Indo-pacific vs. Caribbean reefs, what's the difference?

[impreza]

Hi,

I am a long time reef enthusiasts of many years now, but never really knew the differences between indo-pacific reef corals and caribbean reef corals. For a paper I am doing in school, I decided to explore this difference. I am having a lot of trouble finding suitable information though. I am looking to compare the different types of corals in each region, and what causes these differences.

Can anybody give me some quick info I can start with? Or maybe some links or websites or journal articles? I would have thought that googling "comparison of caribbean reefs to pacific reefs" would have yielded a lot of information, but it doesn't:(

Any help or quick facts are greatly appreciated :D

[landlord]

I would start with simple geography

Going out on a limb I would say that it has been awhile since the two areas have shared the same currents. I'm no real plate techtonic expert but when pangea broke up I'm guessing they no longer shared a connection via water currents. Which in turn caused them to develop in isolation of each other.

As many ice ages have come and gone these separate biopes have again undergone changes in water currents.

...for a final guess these water current chages would either help with hybridization of corals or hinder the hybridization of corals thus changing their respective diversities.


I could be so far off base but it is a start to maybe get your mind thinking in a different direction.....

Good Luck :) landlord

[DiverD]

I know from diving that the Caribbean typically shows a larger diversity of soft and LPS style coral species. Lots of sea fans and such (like in the Keys). The Pacific side is the home of more overall variety. Lots of stonies as well as the soft stuff. I can tell you that the Caribean has only a couple species of Acropora, while the Pacific Indonesian side has the most diversity in the SPS style coral..

I think I'm right but others may want to chime in here to correct me.

[acrodave]

the caribbean only makes up about 1% of the reefs in the world..the temp is a lot lower than the indo..if you follow the equator all of the reefs line up on it for the most part

[reefing102]

i agree with whats been said.

the Caribbean also has the largest LIVING reef. There are also no native clownfish in the caribbean.

The pacific has more biodiversity in general, i believe.

[acrodave]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13808939#post13808939 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefing102
i agree with whats been said.

the Caribbean also has the largest LIVING reef. There are also no native clownfish in the caribbean.

The pacific has more biodiversity in general, i believe.

I dont think its the largest.. the GBR is its the only liveing thing you can see from space

[greenbean36191]

Diversity is far lower in the Caribbean than in the Pacific because the two have been cut off for about 3 or 4 million years since the isthmus of Panama rose up. Since then, diversity has been declining in the Caribbean and now there are only 2 species of Acropora left there as compared to well over 300 in the Pacific.

While the second and third largest reef tracts in the world are in the Caribbean (Belize Barrier Reef and FL keys), all of the reefs in the Carribean are only roughly the same size as the Great Barrier Reef alone. Partly as a consequence of this reefs in the Caribbean are much more sensitive to disturbances, both natural and man-made. Diseases and invasive species are much more of a problem there because they spread throughout the whole region quickly.

The ecology of the corals themselves is much different in both regions. In the Caribbean, the three dominant reef building genera are (or were) Acropora, Montastrea, and Porites. Porites tends to be the weedy species and the first to colonize disturbed areas. Acropora is very slow to colonize new areas or recolonized disturbed areas because there is very little successful sexual reproduction. They spread primarily by fragmentation.Acropora is dominant on mature reefs, but usually not abundant on frequently disturbed reefs.

In the Pacific, Acropora and Pocillopora are dominant, but they are both weedy species. They reproduce sexually very well and are the first to repopulate disturbed areas. In fact, without disturbance they choke out other corals.

[reefing102]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13808966#post13808966 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by acrodave
I dont think its the largest.. the GBR is its the only liveing thing you can see from space

what i meant by living is the amount of coral/viewable aspects on the reef its self

a good portion of the GBR is dead - in the aspects used above - due the thorny starfish (i think)

[LockeOak]

No, the GBR has not been nearly as badly degraded compared to many Caribbean reefs. The formerly dominant Caribbean species, Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata, were decimated (often >95% mortality) during a white band disease outbreak in the early 80s. What's left are mostly Montastraea and Porites dominated, if you can call them "dominant" on reefs with 5% live coral cover. Caribbean reefs average 4-6% live coral cover, much, much lower than the GBR.

[impreza]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13809234#post13809234 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by greenbean36191
Diversity is far lower in the Caribbean than in the Pacific because the two have been cut off for about 3 or 4 million years since the isthmus of Panama rose up. Since then, diversity has been declining in the Caribbean and now there are only 2 species of Acropora left there as compared to well over 300 in the Pacific.

While the second and third largest reef tracts in the world are in the Caribbean (Belize Barrier Reef and FL keys), all of the reefs in the Carribean are only roughly the same size as the Great Barrier Reef alone. Partly as a consequence of this reefs in the Caribbean are much more sensitive to disturbances, both natural and man-made. Diseases and invasive species are much more of a problem there because they spread throughout the whole region quickly.

The ecology of the corals themselves is much different in both regions. In the Caribbean, the three dominant reef building genera are (or were) Acropora, Montastrea, and Porites. Porites tends to be the weedy species and the first to colonize disturbed areas. Acropora is very slow to colonize new areas or recolonized disturbed areas because there is very little successful sexual reproduction. They spread primarily by fragmentation.Acropora is dominant on mature reefs, but usually not abundant on frequently disturbed reefs.

In the Pacific, Acropora and Pocillopora are dominant, but they are both weedy species. They reproduce sexually very well and are the first to repopulate disturbed areas. In fact, without disturbance they choke out other corals.

That is GREAT information!! Thank you!! I knew about the Isthmus of Panama, but just found it difficult to find actual concrete information on the different type of corals found in each area. This really helps give me a quick start!! Thank you!

What exactly do you mean by "weedy"?

Any other info is appreciated! :D

[acrodave]

What exactly do you mean by "weedy"?......Grows fast and takes over

[impreza]

Just to make things crystal clear here, the caribbean is less diverse than the indo-pacific, but there is more of the caribbean reef than indo pacific reef?

and....Even though the caribbean reef is more laterally extensive(there's more of it), the coral cover is less in the caribbean reef than the pacific reef?

[greenbean36191]

Yep. In the Pacific, Acropora is considered weedy because it's usually the first genus to colonize disturbed areas and it grows so fast that it will choke out other genera and form monocultures unless it's knocked back.

[impreza]

Sorry, I am still confused.. lol

If I am looking at comparing the sizes of the reefs from the caribbean and the pacific, which is greater?

[impreza]

^EDIT: I reread everything again and just got some words mixed up.

The Caribbean reefs are very small in comparison to the Pacific Reefs. The Caribbean also has generally colder water too.

I somehow messed that up, lack of sleep with do that to you... haha

Thanks again for all the great help!

[dougie]

http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/ try this. the GBR is the largest coral reef on earth, it contains around 3000 reefs and is around 2500 kms long. the pacific also contains lord howe island, which is the southern most coral reef on earth.

[dougie]

Today the Great Barrier Reef stretches more than 2000 kilometres along the northeast coast of Australia comprising of more than 2900 reefs and 940 islands. Covering more 345 000 square kilometres the Great Barrier Reef marine Park holds global iconic status and is recognised as a unique area of outstanding value to humankind and a jewel in the crown of the world’s natural wonders.

The Great Barrier Reef provides habitats for a wide variety of marine-based plants and animals. It is home to approximately:

1500 species of fish
360 species of hard corals
One-third of the world’s soft corals
4000 species of molluscs (e.g. shells)
1500 species of sponge
800 species of echinoderms (starfish, sea cucumbers and sea urchins etc…)
500 species of seaweed
More than 30 species of marine mammals
Six of the seven species of marine turtle.

[cook]

All In All, our reefs really only provide a few fish, rics, and some zoas. Most are imported from areas with less probs. I have heard the old timers say it used to be different. What do we expect when the runoff from A1A goes right into the ocean.

[LockeOak]

Yes, as far as the hobby is concerned not much comes from the Caribbean. Ricordea, coral banded shrimp, a few zoanthids, scarlet hermits, a few fish (neon gobies, blue chromis). Hard coral collection is illegal and very few permits are administered for scientific purposes. To be honest, Caribbean corals aren't terribly colorful anyway (mature colonies of Acropora palmata are very impressive, but the branches are as thick as your arm!)