Abstract
A mass mortality of coral communities dominated by Porites spp. was observed in the reef flats off the east coast of Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan. Mortality was concentrated around the mouth of the Todoroki River, from which a large amount of terrigenous fine particles had been discharged during a heavy rain. Mortality was observed over an area of ca. 30 ha in early June 2001. Damaged corals included massive Porites and Favia, branching Montipora, and the blue coral Heliopora coerulea. The most conspicuous damage was evident in large colonies of Porites because of the abundance of this species in the area. Fine particles <0.063 mm in diameter dominated (ca. 90%) the sediment collected by traps in June 2001; coarser particles, 0.125–1 mm in diameter, were collected 1–2 months after the event. The total nitrogen content of collected sediment was higher (>0.5%) just after the mass-mortality event and decreased over time. This mass mortality was apparently caused by several simultaneously occurring factors, including low tide, unusually strong north winds, and heavy precipitation that caused extensive sediment runoff.
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Acknowledgments
This study was partially supported by a grant for the 21st Century COE project “The Comprehensive Analyses on Biodiversity in Coral Reef and Island Ecosystems in Asian and Pacific Regions” from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan (Monbukagakusho)
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Yoshida, M. et al. (2010). Mass Mortality of a Coral Community in Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan, Caused by the Discharge of Terrigenous Fine Particles. In: Ceccaldi, HJ., Dekeyser, I., Girault, M., Stora, G. (eds) Global Change: Mankind-Marine Environment Interactions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8630-3_39
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