Giant clam shell mining(GCSM),a unique phenomenon occurring at remote coral reefs in the southern South China Sea(SCS),forms striking scars on the reef flats and damages the reef flat substrate.Through image analyses ...Giant clam shell mining(GCSM),a unique phenomenon occurring at remote coral reefs in the southern South China Sea(SCS),forms striking scars on the reef flats and damages the reef flat substrate.Through image analyses at three times(2004.02.02,2014.02.26,and 2019.04.10)and in situ surveys at Ximen Reef,a representative site that has experienced GCSM,we quantified the GCSM-generated substrate damage and the corresponding recovery.GCSM was estimated to have occurred sometime between 2012 and 2014,causing reduction in live coral subarea and formation of micro-relief as trenches and mounds.GCSM-generated damage was restricted to the reef flat.After GCSM,coral and algae subarea increased,and the trenches and mounds tended to be filled and eroded,representing a natural recovery of the substrate.The legal prohibition on human disturbances at the coral reefs contributed to substrate recovery at Ximen Reef.This case also implied that recovery of the other coral reefs that suffered from GCSM is possible.展开更多
基金Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Guangzhou),No.GML2019ZD0206,No.GML2019ZD0104National Science&Technology Fundamental Resources Investigation Program of China,No.2018FY100103+2 种基金The Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,No.XDA13010103Special Support Program for Cultivating High-level Talents in Guangdong Province,No.2019BT02H594National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.41776128,No.U1901217。
文摘Giant clam shell mining(GCSM),a unique phenomenon occurring at remote coral reefs in the southern South China Sea(SCS),forms striking scars on the reef flats and damages the reef flat substrate.Through image analyses at three times(2004.02.02,2014.02.26,and 2019.04.10)and in situ surveys at Ximen Reef,a representative site that has experienced GCSM,we quantified the GCSM-generated substrate damage and the corresponding recovery.GCSM was estimated to have occurred sometime between 2012 and 2014,causing reduction in live coral subarea and formation of micro-relief as trenches and mounds.GCSM-generated damage was restricted to the reef flat.After GCSM,coral and algae subarea increased,and the trenches and mounds tended to be filled and eroded,representing a natural recovery of the substrate.The legal prohibition on human disturbances at the coral reefs contributed to substrate recovery at Ximen Reef.This case also implied that recovery of the other coral reefs that suffered from GCSM is possible.
