The authors quantitatively reviewed the literature (55 studies in total) on the recovery rates of coral reef ecosystems from acute disturbance events among 48 different reef locations (from western Indian Ocean, to eastern Pacific and the Caribbean) and assessed which characteristics promote faster recovery rates. Specifically, the authors tested the relative roles of disturbance characteristics, reef characteristics, connectivity and anthropogenic influences. The main purpose was to understand the factors that drive inter-reef variations in recovery trajectories. Information on ecological characteristics thought to be important for recovery were assessed including: coral diversity, percent cover of different life-forms, structural complexity, fish diversity, density and biomass (including densities of different functional groups and algal cover).
The authors found that of those reefs that have been recovering from acute disturbances (and thus are resilient), the greatest predictors of rate of recovery were geographic region, management status and severity of disturbance. Coral recovery was slowest in the eastern Pacific and fastest in the western Pacific (higher functional diversity of corals and fish in the western Pacific is thought to promote capacity to recover). The study found no evidence of small-scale connectivity, as measured as distance to nearest reef and number of neighbor reefs, influencing recovery rates. However, distance may not always capture variation among locations affectively. There was evidence of slower recovery rates within protected areas compared with other management regimes and fished areas. It is important to note that potential predictors of recovery like herbivore biomass, fish functional diversity and habitat structural complexity were not document in the studies evaluated. A better understanding of these processes may enable more appropriate management actions
Author: Graham, N.A.J., K.L. Nash, and J.T. Kool
Year: 2011
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Coral Reefs 30(2): 283-294. doi: 10.1007/s00338-010-0717-z
