ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
Lessons from tens of millions of years ago are pointing to new ways to save and protect today’s coral reefs and their myriad of beautiful and many-hued fishes at a time of huge change in the Earth’s systems.
The complex relationship we see today between fishes and corals developed relatively recently in geological terms – and is a major factor in shielding reef species from extinction, says Professor David Bellwood of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University.
“Our latest research provides strong evidence for a view that today’s coral hotspots are both a refuge for old species and a cradle for new ones,” said Peter Cowman, lead author of a recent report. “This is the first real inkling we’ve had that just protecting a large area of reef may not be enough – you have to protect the right sorts of reef.”
Early coral reefs, 300-400 million years ago were much simpler affairs than today’s colourful and complex systems, Prof. Bellwood says. The fish were not specialised to live on or among corals – either lacking jaws altogether, or else feeding on detritus on the seabed or preying on one another.
“By 200 million years ago we are starting to see fish with jaws capable of feeding on corals, but the real explosion in reef diversity doesn’t occur till about 50 million years ago when we see fishes very like today’s specialist coral feeders emerging.”
It is the ever-increasing complexity of this relationship between corals and fishes over the last 20 or 30 million years that produces the wondrous diversity of today’s reefs, he says. Each has become more critical to the survival of the other as their lives have become more interwoven.
“When people think of coral reefs, they usually think of the beautiful branching corals like staghorn (Acropora) – well the evidence is now fairly clear that Acropora needs certain fish for it to flourish. But, it now appears that this may be a reciprocal relationship with Acropora being important for the evolution and survival of fishes on coral reefs. ”
Unfortunately Acropora corals are highly vulnerable to external impacts like Crown-of-Thorns starfish, coral bleaching, climate change and ocean acidification. Their demise will have far reaching effects on the fishes which interact with them, such as damsels, butterfly fish, cardinals and wrasses.
“The study of the past tells us that reefs are all about relationships and, like a family, for them to survive those relationships need to remain strong,” Peter Cowman said.
“In coming years it is probable reefs will be subject to relentless presses that may cause them to change fundamentally. Those with the best long-term prospects of survival will be the ones where the relationships between fish and corals are healthiest.
Both fish and corals managed somehow to survive the five great mass extinction events of the past, though they sustained massive loss of species. Over time these have left us with a world focus of reef biodiversity centered on the Coral Triangle region to Australia’s north, which in turn helps recharge Australian coral reefs, especially in the west.
“The Coral Triangle is currently subject to intensifying human and ecosystem pressure. The latest work by Peter Cowman and Prof Bellwood suggests it is both a cradle for new species and a refuge in troubled times – so it is vital that it remain intact.
“This isn’t about saving individual species or particular reefs, it’s about maintaining the basic relationships which ensure the survival of the whole,” says Prof Bellwood.
“We’ve had a ‘heads up’ from the past that is giving us fresh insights into what is most important on reefs and why we must protect our precious reefs and fishes into the future.”
Their paper “Coral reefs as drivers of cladogenesis: expanding coral reefs, cryptic extinction events, and the development of biodiversity hotspots” by Peter F. Cowman and David R. Bellwood was published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24: 2543-2562. DOI 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02391.x
More information:
Professor David Bellwood, CoECRS and JCU, +61 (0)7 4781 4447
Peter Cowman, CoECRS, ph +61 (0)437 820 206
Jenny Lappin, CoECRS, 07 4781 4222 OR
Jim O’Brien, James Cook University Media Office, +61 (0)7 4781 4822 or 0418 892449
The ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies are proud sponsors of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns: 9-13 July 2012.
James Cook University researchers have found brightly coloured fish are becoming increasingly rare as coral declines, with the phenomenon likely to get worse in the future. Christopher Hemingson, a
Researchers working with stakeholders in the Great Barrier Reef region have come up with ideas on how groups responsible for looking after the reef can operate more effectively when the next bleaching
A new study has delivered a stark warning about the impacts of urban growth on the world’s coral reefs. As coastal developments expand at pace around the world, a year-long study of coral on a reef
Alarming new research shows global warming of 1.5°C relative to pre-industrial levels will be catastrophic for almost all coral reefs – including those once thought of as refuges. Associate Profes
Abstract: Molecular approaches have revolutionised our understanding of the systematics and evolution of most branches on the tree of life, including corals. Over the last twenty-five years molecula
Abstract: Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) are a major driver of coral decline across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and compound upon the impacts of increasingly frequent and severe coral
Abstract: Being a new staff member at JCU, I will start with a short overview of my research. Next I will zoom in on a specific topic that I have been interested in for a long time: the impact of e
Abstract: The harsh truth is that, despite exciting innovations and increases in activity, ocean conservation is not succeeding, at least not fast enough. This is my conclusion from the last decad
This talk is the last of the parachute science seminar series organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract Universities and institutions across th
This talk is the second of three on parachute science being organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract For millenia, Traditional Owners have hel
This talk is the first of three on parachute science being organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract Parachute science is the practice whereby
ABSTRACT Climate change loss and damage is known as the “third pillar” of international climate governance in addition to mitigation and adaptation. Although there is no agreed upon definition,
Partner Research Institutions
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
