island (Unguja, Tanzania) encompass a considerable proportion of the global coral-reef diversity and are representative of the western Indian Ocean region. Unfortunately, these reefs have been recently subjected to local and regional disturbances. The objectives of this study were to determine whether there are potentially non-random processes forcing the observed coral diversity patterns, and highlight where and at which spatial scales these processes might be most influential.A hierarchical (nested) sampling design was employed across three spatial scales, ranging from transects (<or=20 m), stations (<100 m), to sites (<1000 m), to examine coral diversity patterns. Two of the four sites, Chumbe and Mnemba, were located within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), while the other two sites, Changuu and Bawe, were not protected. Additive partitioning of coral diversity was used to separate regional (total) diversity (gamma) into local alpha diversity and among-sample beta diversity components. Individual-based null models were used to identify deviations from random distribution across the three spatial scales. We found that Chumbe and Mnemba had similar diversity components to those predicted by the null models. However, the diversity at Changuu and Bawe was lower than expected at all three spatial scales tested. Consequently, the relative contribution of the among-site diversity component was significantly greater than expected. Applying partitioning analysis for each site separately revealed that the within-transect diversity component in Changuu was significantly lower than the null expectation.The non-random outcome of the partitioning analyses helped to identify the among-sites scale (i.e., 10's of kilometers) and the within-transects scale (i.e., a few meters; especially at Changuu) as spatial boundaries within which to examine the processes that may interact and disproportionately differentiate coral diversity. In light of coral community compositions and diversity patterns we strongly recommend that Bawe be declared a MPA

Bacterial consortium of millepora dichotoma exhibiting unusual multifocal lesion event in the Gulf of Eilat, Red Sea

Colonies of the hydrocoral Millepora dichotoma along the Gulf of Eilat are exhibiting unusual tissue lesions in the form of white spots. The emergence and rapid establishment of these multifocal tissue lesions was the first of its kind reported in this region. A characterization of this morphological anomaly revealed bleached tissues with a significant presence of bacteria in the tissue lesion area. To ascertain possible differences in microbial biota between the lesion area and non-affected tissues, we characterized the bacterial diversity in the two areas of these hydrocorals. Both culture-independent (molecular) and culture-dependent assays showed a shift in bacterial community structure between the healthy and affected tissues. Several 16S rRNA gene sequences retrieved from the affected tissues matched sequences of bacterial clones belonging to Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes members previously associated with various diseases in scleractinian corals

Simulated future projections of the local coral community spanning 80 years.

<p>The future projections in panels <b>A</b>, <b>B</b> and <b>C</b> rely on the demographic scenario of constant influx of recruits (64 recruits per year). Panels <b>D</b>, <b>E</b> and <b>F</b> rely on the scenario of free-space regulation of recruitment (see <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004151#sec016" target="_blank">Material and Methods</a>). Panels <b>A</b> and <b>D</b> are based on the SST time-series measured between June 2006 and May 2007 recurrently from year to year in the corresponding months. Based on this time-series, we generate future projections by adding 0.5°C (panels <b>B</b> and <b>E</b>) and 1°C (panels <b>C</b> and <b>F</b>) to the SST of each month. In these simulations we allow each new recruit to settle randomly anywhere on the 10×10 m plane. <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004151#pcbi.1004151.s004" target="_blank">S4 Fig</a> demonstrates robustness of these patterns under mild parameter variations.</p

Coral colonies from the genus Favia infected with WPD (white-plague disease).

<p><b>A</b>) Initiation of WPD—a thin zone of bleached tissue grading into exposed coral skeleton. <b>B</b>) A sharp boundary between apparently healthy tissue (‘H’) and freshly exposed skeleton (‘S’), with no build-up of microorganisms or necrotic tissue visible to the eye. With time, the exposed skeleton becomes colonized by algae (‘A’). <b>C</b>) An aggregation of corals infected with WPD.</p

Profile likelihood function <i>M</i>(<i>α</i>).

<p>The function is maximized at </p><p></p><p></p><p><mi>α</mi><mo>^</mo></p><p></p><p></p> = 1.9, giving the estimate of parameter <i>α</i>. The insert shows a close up of the 95% CI of <i>α</i> (represented by the red horizontal line).<p></p

Number of newly-infected corals (NICs).

<p>The red dots represent the number of NICs observed in the field along the studied year. The grey dots represent the median number of NICs as predicted by generating infections according to the SIS epidemic model based on <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004151#pcbi.1004151.e002" target="_blank">Eq 2</a> (see text), and the grey bars represent their 95% confidence interval.</p

Science, Diplomacy, and the Red Sea's Unique Coral Reef: It's Time for Action

Rapid ocean warming due to climate change poses a serious risk to the survival of coral reefs. It is estimated that 70-90 percent of all reefs will be severely degraded by mid-century even if the 1.5 degrees C goal of the Paris Climate Agreement is achieved. However, one coral reef ecosystem seems to be more resilient to rising sea temperatures than most others. The Red Sea's reef ecosystem is one of the longest continuous living reefs in the world, and its northernmost portion extends into the Gulf of Aqaba. The scleractinian corals in the Gulf have an unusually high tolerance for the rapidly warming seawater in the region. They withstand water temperature anomalies that cause severe bleaching or mortality in most hard corals elsewhere. This uniquely resilient reef employs biological mechanisms which are likely to be important for coral survival as the planet's oceans warm. The Gulf of Aqaba could potentially be one of the planet's largest marine refuges from climate change. However, this unique portion of the Red Sea's reef will only survive and flourish if serious regional environmental challenges are addressed. Localized anthropogenic stressors compound the effects of warming seawater to damage corals and should be mitigated immediately. Reefs in the rest of the Red Sea are already experiencing temperatures above their thermal tolerance and have had significant bleaching, though they too would benefit from fewer local anthropogenic stressors. The countries bordering the entire Red Sea will need to cooperate to enable effective scientific research and conservation. The newly established Transnational Red Sea Center, based at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), can serve as the regionally inclusive, neutral organization to foster crucial regional scientific collaboration

Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus, initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness

Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness