查看文章

Coral reefs in French Polynesia, just like many others throughout the world, have been subjected to several natural disturbances including 15 cyclones, seven major bleaching events, and several Acanthaster planci outbreaks since the 1980s. In order to document the effects of these perturbations on coral assemblages, we initiated a long-term monitoring program that extended over both local and regional scales. Coral cover was quantified at 20 sites situated on the outer reef slope of 13 islands. The results from the first decade (1992-2002) are analyzed and the adequacy of our approach is discussed in the context of identifying potential indicators of coral reef health. Among 13 islands in French Polynesia, only two were unaffected by natural disturbances. We found important local and regional variation in the impacts of coral bleaching and cyclones, and three major temporal trends were distinguished: 1) 10 sites …