Patterns of coral community composition along Suva, a Pacific Island urban reef system

Jasha Dehm; Monal Lal; Leba Miller; Awnesh Singh; Amanda K. Ford

doi:10.1007/s00338-026-02833-y

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Patterns of coral community composition along Suva, a Pacific Island urban reef system

Journal article

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Patterns of coral community composition along Suva, a Pacific Island urban reef system

Jasha Dehm, Monal Lal, Leba Miller, Awnesh Singh and Amanda K. Ford

Coral Reefs, Vol.45, pp.1169-1186

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-026-02833-y

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Abstract

urban coral reefs

juvenile coral

reef zonation

anthropogenic stressors

Scleractinia

Fiji

Hard corals (Order Scleractinia) form complex, heterogeneous communities that underpin reef ecosystem functions but are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic stressors, particularly in urbanised coastal settings. This study characterised coral community composition and juvenile coral distribution within the urban reef systems adjacent to Fiji’s capital, Suva. We recorded 27 coral genera, with Acropora and Porites together contributing over 56% of total coral cover. Coral cover varied among reef zones, peaking at reef crests (mean coverage ± SE; 44.11 ± 2.41%), and declining on reef flats (23.58 ± 2.06%) and back reefs (17.27 ± 1.90%). Juvenile analyses focused on the four most common genera: Acropora, Porites, Goniopora, and Pocillopora. Acropora juveniles were the most abundant and broadly distributed, while Porites exhibited highly clustered spatial patterns. Juvenile Goniopora distribution was restricted to back reefs, and Pocillopora displayed a dispersed, sporadic distribution. These patterns indicate strong habitat-driven zonation and genus-specific sensitivities, with Acropora more abundant in high-quality, stable environmental conditions and Porites and Goniopora tolerating more nutrient-rich, turbid conditions. Although all surveyed reefs fall within the broader urbanised area, differences among zones and reef systems were noted, reflecting varying exposure to local stressors (e.g., turbidity, nutrient loading, and sedimentation) rather than a strict urban/non-urban contrast. Thus, our findings describe ecological variability within an urban reef system rather than comparing urban and non-urban reefs. Conservation and restoration of Suva’s reefs should therefore prioritise improving local water quality through strengthened wastewater management and reduced land-based runoff and implementing targeted, habitat-specific interventions informed by environmental sensitivities. Collectively, these results underscore both the resilience and vulnerabilities of urban reef systems and highlight the need for adaptive, habitat-based management strategies in Fiji and comparable Pacific settings.

Details

Title: Patterns of coral community composition along Suva, a Pacific Island urban reef system
Authors: Jasha Dehm (Corresponding Author) - University of the South Pacific
Monal Lal - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Leba Miller - Conservation International
Awnesh Singh - University of the South Pacific
Amanda K. Ford - University of the South Pacific
Publication details: Coral Reefs, Vol.45, pp.1169-1186
Publisher: Springer
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.1007/s00338-026-02833-y
ISSN: 1432-0975
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Data Availability: All data supporting the findings of this study are included in the manuscript and its supplementary information files. Additional datasets, including raw data, are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Grant note: This research was supported by the School of Agriculture, Geography, Environment, Oceans & Natural Sciences, The University of the South Pacific (Grant No. F3354-FST15-71502-001). During the PhD candidature, J.D. received a living allowance through the Allocations de recherche pour une thèse au Sud (ARTS-IRD) fellowship under the supervision of Christophe Menkes (UMR ENTROPIE, Institut de recherche pour le dévelopment).
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991212681402621
Output Type: Journal article

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