Recolonization of Marginal Coral Reef Flats in Response to Recent Sea-Level Rise

摘要: In an era of global change and rising sea levels, the capacity for inshore reefs to survive is increasingly unclear. We report on recent colonization reef-flat environment at Sanya Bay, northern South China Sea, in shallow, muddy, eutrophic, turbid conditions, which are widely viewed as marginal sustained coral growth. U-Th dating fossil Acropora substrate indicated that reef flat has existed a dormant state since 5,400years BP, with no vertical space available accommodate expansion. Our surveys revealed populations free-living Porites compressa have recolonized through asexual fragmentation, covering 13.91.3% substrates. Age-frequency analysis majority (86%) P.compressa colonies were less than 30years old. Analysis long-term sea-level data recolonization occurred response rise 16.20.6cm over past (1987-2016). Modern Bay appears turned growth senescent off five millennia. The life history strategy colonies, involves forming (coralliths), allows them overcome environmental conditions otherwise adverse sexual recruitment. results provide novel insight into habitats rise, suggest cover degraded flats could increase under future albeit assemblages dominated by few well-adapted species. Inshore throughout world highly susceptible anthropogenic disturbance (e.g., increasing pollution changing land use) declined decades. rises associated warming theoretically accommodation corals growing shallow flats. Whereas, potential respond increased yet this study, fringing typical system impacted severe perturbations, case study disturbed modern rise. With ecological surveys, demographic age-frequency analyses, high-precision dating, we evidence switch 50years levels unprecedented mid-Holocene. unique dominant taxa (free-living Porites) driving partial recovery eutrophic previously been considered glimpse condition, or new state, heavily Indo-Pacific reefs.