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<p>Coral reefs host immense biodiversity and provide vital ecosystem services, but they face escalating threats from human activities. Here, we examine covariations in diversity&#xa0;between hard corals, macroalgae, macroinvertebrates, and non-cryptobenthic&#xa0;fishes at four sites in Singapore’s urbanised reefs over four years. Despite close geographical proximity among sites, we found significant spatial variations in community composition. The site farthest from mainland Singapore, Pulau Satumu, exhibited the highest hard coral, macroinvertebrate and fish abundance and richness, while the site that has experienced the most extensive shoreline modification to date, Pulau Semakau, showed the lowest hard coral, macroinvertebrate and fish abundance and richness. Fish communities exhibited weak positive correlations with hard corals and macroalgae, underscoring their pivotal role in reef health. Conversely, macroinvertebrates exhibited limited associations with hard coral, macroalgae and fish communities. The impact of reef structural complexity on diversity was significant but varied among taxonomic groups. Specifically, hard coral and macroalgal abundance and richness increased with higher structural complexity, while fish abundance and richness decreased with complexity. Analyses also identified three distinct ecological regimes: a coral-dominated state, an algal-sediment-dominated state, and an intermediate state. Most sites exhibited temporal regime stability, but Pulau Hantu showed annual shifts among all three states, highlighting its volatile ecological condition. Our findings underscore the importance of multi-taxon approaches to reveal complex dynamics and define ecosystem states for managing urbanised coral reefs.</p>

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Covariations of coral, macroalgal, macroinvertebrate and fish communities in an urbanised tropical reef environment

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年8月18日

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  • Stacia Loong,
  • Daisuke Taira,
  • Y. K. Samuel Chan,
  • W. W. Rochelle Chan,
  • Jenny Fong,
  • Valerie Kwan,
  • Jeffrey K. Y. Low,
  • C. S. Lionel Ng,
  • Shu Qin Sam,
  • Charles Zhiming Tan,
  • Karenne P. P. Tun,
  • Zhi Ting Yip,
  • Zeehan Jaafar,
  • Danwei Huang

摘要

Coral reefs host immense biodiversity and provide vital ecosystem services, but they face escalating threats from human activities. Here, we examine covariations in diversity between hard corals, macroalgae, macroinvertebrates, and non-cryptobenthic fishes at four sites in Singapore’s urbanised reefs over four years. Despite close geographical proximity among sites, we found significant spatial variations in community composition. The site farthest from mainland Singapore, Pulau Satumu, exhibited the highest hard coral, macroinvertebrate and fish abundance and richness, while the site that has experienced the most extensive shoreline modification to date, Pulau Semakau, showed the lowest hard coral, macroinvertebrate and fish abundance and richness. Fish communities exhibited weak positive correlations with hard corals and macroalgae, underscoring their pivotal role in reef health. Conversely, macroinvertebrates exhibited limited associations with hard coral, macroalgae and fish communities. The impact of reef structural complexity on diversity was significant but varied among taxonomic groups. Specifically, hard coral and macroalgal abundance and richness increased with higher structural complexity, while fish abundance and richness decreased with complexity. Analyses also identified three distinct ecological regimes: a coral-dominated state, an algal-sediment-dominated state, and an intermediate state. Most sites exhibited temporal regime stability, but Pulau Hantu showed annual shifts among all three states, highlighting its volatile ecological condition. Our findings underscore the importance of multi-taxon approaches to reveal complex dynamics and define ecosystem states for managing urbanised coral reefs.