1. Following coral mortality in tropical reefs, pioneer communities dominated by fila-mentous and crustose algae efficiently colonize substrates previously occupied by coral tissue. This phenomenon is particularly common after mass coral mortality following prolonged bleaching events associated with marine heatwaves.2. Pioneer communities play an important role for the biological succession and reorganization of reefs after disturbance. However, their significance for critical ecosystem functions previously mediated by corals, such as the efficient cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) within the reef, remains uncertain.3. We used 96 carbonate tiles to simulate the occurrence of bare substrates after disturbance in a coral reef of the central Red Sea. We measured rates of C and dinitrogen (N2) fixation of pioneer communities on these tiles monthly over an entire year. Coupled with elemental and stable isotope analyses, these measure-ments provide insights into macronutrient acquisition, export and the influence of seasonality.4. Pioneer communities exhibited high rates of C and N2 fixation within 4–8 weeks after the introduction of experimental bare substrates. Ranging from 13 to 25 μmol C cm−2 day−1 and 8 to 54 nmol N cm−2 day−1, respectively, C and N2 fixa-tion rates were comparable to reported values for established Red Sea coral reefs. This similarity indicates that pioneer communities may quickly compensate for the loss of benthic productivity by corals. Notably, between 40% and 85% of fixed
Roth F., Karcher D.B., Rädecker N., Hohn S., Carvalho S., Thomson T., Saalmann F., Voolstra C.R., Kürten B., Struck U., Jones B.H., Wild C. and El‐Sabaawi R. (2020) High rates of carbon and dinitrogen fixation suggest a critical role of benthic pioneer communities in the energy and nutrient dynamics of coral reefs. Functional Ecology 34(9): 1991-2004. 10.1111/1365-2435.13625
@article{Roth2020,
Title = {High rates of carbon and dinitrogen fixation suggest a critical role of benthic pioneer communities in the energy and nutrient dynamics of coral reefs},
Author = {Roth, Florian and Karcher, Denis B. and Rädecker, Nils and Hohn, Sönke and Carvalho, Susana and Thomson, Timothy and Saalmann, Franziska and Voolstra, Christian R. and Kürten, Benjamin and Struck, Ulrich and Jones, Burton H. and Wild, Christian and El‐Sabaawi, Rana},
Editor = {},
Journal = {Functional Ecology},
Year = {2020},
Pages = {1991-2004},
Volume = {34},
Doi = {10.1111/1365-2435.13625},
Abstract = {1. Following coral mortality in tropical reefs, pioneer communities dominated by fila-mentous and crustose algae efficiently colonize substrates previously occupied by coral tissue. This phenomenon is particularly common after mass coral mortality following prolonged bleaching events associated with marine heatwaves.2. Pioneer communities play an important role for the biological succession and reorganization of reefs after disturbance. However, their significance for critical ecosystem functions previously mediated by corals, such as the efficient cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) within the reef, remains uncertain.3. We used 96 carbonate tiles to simulate the occurrence of bare substrates after disturbance in a coral reef of the central Red Sea. We measured rates of C and dinitrogen (N2) fixation of pioneer communities on these tiles monthly over an entire year. Coupled with elemental and stable isotope analyses, these measure-ments provide insights into macronutrient acquisition, export and the influence of seasonality.4. Pioneer communities exhibited high rates of C and N2 fixation within 4–8 weeks after the introduction of experimental bare substrates. Ranging from 13 to 25 μmol C cm−2 day−1 and 8 to 54 nmol N cm−2 day−1, respectively, C and N2 fixa-tion rates were comparable to reported values for established Red Sea coral reefs. This similarity indicates that pioneer communities may quickly compensate for the loss of benthic productivity by corals. Notably, between 40% and 85% of fixed},
}
TY - JOUR
AU - Roth, Florian
AU - Karcher, Denis B.
AU - Rädecker, Nils
AU - Hohn, Sönke
AU - Carvalho, Susana
AU - Thomson, Timothy
AU - Saalmann, Franziska
AU - Voolstra, Christian R.
AU - Kürten, Benjamin
AU - Struck, Ulrich
AU - Jones, Burton H.
AU - Wild, Christian
AU - El‐Sabaawi, Rana
TI - High rates of carbon and dinitrogen fixation suggest a critical role of benthic pioneer communities in the energy and nutrient dynamics of coral reefs
T2 - Functional Ecology
PY - 2020
SP - 1991-2004
VL - 34
DO - 10.1111/1365-2435.13625
AB - 1. Following coral mortality in tropical reefs, pioneer communities dominated by fila-mentous and crustose algae efficiently colonize substrates previously occupied by coral tissue. This phenomenon is particularly common after mass coral mortality following prolonged bleaching events associated with marine heatwaves.2. Pioneer communities play an important role for the biological succession and reorganization of reefs after disturbance. However, their significance for critical ecosystem functions previously mediated by corals, such as the efficient cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) within the reef, remains uncertain.3. We used 96 carbonate tiles to simulate the occurrence of bare substrates after disturbance in a coral reef of the central Red Sea. We measured rates of C and dinitrogen (N2) fixation of pioneer communities on these tiles monthly over an entire year. Coupled with elemental and stable isotope analyses, these measure-ments provide insights into macronutrient acquisition, export and the influence of seasonality.4. Pioneer communities exhibited high rates of C and N2 fixation within 4–8 weeks after the introduction of experimental bare substrates. Ranging from 13 to 25 μmol C cm−2 day−1 and 8 to 54 nmol N cm−2 day−1, respectively, C and N2 fixa-tion rates were comparable to reported values for established Red Sea coral reefs. This similarity indicates that pioneer communities may quickly compensate for the loss of benthic productivity by corals. Notably, between 40% and 85% of fixed
ER -
