Publication Date:
2012-10-13
Description:
The productivity and health of coral reef habitat is diminishing worldwide; however, the effect that habitat declines have on coral reef biodiversity is not known. Logistical and financial constraints mean that surveys of hard coral communities rarely collect data at the species level; hence it is important to know if there are proxy metrics that can reliably predict biodiversity. Here, the performances of six proxy metrics are compared using regression analyses on survey data from a location in the northern Great Barrier Reef. Results suggest generic richness is a strong explanatory variable for spatial patterns in species richness (explaining 82 % of the variation when measured on a belt transect). The most commonly used metric of reef health, percentage live coral cover, is not positively or linearly related to hard coral species richness. This result raises doubt as to whether management actions based on such reefscape information will be effective for the conservation of coral biodiversity. Content Type Journal Article Category Note Pages 1-6 DOI 10.1007/s00338-012-0963-3 Authors Zoe T. Richards, Natural Sciences, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia Journal Coral Reefs Online ISSN 1432-0975 Print ISSN 0722-4028
Print ISSN:
0722-4028
Electronic ISSN:
1432-0975
Topics:
Biology
,
Geosciences
