碩士 / 國立臺灣大學 / 海洋研究所 / 106 / Nowadays, coral reefs are recognized in imminent collapse because of the increasing pressure of climatic and human stressors. The existence of multiple ecological facets departing from a ‘pristine’ view of the coral reefs (i.e. high coral cover and richness) is usually interpreted as a monotonic response to disturbances. A generalization of ‘one-size-fits-all’ ecological concepts probably answers to a contemporary need of simplifying and broadcasting coral reefs’ responses to changes. However, it has disregarded past qualitative studies recognizing the existence of several facets of reefs possibly associated to different ecological responses and roles. The contrasted environmental conditions around Taiwan constitute an ideal setting to investigate quantitatively the numbers, characteristics and distribution of reef-related ecological communities (ECs). Benthic assemblages were characterized along regions (North, East, South) / depths (-10 and -40 m) using 89 photo-transects and a morpho-functional categorization of the major taxa. The optimal number of ecological communities (ECs) were identified among transects using an unsupervised learning algorithm (k-means clustering). Their characteristics were outlined by identifying indicators groups, their composition assessed, and their distribution in Taiwan examined. The relevance of regional and bathymetric factors in discriminating benthic assemblages (possibly confounding different ECs) were further tested. Seven unique and well-supported ECs were identified. Their distribution suggests that while global temperature and light regimes may be associated to a panel of ECs available, local factors may have the final say on the EC thriving at a given location. In an objective of conservation, the integration of each depth and region only could achieve a representativeness of each of these ECs. Overall, a better consideration of these facets of reefs and their dynamics will be critical for a comprehensive understanding of current response of coral reefs to changes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TW/106NTU05279021 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Yu-Ting Lin, 林玉婷 |
| Contributors | Vianney Denis, 單偉彌 |
| Source Sets | National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | 學位論文 ; thesis |
| Format | 57 |
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