Connectivity structure of coral populations in the Sekisei Lagoon.

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26891007
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Muko Soyoka (向草世香) 東京工業大学, 情報理工学(系)研究科, 産学官連携研究員 (30546106)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-08-29 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 個体群動態 / 回復力 / メタ群集 / クラスター解析 / 一般化加法モデル

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The status of corals after a sequence of disturbances in the Sekisei Lagoon and adjacent areas, Okinawa, was assessed using the long-term monitoring data collected at 196 research sites from 2000 to 2013. A hierarchical cluster analysis suggested that there were the sites, which accounted for approximately 31% of the total, lost the resilience after a sharp decline in mean coral cover caused by a severe bleaching event in 2007. This was mainly because of subsequent outbreaks of Acanthaster planci and the reduction of Acropora recruits. In addition, the relative impact of each disturbance type on the loss of coral cover was evaluated by a generalized additive model. A. planci and severe coral bleaching over approximately 40% had large negative impacts on coral cover. Analyses of larval dispersal pattern and monitoring data suggested that the northern area of Iriomote Island might act as a source population.

Free Research Field

生態学