Coral mortality and growth in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 2006-2016 (RUI-LTREB project)

<p>This study was carried out on shallow reefs along the south coast of St. John, which have been monitored since 1987, and studied since the 1950’s. Three aspects of the time-series analyses are utilized, and the study period exploited concurrent sampling of coral cover, coral recruitment, and the dynamics of small corals (colonies ≤ 40-mm diameter). These aspects of community structure were studied at 5–6 sites at 5–9-m depth between Cabritte Horn and White Point (Figs. 1, S1), and each was added to the study as the project evolved, mostly for purposes other than the one described herein. The longevity and breadth of this study created opportunities for analyses that rarely have been considered in ecological investigations of coral reefs, but the ad hoc evolution of the study resulted in an imperfect match among the components, notably in the 4-m depth range over which the three aspects of community structure were studied. This depth range is ecologically relevant for corals, and interpretation of the present analysis therefore must be constrained by the assumption that temporal variation in coral recruitment, dynamics of small corals, and coral cover is similar between 5 and 9 m depth. Apart from the first two years over which recruitment was measured every ~ 6 months, annual surveys were completed in July and August. Throughout this analysis, study sites, and mean values by site, are treated as statistical replicates of the fringing reefs of St. John.</p> <p>The entire Excel Workbook, which contains the additional datasets listed below,&nbsp; can be downloaded using the following link:&nbsp;https://datadocs.bco-dmo.org/docs/302/St_John_LTREB/data_docs/Data_for_Paper_Feb_2017_copy.xlsx<br /> <br /> Coral cover in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 2007-2016: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750676<br /> Coral cover, density, and recruits averages per site in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 2007-2016: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750740<br /> Coral cover, density, and recruits averages per year in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 2007-2016: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750771<br /> Mean monthly seawater temperatures in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 1989-2016: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750049</p>本研究依托自1987年起开展监测、20世纪50年代起即有研究记录的圣约翰岛南岸浅礁展开。本次研究采用时间序列分析的三个维度，研究时段覆盖珊瑚覆盖度、珊瑚补充量以及小型珊瑚（直径≤40mm的群落）动态的同步采样数据。研究在卡布里特角（Cabritte Horn）与怀特角（White Point）之间5~9米水深的5~6个站位开展群落结构相关研究（图1、补充材料图S1），各站位多因本研究以外的其他项目需求，随研究推进逐步纳入本次研究体系。本研究的长期跨度与广泛覆盖范围为珊瑚礁生态研究中鲜有涉及的分析提供了可能，但由于研究随项目逐步推进采用了临时性设计，导致各研究组分间存在匹配度不足的问题，尤其在三个群落结构维度分析覆盖的4米水深区间内这一缺陷更为显著。该水深范围对珊瑚而言具有生态学意义，因此本分析的解读需基于以下假设约束：5~9米水深区间内，珊瑚补充量、小型珊瑚动态与珊瑚覆盖度的时间变化特征具有一致性。除最初两年约每6个月开展一次补充量监测外，其余年度调查均于7月至8月完成。本分析中，研究站位及各站位的平均值均被视为圣约翰岛岸礁的统计重复样本。 包含如下附加数据集的完整Excel工作簿可通过以下链接下载：https://datadocs.bco-dmo.org/docs/302/St_John_LTREB/data_docs/Data_for_Paper_Feb_2017_copy.xlsx 美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛2007-2016年珊瑚覆盖度数据：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750676 美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛2007-2016年各站位珊瑚覆盖度、密度及补充量平均值数据：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750740 美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛2007-2016年年度珊瑚覆盖度、密度及补充量平均值数据：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750771 美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛1989-2016年逐月海水温度数据：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750049