Diversity and distribution of corals of opportunity in a marginal and extreme reef environment
Ow Yong, W.L.; Ng, C.S.L.; Tanzil, J.T.I.; Huang, D. (2025). Diversity and distribution of corals of opportunity in a marginal and extreme reef environment. Coral Reefs Online first. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00338-025-02677-y
In: Coral Reefs. Springer: Berlin; Heidelberg; New York. ISSN 0722-4028; e-ISSN 1432-0975, meer
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| Auteurs | | Top |
- Ow Yong, W.L.
- Ng, C.S.L.
- Tanzil, J.T.I.
- Huang, D.
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| Abstract |
Coral reefs worldwide are gradually transitioning to become marginal and extreme reefs due to rapid coastal urbanisation. As restorative intervention for these degraded reefs becomes increasingly urgent, deeper understanding of alternative sources of coral material like corals of opportunity (COPs) is required to support these efforts. The current study investigates the naturally occurring diversity and distribution of COP assemblages on a marginal and extreme reef environment and examines how environmental characteristics may be used to infer COP assemblages and inform collection strategies. Using Singapore as a case study, our study showed significant variability in COP densities between sites as well as depths. Inter-site variability was potentially influenced by site proximity to human activity, while depth variability likely occurred due to differences in environmental conditions between reef zones that affected COP survivorship. Proximate coral assemblage diversity and hard coral cover were significant predictors for COP density. However, proximate coral assemblage data (i.e. taxa richness) only predicted general COP assemblage diversity but not the locations of specific taxa, as COP fragments were not found near their parent colonies likely due to fragment transport. COPs were relatively large and of good condition, potentially suggesting size thresholds for survival on Singapore’s extreme reefs, especially at deeper reef zones where growth conditions are less favourable for coral growth. Our findings show that the diverse and healthy COP populations can exist even in marginal and extreme reef environments, and highlight their utility in supporting restoration efforts. |
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