Effects of nutrient enrichment on the primary producers of a degraded coral reef

Coral reefs are highly diverse and productive ecosystems, teeming with life in often very nutrient-poor waters. However, during the past decades various human activities, including sewage discharge and land runoff augmented by coastal construction, have enriched the waters overlying many reefs around the world with nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. This process is known as eutrophication. Benthic algae and cyanobacteria thrive in eutrophied waters, presumably because the enhanced nutrient availability increases their competitiveness for space and resources at the expense of slow-growing corals. Scientific evidence to support this view is scarce, however, as only surprisingly few studies have investigated how nutrients affect different species on coral reefs. The goal of this dissertation is to better understand the effects of eutrophication on corals, benthic algae and cyanobacteria inhabiting coral reefs. Our study site was located on the island of Curaçao, Southern Caribbean.