Long-term trends of coral biodiversity in Singapore
McIntyre, D.A.; Carré de Malberg, A.L.M.; Khoo, M.Y.Y.; Cabatbat, J.P.D.V.; Tan, Z.K.M.; Chang, J.J.M.; Huang, D. (2025). Long-term trends of coral biodiversity in Singapore, in: Chou, L.M. et al. Coral reefs of Singapore's urbanised sea. Coral Reefs of the World, 23: pp. 155-172. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-0903-4_9
In: Coral Reefs of the World. Springer: Dordrecht. ISSN 2213-719X, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- McIntyre, D.A.
- Carré de Malberg, A.L.M.
- Khoo, M.Y.Y.
- Cabatbat, J.P.D.V.
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- Tan, Z.K.M.
- Chang, J.J.M.
- Huang, D.
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| Abstract |
Coral reefs are amongst the world’s most biodiverse and economically valuable ecosystems, yet they are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic pressures. In highly urbanised countries such as Singapore, coastal development, land reclamation and recurrent bleaching events have led to a decrease in coral cover and shifts in coral composition. This chapter combines historical museum collections, long-term line intercept transect (LIT) surveys and recent timed-swim surveys to assess temporal changes in scleractinian coral communities at two reef sites, Pulau Hantu and Pulau Satumu, from the 1950s to 2020s. A total of 9740 colonies were observed from across museum collections and field surveys. Including records from previous studies, we document 257 coral species recorded in Singapore (excluding Fungiidae) and show comparable species richness between Pulau Hantu and Pulau Satumu before large-scale reclamation activities began. While phylogenetic and species richness increased over time, functional richness declined until the 2010s, indicating more functionally constrained coral assemblages. Coral communities shifted away from competitive and weedy life-history strategies towards stress-tolerant and generalist species, reflecting increasing environmental disturbances. The 2020s saw an increase in functional richness, suggesting potential recovery from bleaching. These findings highlight the value of integrating museum collections with long-term monitoring in reconstructing ecological baselines and tracking biodiversity changes over multiple decades. |
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