Coral Reef Annihilation, Persistence and Recovery at Earth’s Youngest Volcanic Island

• Published in: Coral reefs Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 529 - 536
• Main Authors: Smallhorn-West, P F, Garvin, J B, Slayback, D A, DeCarlo, T M, Gordon, S E, Fitzgerald, S H, Halafihi, T, Jones, G P, Bridge, T C L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Goddard Space Flight Center Springer Verlag 01.06.2020; Springer Berlin Heidelberg; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anthropogenic factors; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Coral reef ecosystems; Coral reefs; Disturbances; Earth; Ecosystem recovery; Ecosystem resilience; Ecosystems; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Geophysics; Human influences; Life Sciences; Oceanography; Recovery; Refuges; Resilience; Structure-function relationships; Volcanic eruptions; Volcanic islands; Ecosystem Resilience; Refuge Population; Reef Recovery; Coral reef; Reef recovery; Ecosystem resilience; Volcanic eruption; Refuge population
• ISSN: 0722-4028; 1432-0975
• DOI: 10.1007/s00338-019-01868-8

The structure and function of coral reef ecosystems is increasingly compromised by multiple stressors, even in the most remote locations. Severe, acute disturbances such as volcanic eruptions represent extreme events that can annihilate entire reef ecosystems, but also provide unique opportunities to examine ecosystem resilience and recovery. Here, we examine the destruction, persistence and initial recovery of reefs associated with the hydromagmatic eruption that created Earth’s newest landmass, the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai volcanic island. Despite extreme conditions associated with the eruption, impacts on nearby reefs were spatially variable. Importantly, even heavily affected reefs showed signs of rapid recovery driven by high recruitment, likely from local refuges. The remote location and corresponding lack of additional stressors likely contribute to the resilience of Hunga’s reefs, suggesting that in the absence of chronic anthropogenic stressors, coral reefs can be resilient to one of the largest physical disturbances on Earth.