Twenty Years of Disturbance and Change in Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary, American Samoa

摘要

Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary contains a moderatelydiverse coral reef community (150 coral species, 259 fish species) that is protectedfrom most human activities. The coral community was devastated by acrown-of-thorns starfish invasion in 1979 and has recently been affected by twomajor hurricanes (1990 and 1991) and a period of unusually high water temperature(1994). Long-term monitoring of the sanctuary allows for description ofthe effects of these disturbances in the absence of anthropogenic processes. Thecrown-of-thorns damaged deeper portions of the coral communities most severely,whereas the hurricanes and warm water affected shallower portions toa greater degree. Soon after these disturbances, corals started recruiting abundantlyand the reefs began to recover. This is in contrast to some other areas inAmerican Samoa, where chronic anthropogenic effects seem to have inhibitedcoral recruitment and reef recovery. Fish communities were affected by the habitatdegradation associated with the crown-of-thorns outbreak, but have remainedrelatively unchanged ever since.