FN Archimer Export Format
PT J
TI Spatial Patterns of Coral Community Structure in the Toliara Region of Southwest Madagascar and Implications for Conservation and Management
BT 
AF Lebely Botosoamananto, Radonirina
   Todinanahary, Gildas
   Razakandrainy, Andriamanjato
   Randrianarivo, Mahery
   Penin, Lucie
   Adjeroud, Mehdi
AS 1:1,2,3;2:1;3:1;4:1,2;5:2;6:3,4;
FF 1:;2:;3:;4:;5:;6:;
C1 Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines, Université de Toliara, BP 141, Mahavatse II Toliara, Toliara BP 141 601 , Madagascar
   UMR 9220 ENTROPIE, Faculté des Sciences et Technologies, Université de La Réunion, 15 Avenue René Cassin CS 92003, 97744 St Denis CEDEX 9, 97715 La Réunion, France
   ENTROPIE, IRD, Université de la Réunion, CNRS, IFREMER, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, 66860 Perpignan, France
   PSL Université Paris, USR 3278 CRIOBE EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, 66860 Perpignan, France
C2 UNIV TOLIARA, MADAGASCAR
   UNIV LA REUNION, FRANCE
   IRD, FRANCE
   UNIV PERPIGNAN, FRANCE
UM ENTROPIE
IN WOS Cotutelle UMR
   DOAJ
   copubli-france
   copubli-univ-france
   copubli-int-hors-europe
   copubli-sud
IF 3.031
TC 2
UR https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00727/83869/88809.pdf
LA English
DT Article
DE ;coral reefs;scleractinian corals;community structure;spatial variability;Madagascar
AB The Great Reef of Toliara, on the southwestern coast of Madagascar, has been documented as harbouring flourishing reef communities in the 1960s, but has since been affected by various threats, causing a coral decline last reported in 2008. In 2017, we examined the spatial heterogeneity in coral community structure in the region of Toliara. Coral assemblages were characterized by a marked spatial variability, with significant variation for most of the descriptors among the three major habitats and also among stations within habitats. We recorded high coral cover, with values >40% at six of the 10 stations, which was associated with high abundance of coral colonies. We also documented the return to an Acropora-dominated coral assemblage. While these positive results suggest a recent return to healthier coral assemblages, they must be tempered, as the diversity that we recorded was lower than in the 1960s. Moreover, we found a high cover of algae at several stations, suggesting that the ecosystem is likely close to the tipping point toward a phase shift. Finally, the population size-structure of major coral taxa was positively skewed, with few large colonies to ensure the replenishment of local populations. The marked spatial variation suggests that marine protected areas should integrate a sufficiently large area to capture the scale of this spatial heterogeneity. 
PY 2021
PD OCT
SO Diversity-basel
SN 1424-2818
PU MDPI
VL 13
IS 10
UT 000712447400001
DI 10.3390/d13100486
ID 83869
ER

EF