Atoll-scale patterns in coral reef community structure: Human signatures on Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 5; p. e0177083
• Main Authors: Crane, Nicole L, Nelson, Peter, Abelson, Avigdor, Precoda, Kristin, Rulmal, Jr, John, Bernardi, Giacomo, Paddack, Michelle
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 10-05-2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Abundance; Acidification; Analysis; Animals; Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic habitats; Biodiversity; Biological evolution; Biology; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomass; Biotic factors; Climate; Climate change; Climate effects; Coastal zone management; Commercial fishing; Community; Community action; Community structure; Complementarity; Conservation; Conservation of Natural Resources; Coral bleaching; Coral reef ecosystems; Coral reef habitats; Coral Reefs; Deep water; Degradation; Diamonds; Earth Sciences; Ecology; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Ecosystem biology; Ecosystems; Environmental protection; Ethics; Eutrophication; Exploitation; Extraction; Fish; Fish populations; Fisheries; Fisheries management; Fishery management; Fishes - physiology; Fishing; Food; Food supply; Habitats; Hay; Herbivory; Human influences; Human populations; Humans; Islands; Loads (forces); Micronesia; Overfishing; Population density; Populations; Reserves; Signatures; Simplification; Species richness; Studies; Temperature effects; Zoology; Micronesia (Nation); Micronesia; California; Ulithi; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177083

The dynamic relationship between reefs and the people who utilize them at a subsistence level is poorly understood. This paper characterizes atoll-scale patterns in shallow coral reef habitat and fish community structure, and correlates these with environmental characteristics and anthropogenic factors, critical to conservation efforts for the reefs and the people who depend on them. Hierarchical clustering analyses by site for benthic composition and fish community resulted in the same 3 major clusters: cluster 1-oceanic (close proximity to deep water) and uninhabited (low human impact); cluster 2-oceanic and inhabited (high human impact); and cluster 3-lagoonal (facing the inside of the lagoon) and inhabited (highest human impact). Distance from village, reef exposure to deep water and human population size had the greatest effect in predicting the fish and benthic community structure. Our study demonstrates a strong association between benthic and fish community structure and human use across the Ulithi Atoll (Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia) and confirms a pattern observed by local people that an 'opportunistic' scleractinian coral (Montipora sp.) is associated with more highly impacted reefs. Our findings suggest that small human populations (subsistence fishing) can nevertheless have considerable ecological impacts on reefs due, in part, to changes in fishing practices rather than overfishing per se, as well as larger global trends. Findings from this work can assist in building local capacity to manage reef resources across an atoll-wide scale, and illustrates the importance of anthropogenic impact even in small communities.