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Rapid phase-shift reversal on a Jamaican coral reef

Abstract:

Many Caribbean reefs have experienced a phase-shift in community structure, the principle features being a decline in coral cover and an increase in macroalgal biomass. However, one Jamaican reef - Dairy Bull on the north shore near Discovery Bay - is once again dominated by scleractinian corals and several key species have returned. Living coral cover at 6-8 m depth at Dairy Bull has doubled over the past 9 years and is now ∼54%. The absolute cover of Acropora cervicornis was < 1% in 1995, but increased to ∼11% by January 2004. During this time the cover of macroalgae decreased by 90%, from 45 to 6%. We speculate that long-lived colonies of Montastraea annularis may have facilitated the recovery of this reef by providing structural refugia. © Springer-Verlag 2006.