The maintenance of coral reef framework results from a balance between skeletal accretion and bioerosion, and this balance can be disrupted by environmental stress and disturbance. Coral reefs in northeastern Arabia exist in extreme environmental conditions and have experienced severe disturbances in recent years. This study assessed the intensity of macrobioerosion in two regionally common species, Platygyra daedalea and Cyphastrea microphthalma, at three sites within the southern Persian/Arabian Gulf and at one site in the Sea of Oman. On average, bioeroders removed 9.2 ± 1.6% of the skeletal surface area in P. daedalea and 26.4 ± 1.6% in C. microphthalma, with variation between species attributed to differences in colony morphology. Bioerosion intensity varied among sites in each species. Within the southern Arabian Gulf, both P. daedalea and C. microphthalma showed the highest bioerosion intensity at Delma, in the western region, compared with that of Saadiyat or Ras Ghanada to the east, with the elevated bioerosion at Delma consistent with a history of more extreme environmental conditions and bleaching-related disturbances. The highest bioerosion in P. daedalea occurred at Fujairah in the Sea of Oman, and this site was amongst the highest in C. microphthalma. Although this site is characterized by more benign environmental conditions, reefs in this area experienced mass coral mortality due to anoxia during a large-scale harmful algal bloom in 2008/9 and the high bioerosion in Fujairah likely represents a long-term signature of this disturbance. The intensity of macrobioerosion observed here is high compared with other regions, suggesting that that chronic exposure to long-term environmental stress and a history of disturbance may lead enhanced loss of reef framework.

中文翻译：

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阿拉伯东北部边缘珊瑚礁上的珊瑚生物侵蚀

珊瑚礁框架的维持源于骨骼增生和生物侵蚀之间的平衡，而这种平衡可能会被环境压力和干扰破坏。阿拉伯东北部的珊瑚礁存在于极端环境条件下，近年来受到严重干扰。本研究评估了波斯湾/阿拉伯湾南部的三个地点和阿曼海的一个地点的两种区域常见物种（Platygyra daedalea 和 Cyphastrea microphthalma）的宏观生物侵蚀强度。平均而言，生物侵蚀器在 P. daedalea 中去除了 9.2 ± 1.6% 的骨骼表面积，在 C. microphthalma 中去除了 26.4 ± 1.6%，物种之间的差异归因于菌落形态的差异。每个物种的不同地点的生物侵蚀强度各不相同。在阿拉伯湾南部，P. daedalea 和 C. 与东部的萨迪亚特 (Saadiyat) 或加纳达角 (Ras Ghanada) 相比，西部地区德尔马 (Delma) 的小眼显示出最高的生物侵蚀强度，德尔马 (Delma) 的生物侵蚀加剧与更极端的环境条件和漂白相关干扰的历史相一致。P. daedalea 中最高的生物侵蚀发生在阿曼海的 Fujairah，该地点是 C. microphthalma 中最高的。尽管该地点的环境条件较为温和，但该地区的珊瑚礁在 2008/9 年大规模有害藻华期间因缺氧而导致大量珊瑚死亡，而富查伊拉的高生物侵蚀可能代表了这种干扰的长期特征. 与其他地区相比，这里观察到的宏观生物侵蚀强度较高，