Sean Connolly

Fossil Record

Publisher: Elsevier

Date: 2013

DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-384719-5.00059-9

The 2014-17 Global Coral Bleaching Event: The Most Severe and Widespread Coral Reef Destruction

Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC

Date: 06-06-2022

DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-1555992/V1

Abstract: Ocean warming is increasing the incidence, scale, and severity of global-scale coral bleaching and mortality, culminating in the third global coral bleaching event that occurred during record marine heatwaves of 2014-2017. While local effects of these events have been widely reported, the global implications remain unknown. Analysis of 15,066 reef surveys during 2014-2017 revealed that 80% of surveyed reefs experienced significant coral bleaching and 35% experienced significant coral mortality. The global extent of significant coral bleaching and mortality was assessed by extrapolating results from reef surveys using comprehensive remote-sensing data of regional heat stress. This model predicted that 51% of the world’s coral reefs suffered significant bleaching and 15% significant mortality, surpassing damage from any prior global bleaching event. These observations demonstrate that global warming’s widespread damage to coral reefs is accelerating and underscores the threat anthropogenic climate change poses for the irreversible transformation of these essential ecosystems.

Global diversity of marine macroalgae

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 04-11-2014

DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12132

Spatial and temporal patterns of mass bleaching of corals in the Anthropocene

Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Date: 05-01-2018

DOI: 10.1126/SCIENCE.AAN8048

Abstract: Coral bleaching occurs when stressful conditions result in the expulsion of the algal partner from the coral. Before anthropogenic climate warming, such events were relatively rare, allowing for recovery of the reef between events. Hughes et al. looked at 100 reefs globally and found that the average interval between bleaching events is now less than half what it was before. Such narrow recovery windows do not allow for full recovery. Furthermore, warming events such as El Niño are warmer than previously, as are general ocean conditions. Such changes are likely to make it more and more difficult for reefs to recover between stressful events. Science , this issue p. 80

Integrating physiological and biomechanical drivers of population growth over environmental gradients on coral reefs

Publisher: The Company of Biologists

Date: 15-03-2012

DOI: 10.1242/JEB.061002

Abstract: Coral reefs exhibit marked spatial and temporal variability, and coral reef organisms exhibit trade-offs in functional traits that influence demographic performance under different combinations of abiotic environmental conditions. In many systems, trait trade-offs are modelled using an energy and/or nutrient allocation framework. However, on coral reefs, differences in biomechanical vulnerability have major demographic implications, and indeed are believed to play an essential role in mediating species coexistence because highly competitive growth forms are vulnerable to physical dislodgment events that occur with high frequency (e.g. annual summer storms). Therefore, an integrated energy allocation and biomechanics framework is required to understand the effect of physical environmental gradients on species’ demographic performance. However, on coral reefs, as in most ecosystems, the effects of environmental conditions on organisms are measured in different currencies (e.g. lipid accumulation, survival and number of gametes), and thus the relative contributions of these effects to overall capacity for population growth are not readily apparent. A comprehensive assessment of links between the environment and the organism, including those mediated by biomechanical processes, must convert environmental effects on in idual-level performance (e.g. survival, growth and reproduction) into a common currency that is relevant to the capacity to contribute to population growth. We outline such an approach by considering the population-level performance of scleractinian reef corals over a hydrodynamic gradient, with a focus on the integrating the biomechanical determinants of size-dependent coral colony dislodgment as a function of flow, with the effects of flow on photosynthetic energy acquisition and respiration.

Improving dynamic phytoplankton reserve-utilization models with an indirect proxy for internal nitrogen

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 09-2016

DOI: 10.1016/J.JTBI.2016.05.023

Abstract: Ecologists have often used indirect proxies to represent variables that are difficult or impossible to measure directly. In phytoplankton, the internal concentration of the most limiting nutrient in a cell determines its growth rate. However, directly measuring the concentration of nutrients within cells is inaccurate, expensive, destructive, and time-consuming, substantially impairing our ability to model growth rates in nutrient-limited phytoplankton populations. The red chlorophyll autofluorescence (hereafter "red fluorescence") signal emitted by a cell is highly correlated with nitrogen quota in nitrogen-limited phytoplankton species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of including flow cytometric red fluorescence as a proxy for internal nitrogen status to model phytoplankton growth rates. To this end, we used the classic Quota model and designed three approaches to calibrate its model parameters to data: where empirical observations on cell internal nitrogen quota were used to fit the model ("Nitrogen-Quota approach"), where quota dynamics were inferred only from changes in medium nutrient depletion and population density ("Virtual-Quota approach"), or where red fluorescence emission of a cell was used as an indirect proxy for its internal nitrogen quota ("Fluorescence-Quota approach"). Two separate analyses were carried out. In the first analysis, stochastic model simulations were parameterized from published empirical relationships and used to generate dynamics of phytoplankton communities reared under nitrogen-limited conditions. Quota models were fitted to the dynamics of each simulated species with the three different approaches and the performance of each model was compared. In the second analysis, we fit Quota models to laboratory time-series and we calculate the ability of each calibration approach to describe the observed trajectories of internal nitrogen quota in the culture. Results from both analyses concluded that the Fluorescence-Quota approach including per-cell red fluorescence as a proxy of internal nitrogen substantially improved the ability of Quota models to describe phytoplankton dynamics, while still accounting for the biologically important process of cell nitrogen storage. More broadly, many population models in ecology implicitly recognize the importance of accounting for storage mechanisms to describe the dynamics of in idual organisms. Hence, the approach documented here with phytoplankton dynamics may also be useful for evaluating the potential of indirect proxies in other ecological systems.

Dispersal-mediated coexistence under recruitment limitation and displacement competition

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 09-2012

DOI: 10.1016/J.ECOLMODEL.2012.06.023

Long-term shifts in the colony size structure of coral populations along the Great Barrier Reef

Publisher: The Royal Society

Date: 14-10-2020

DOI: 10.1098/RSPB.2020.1432

Abstract: The age or size structure of a population has a marked influence on its demography and reproductive capacity. While declines in coral cover are well documented, concomitant shifts in the size-frequency distribution of coral colonies are rarely measured at large spatial scales. Here, we document major shifts in the colony size structure of coral populations along the 2300 km length of the Great Barrier Reef relative to historical baselines (1995/1996). Coral colony abundances on reef crests and slopes have declined sharply across all colony size classes and in all coral taxa compared to historical baselines. Declines were particularly pronounced in the northern and central regions of the Great Barrier Reef, following mass coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017. The relative abundances of large colonies remained relatively stable, but this apparent stability masks steep declines in absolute abundance. The potential for recovery of older fecund corals is uncertain given the increasing frequency and intensity of disturbance events. The systematic decline in smaller colonies across regions, habitats and taxa, suggests that a decline in recruitment has further eroded the recovery potential and resilience of coral populations.

Relationships between temperature, bleaching and white syndrome on the Great Barrier Reef

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 19-08-2012

DOI: 10.1007/S00338-012-0944-6

Diversity and stability of herbivorous fishes on coral reefs

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 04-2012

DOI: 10.1890/11-1753.1

Abstract: Bio ersity may provide insurance against ecosystem collapse by stabilizing assemblages that perform particular ecological functions (the “portfolio effect”). However, the extent to which this occurs in nature and the importance of different mechanisms that generate portfolio effects remain controversial. On coral reefs, herbivory helps maintain coral dominated states, so volatility in levels of herbivory has important implications for reef ecosystems. Here, we used an extensive time series of abundances on 35 reefs of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia to quantify the strength of the portfolio effect for herbivorous fishes. Then, we disentangled the contributions of two mechanisms that underlie it (compensatory interactions and differential responses to environmental fluctuations [“response ersity”]) by fitting a community‐dynamic model that explicitly includes terms for both mechanisms. We found that portfolio effects operate strongly in herbivorous fishes, as shown by nearly independent fluctuations in abundances over time. Moreover, we found strong evidence for high response ersity, with nearly independent responses to environmental fluctuations. In contrast, we found little evidence that the portfolio effect in this system was enhanced by compensatory ecological interactions. Our results show that portfolio effects are driven principally by response ersity for herbivorous fishes on coral reefs. We conclude that portfolio effects can be very strong in nature and that, for coral reefs in particular, response ersity may help maintain herbivory above the threshold levels that trigger regime shifts.

Evidence for multiple stressor interactions and effects on coral reefs

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 12-01-2014

DOI: 10.1111/GCB.12453

Abstract: Concern is growing about the potential effects of interacting multiple stressors, especially as the global climate changes. We provide a comprehensive review of multiple stressor interactions in coral reef ecosystems, which are widely considered to be one of the most sensitive ecosystems to global change. First, we synthesized coral reef studies that examined interactions of two or more stressors, highlighting stressor interactions (where one stressor directly influences another) and potentially synergistic effects on response variables (where two stressors interact to produce an effect that is greater than purely additive). For stressor-stressor interactions, we found 176 studies that examined at least 2 of the 13 stressors of interest. Applying network analysis to analyze relationships between stressors, we found that pathogens were exacerbated by more costressors than any other stressor, with ca. 78% of studies reporting an enhancing effect by another stressor. Sedimentation, storms, and water temperature directly affected the largest number of other stressors. Pathogens, nutrients, and crown-of-thorns starfish were the most-influenced stressors. We found 187 studies that examined the effects of two or more stressors on a third dependent variable. The interaction of irradiance and temperature on corals has been the subject of more research (62 studies, 33% of the total) than any other combination of stressors, with many studies reporting a synergistic effect on coral symbiont photosynthetic performance (n = 19). Second, we performed a quantitative meta-analysis of existing literature on this most-studied interaction (irradiance and temperature). We found that the mean effect size of combined treatments was statistically indistinguishable from a purely additive interaction, although it should be noted that the s le size was relatively small (n = 26). Overall, although in aggregate a large body of literature examines stressor effects on coral reefs and coral organisms, considerable gaps remain for numerous stressor interactions and effects, and insufficient quantitative evidence exists to suggest that the prevailing type of stressor interaction is synergistic.

Prevalence of multimodal species abundance distributions is linked to spatial and taxonomic breadth

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 02-11-2016

DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12532

Synergistic Effects of Marine Reserves and Harvest Controls on the Abundance and Catch Dynamics of a Coral Reef Fishery

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 06-2016

DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2016.04.022

Abstract: Marine no-take reserves, where fishing and other extractive activities are prohibited, have well-established conservation benefits [1], yet their impacts on fisheries remains contentious [2-4]. For fishery species, reserves are often implemented alongside more conventional harvest strategies, including catch and size limits [2, 5]. However, catch and fish abundances observed post-intervention are often attributed to reserves, without explicitly estimating the potential contribution of concurrent management interventions [2, 3, 6-9]. Here we test a metapopulation model against observed fishery [10] and population [11] data for an important coral reef fishery (coral trout Plectropomus spp.) in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) to evaluate how the combined increase in reserve area [12] and reduction in fishing effort [13, 14] in 2004 influenced changes in fish stocks and the commercial fishery. We found that declines in catch, increases in catch rates, and increases in biomass since 2004 were substantially attributable to the integration of direct effort controls with the rezoning, rather than the rezoning alone. The combined management approach was estimated to have been more productive for fish and fisheries than if the rezoning had occurred alone and comparable to what would have been obtained with effort controls alone. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the direct effort controls prevented initial decreases in catch per unit effort that would have otherwise occurred with the rezoning. Our findings demonstrate that by concurrently restructuring the fishery, the conservation benefits of reserves were enhanced and the fishery cost of rezoning the reserve network was socialized, mitigating negative impacts on in idual fishers.

The spatial footprint and patchiness of large‐scale disturbances on coral reefs

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 14-08-2021

DOI: 10.1111/GCB.15805

Abstract: Ecosystems have always been shaped by disturbances, but many of these events are becoming larger, more severe and more frequent. The recovery capacity of depleted populations depends on the frequency of disturbances, the spatial distribution of mortality and the scale of dispersal. Here, we show that four mass coral bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef (in 1998, 2002, 2016 and 2017) each had markedly larger disturbance footprints and were less patchy than a severe category 5 tropical cyclone (Cyclone Yasi, 2011). Severely bleached reefs in 2016 and 2017 were isolated from the nearest lightly affected reefs by up to 146 and 200 km, respectively. In contrast, reefs damaged by Cyclone Yasi were on average 20 km away from relatively undisturbed reefs, well within the estimated range of larval dispersal for most corals. Based on these results, we present a model of coral reef disturbance and recovery to examine (1) how the spatial clustering of disturbances modifies large‐scale recovery rates and (2) how recovery rates are shaped by species' dispersal abilities. Our findings illustrate that the spatial footprint of the recent mass bleaching events poses an unprecedented threat to the resilience of coral species in human history, a threat that is even larger than the amount of mortality suggests.

Interactions between morphological and physiological plasticity optimize energy acquisition in corals

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 04-2008

DOI: 10.1890/07-1272.1

Abstract: Morphological plasticity in response to environmental heterogeneity may be performance enhancing or may simply result from an intrinsic instability in morphology during development. Although patterns of morphological change are well documented for numerous taxa, it is often unclear whether this plasticity enhances the performance of organisms in the habitat to which they have acclimatized. Reef-building corals are an ideal model system in which to investigate this question. We here develop a three-dimensional geometric model and present a comprehensive photosynthesis data set with experimentally calibrated photosynthesis models that predicts energy acquisition by foliose corals as a function of colony shape. This allows us to assess the extent to which changes in colony morphology along an environmental gradient track the predicted optimal colony morphologies. Our results provide strong evidence that phenotypic plasticity in foliose corals optimizes photosynthetic energy acquisition and is not simply a mechanism to increase light capture. We show that the optimal morphology is constrained at the boundaries of the environmental gradient, with non-optimal morphologies in these habitats having greatly reduced energy acquisition. However, at the center of the environmental gradient, flexibility in photophysiology allows energy acquisition to be very similar for multiple morphologies. Our results highlight the importance of phenotypic plasticity at multiple scales. Variation in overall morphology is important at niche boundaries at which conditions are consistently more stressful, whereas physiological flexibility is important in intermediate and less predictable habitats in which a rapid and reversible response to environmental fluctuations is required.

Volatility in coral cover erodes niche structure, but not diversity, in reef fish assemblages

Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Date: 17-06-2022

DOI: 10.1126/SCIADV.ABM6858

Abstract: The world’s coral reefs are experiencing increasing volatility in coral cover, largely because of anthropogenic environmental change, highlighting the need to understand how such volatility will influence the structure and dynamics of reef assemblages. These changes may influence not only richness or evenness but also the temporal stability of species’ relative abundances (temporal beta- ersity). Here, we analyzed reef fish assemblage time series from the Great Barrier Reef to show that, overall, 75% of the variance in abundance among species was attributable to persistent differences in species’ long-term mean abundances. However, the relative importance of stochastic fluctuations in abundance was higher on reefs that experienced greater volatility in coral cover, whereas it did not vary with drivers of alpha- ersity. These findings imply that increased coral cover volatility decreases temporal stability in relative abundances of fishes, a transformation that is not detectable from static measures of bio ersity.

Coral transplantation triggers shift in microbiome and promotion of coral disease associated potential pathogens

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 06-07-2015

DOI: 10.1038/SREP11903

Abstract: By cultivating turf algae and aggressively defending their territories, territorial damselfishes in the genus Stegastes play a major role in shaping coral-algal dynamics on coral reefs. The epilithic algal matrix (EAM) inside Stegastes ’ territories is known to harbor high abundances of potential coral disease pathogens. To determine the impact of territorial grazers on coral microbial assemblages, we established a coral transplant inside and outside of Stegastes ’ territories. Over the course of one year, the percent mortality of transplanted corals was monitored and coral s les were collected for microbial analysis. As compared to outside damselfish territories, Stegastes were associated with a higher rate of mortality of transplanted corals. However, 16S rDNA sequencing revealed that territorial grazers do not differentially impact the microbial assemblage of corals exposed to the EAM. Regardless of Stegastes presence or absence, coral transplantation resulted in a shift in the coral-associated microbial community and an increase in coral disease associated potential pathogens. Further, transplanted corals that suffer low to high mortality undergo a microbial transition from a microbiome similar to that of healthy corals to that resembling the EAM. These findings demonstrate that coral transplantation significantly impacts coral microbial communities and transplantation may increase susceptibility to coral disease.

Global warming decreases connectivity among coral populations

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 30-12-2021

DOI: 10.1038/S41558-021-01248-7

Standard flow cytometry as a rapid and non-destructive proxy for cell nitrogen quota

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 13-06-2016

DOI: 10.1007/S10811-015-0642-1

Fecundity and the demographic strategies of coral morphologies

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 12-2016

DOI: 10.1002/ECY.1588

Abstract: Understanding species differences in demographic strategies is a fundamental goal of ecology. In scleractinian corals, colony morphology is tightly linked with many demographic traits, such as size-specific growth and morality. Here we test how well morphology predicts the colony size-fecundity relationship in eight species of broadcast-spawning corals. Variation in colony fecundity is greater among morphologies than between species with a similar morphology, demonstrating that colony morphology can be used as a quantitative proxy for demographic strategies. Additionally, we examine the relationship between size-specific colony fecundity and mechanical vulnerability (i.e., vulnerability to colony dislodgment). Interestingly, the relationship between size-specific fecundity and mechanical vulnerability varied among morphologies. For tabular species, the most fecund colonies are the most mechanically vulnerable, while the opposite is true for massive species. For corymbose and digitate colonies, mechanical vulnerability remains relatively constant as fecundity increases. These results reveal strong differences in the demographic tradeoffs among species of different morphologies. Using colony morphology as a quantitative proxy for demographic strategies can help predict coral community dynamics and responses to anthropogenic change.

Sustainable reference points for multispecies coral reef fisheries

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 04-09-2023

DOI: 10.1038/S41467-023-41040-Z

Mechanism, Process, and Causation in Ecological Models: A Reply to McGill and Potochnik

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 05-2018

DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2017.11.009

Commonness and rarity in the marine biosphere

Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Date: 27-05-2014

DOI: 10.1073/PNAS.1406664111

Abstract: Tests of bio ersity theory have been controversial partly because alternative formulations of the same theory seemingly yield different conclusions. This has been a particular challenge for neutral theory, which has dominated tests of bio ersity theory over the last decade. Neutral theory attributes differences in species abundances to chance variation in in iduals’ fates, rather than differences in species traits. By identifying common features of different neutral models, we conduct a uniquely robust test of neutral theory across a global dataset of marine assemblages. Consistently, abundances vary more among species than neutral theory predicts, challenging the hypothesis that community dynamics are approximately neutral, and implicating species differences as a key driver of community structure in nature.

Biotic and abiotic correlates of tissue quality for common scleractinian corals

Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center

Date: 05-10-2011

DOI: 10.3354/MEPS09271

Fitness consequences of female multiple mating: A direct test of indirect benefits

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 2012

DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-12-185

An experimentally validated nitrate-ammonium-phytoplankton model including effects of starvation length and ammonium inhibition on nitrate uptake

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 12-2015

DOI: 10.1016/J.ECOLMODEL.2015.08.024

Allometric growth in reef-building corals

Publisher: The Royal Society

Date: 22-03-2017

DOI: 10.1098/RSPB.2017.0053

Abstract: Predicting demographic rates is a critical part of forecasting the future of ecosystems under global change. Here, we test if growth rates can be predicted from morphological traits for a highly erse group of colonial symbiotic organisms: scleractinian corals. We ask whether growth is isometric or allometric among corals, and whether most variation in coral growth rates occurs at the level of the species or morphological group. We estimate growth as change in planar area for 11 species, across five morphological groups and over 5 years. We show that coral growth rates are best predicted from colony size and morphology rather than species. Coral size follows a power scaling law with a constant exponent of 0.91. Despite being colonial organisms, corals have consistent allometric scaling in growth. This consistency simplifies the task of projecting community responses to disturbance and climate change.

A test of trophic cascade theory: fish and benthic assemblages across a predator density gradient on coral reefs

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 15-10-2017

DOI: 10.1007/S00442-016-3753-8

Abstract: Removal of predators is often hypothesized to alter community structure through trophic cascades. However, despite recent advances in our understanding of trophic cascades, evidence is often circumstantial on coral reefs because fishing pressure frequently co-varies with other anthropogenic effects, such as fishing for herbivorous fishes and changes in water quality due to pollution. Australia's outer Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has experienced fishing-induced declines of apex predators and mesopredators, but pollution and targeting of herbivorous fishes are minimal. Here, we quantify fish and benthic assemblages across a fishing-induced predator density gradient on the outer GBR, including apex predators and mesopredators to herbivores and benthic assemblages, to test for evidence of trophic cascades and alternative hypotheses to trophic cascade theory. Using structural equation models, we found no cascading effects from apex predators to lower trophic levels: a loss of apex predators did not lead to higher levels of mesopredators, and this did not suppress mobile herbivores and drive algal proliferation. Likewise, we found no effects of mesopredators on lower trophic levels: a decline of mesopredators was not associated with higher abundances of algae-farming damselfishes and algae-dominated reefs. These findings indicate that top-down forces on coral reefs are weak, at least on the outer GBR. We conclude that predator-mediated trophic cascades are probably the exception rather than the rule in complex ecosystems such as the outer GBR.

No change in subordinate butterflyfish diets following removal of behaviourally dominant species

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 23-12-2016

DOI: 10.1007/S00338-016-1529-6

Reply to: Conclusions of low extinction risk for most species of reef-building corals are premature

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 14-02-2022

DOI: 10.1038/S41559-022-01660-Y

Synthesizing larval competence dynamics and reef-scale retention reveals a high potential for self-recruitment in corals

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 03-2013

DOI: 10.1890/12-0767.1

Abstract: Many organisms have a complex life-cycle in which dispersal occurs at the propagule stage. For marine environments, there is growing evidence that high levels of recruitment back to the natal population (self-recruitment) are common in many marine organisms. For fish, swimming behavior is frequently invoked as a key mechanism allowing high self-recruitment. For organisms with weak-swimming larvae, such as many marine invertebrates, the mechanisms behind self-recruitment are less clear. Here, we assessed whether the combination of passive retention of larvae due to re-circulation processes near reefs, and the dynamics of settlement competence, can produce the high levels of self-recruitment previously estimated by population genetic studies for reef-building corals. Additionally, we investigated whether time to motility, which is more readily measurable than competence parameters, can explain the between-species variation in self-recruitment. We measured the larval competence dynamics of broadcast-spawning and brooding corals and incorporated these in a model of larval retention around reefs to estimate the potential for self-recruitment and assess its variation among species and reefs. Our results suggest that the larvae of many corals, even those with an obligate planktonic phase, develop with sufficient rapidity to allow high levels of self-recruitment, particularly for reefs with long water retention times. Time to motility explained 77-86% of the between-species variation in potential self-recruitment in scenarios with a realistic range of retention times. Among broadcast spawners, time to motility was strongly and positively correlated with egg size, i.e., broadcast spawner species with small eggs developed more rapidly and exhibited greater potential for self-recruitment. These findings suggest that, along with water retention estimates, easy-to-measure species traits, such as egg size and time to motility, may be good predictors of potential self-recruitment, and therefore may be used to characterize the spectrum of self-recruitment in corals.

Food availability promotes rapid recovery from thermal stress in a scleractinian coral

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 20-06-2012

DOI: 10.1007/S00338-012-0925-9

Geographic ranges of reef corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia) in the Indo‐Pacific

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 07-2013

DOI: 10.1890/13-0361.1

Ecological memory modifies the cumulative impact of recurrent climate extremes

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 10-12-2018

DOI: 10.1038/S41558-018-0351-2

Adaptive variation in coral geometry and the optimization of internal colony light climates

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 02-2005

DOI: 10.1111/J.0269-8463.2005.00925.X

Effects of diversity-dependent colonization-extinction dynamics on the mid-domain effect

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 22-01-2013

DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12035

Population Growth Rates of Reef Sharks with and without Fishing on the Great Barrier Reef: Robust Estimation with Multiple Models

Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Date: 23-09-2011

DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0025028

Nutrient utilization traits vary systematically with intraspecific cell size plasticity

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 09-05-2016

DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12662

An Indo-Pacific coral spawning database

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 29-01-2021

DOI: 10.1038/S41597-020-00793-8

Abstract: The discovery of multi-species synchronous spawning of scleractinian corals on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1980s stimulated an extraordinary effort to document spawning times in other parts of the globe. Unfortunately, most of these data remain unpublished which limits our understanding of regional and global reproductive patterns. The Coral Spawning Database (CSD) collates much of these disparate data into a single place. The CSD includes 6178 observations (3085 of which were unpublished) of the time or day of spawning for over 300 scleractinian species in 61 genera from 101 sites in the Indo-Pacific. The goal of the CSD is to provide open access to coral spawning data to accelerate our understanding of coral reproductive biology and to provide a baseline against which to evaluate any future changes in reproductive phenology.

Emergent properties in the responses of tropical corals to recurrent climate extremes

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 12-2021

DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2021.10.046

Abstract: The frequency, intensity, and spatial scale of climate extremes are changing rapidly due to anthropogenic global warming.

Interactive effects of multiple stressors vary with consumer interactions, stressor dynamics and magnitude

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 27-04-2022

DOI: 10.1111/ELE.14013

Abstract: Predicting the impacts of multiple stressors is important for informing ecosystem management but is impeded by a lack of a general framework for predicting whether stressors interact synergistically, additively or antagonistically. Here, we use process‐based models to study how interactions generalise across three levels of biological organisation (physiological, population and consumer‐resource) for a two‐stressor experiment on a seagrass model system. We found that the same underlying processes could result in synergistic, additive or antagonistic interactions, with interaction type depending on initial conditions, experiment duration, stressor dynamics and consumer presence. Our results help explain why meta‐analyses of multiple stressor experimental results have struggled to identify predictors of consistently non‐additive interactions in the natural environment. Experiments run over extended temporal scales, with treatments across gradients of stressor magnitude, are needed to identify the processes that underpin how stressors interact and provide useful predictions to management.

Defining fundamental niche dimensions of corals: synergistic effects of colony size, light, and flow

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 03-2009

DOI: 10.1890/07-2010.1

Abstract: The “fundamental niche” is the range of conditions under which an organism can survive and reproduce, measured in the absence of biotic interactions. Niche measurements are often based on statistical relationships between species presence and measured environmental variables, or inferred from measured responses of species along hypothesized niche axes. In this study, we use novel, process‐based models of how irradiance and gas diffusion influence photosynthesis and respiration to predict niche dimensions for three coral species: Acropora nasuta , Montipora foliosa , and Leptoria phrygia . We use a combination of mathematical modeling, laboratory experiments, and field observations to establish the link between energy acquisition and the dominant environmental gradients on reefs: light intensity and water flow velocity. Our approach allows us to quantify how the shape of the niche varies in response to light and flow conditions. The model predicts that, due to its higher photosynthetic capacity, the branching coral A. nasuta has a positive energy balance over a wider range of conditions than both a massive species ( L. phrygia ) and a foliose species ( M. foliosa ). Moreover, colony size influences niche width, with larger colonies of all three species achieving a positive energy balance over a broader range of conditions than small colonies. Comparison of model predictions with field data demonstrated that tissue biomass and reproductive output are significantly and positively correlated with predicted energy acquisition. These results show how interactions between light and flow determine organism performance along environmental gradients on coral reefs. In addition, this study demonstrates the utility of process‐based models for quantifying how physiology influences ecology, and for predicting the ecological consequences of varying environmental conditions.

Enhancing student engagement to positively impact mathematics anxiety, confidence and achievement for interdisciplinary science subjects

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 05-04-2017

DOI: 10.1080/0020739X.2017.1305130

Environmental limits to growth: Physiological niche boundaries of corals along turbidity-light gradients

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 20-08-2004

DOI: 10.1007/S00442-004-1647-7

Abstract: The physiological responses of organisms to resources and environmental conditions are important determinants of niche boundaries. In previous work, functional relationships between organism energetics and environment have been limited to energy intakes. However, energetic costs of maintenance may also depend on the supply of resources. In many mixotrophic organisms, two such resource types are light and particle concentration (turbidity). Using two coral species with contrasting abundances along light and turbidity gradients (Acropora valida and Turbinaria mesenterina), we incorporate the dual resource-stressor roles of these variables by calibrating functional responses of energy costs (respiration and loss of organic carbon) as well as energy intake (photosynthesis and particle feeding). This allows us to characterize physiological niche boundaries along light and turbidity gradients, identify species-specific differences in these boundaries, and assess the sensitivity of these differences to interspecific differences in particular functional response parameters. The turbidity-light niche of T. mesenterina was substantially larger than that of A. valida, consistent with its broader ecological distribution. As expected, the responses of photosynthesis, heterotrophic capacity, respiration, and organic carbon loss to light and turbidity varied between species. Niche boundaries were highly sensitive to the functional responses of energy costs to light and turbidity. Moreover, the study species' niche differences were almost entirely attributable to species-specific differences in one functional response: that of respiration to turbidity. These results demonstrate that functional responses of energy-loss processes are important determinants of species-specific physiological limits to growth, and thereby of niche differences in reef corals. Given that many resources can stress organisms when supply rates are high, we propose that the functional responses of energy losses will prove to be important determinants of niche differences in other systems as well.

A critique of claims for negative impacts of Marine Protected Areas on fisheries

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 03-2016

DOI: 10.1890/15-0457

Process, Mechanism, and Modeling in Macroecology

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 11-2017

DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2017.08.011

Abstract: Macroecology has traditionally relied on descriptive characterization of large-scale ecological patterns to offer narrative explanations for the origin and maintenance of those patterns. Only recently have macroecologists begun to employ models termed 'process-based' and 'mechanistic', in contrast to other areas of ecology, where such models have a longer history. Here, we define and differentiate between process-based and mechanistic features of models, and we identify and discuss important advantages of working with models possessing such features. We describe some of the risks associated with process-based and mechanistic model-centered research programs, and we propose ways to mitigate these risks. Giving process-based and mechanistic models a more central role in research programs can reinvigorate macroecology by strengthening the link between theory and data.

Increased local retention of reef coral larvae as a result of ocean warming

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 28-04-2014

DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE2210

Heterospecific Aggression and Dominance in a Guild of Coral-Feeding Fishes: The Roles of Dietary Ecology and Phylogeny

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Date: 08-2013

DOI: 10.1086/670821

Abstract: Interspecific competition mediates bio ersity maintenance and is an important selective pressure for evolution. Competition is often conceptualized as being exploitative (indirect) or involving direct interference. However, most empirical studies are phenomenological, focusing on quantifying effects of density manipulations, and most competition theory has characterized exploitation competition systems. The effects on resource use of traits associated with direct, interference competition has received far less attention. Here we examine the relationships of dietary ecology and phylogeny to heterospecific aggression in a guild of corallivorous reef fishes. We find that, among chaetodontids (butterflyfishes), heterospecific aggression depends on a synergistic interaction of dietary overlap and specialization: aggression increases with dietary overlap for interactions between specialists but not for interactions involving generalists. Moreover, behavioral dominance is a monotonically increasing function of dietary specialization. The strong, positive relationship of dominance to specialization suggests that heterospecific aggression may contribute to the maintenance of bio ersity where it promotes resource partitioning. Additionally, we find strong phylogenetic signals in dietary overlap and specialization but not behavioral dominance. Our results support the use of phylogeny as a proxy for ecological similarity among butterflyfishes, but we find that direct measures of dietary overlap and specialization predict heterospecific agression much better than phylogeny.

Coral adaptation to climate change: Meta‐analysis reveals high heritability across multiple traits

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 05-09-2021

DOI: 10.1111/GCB.15829

Abstract: Anthropogenic climate change is a rapidly intensifying selection pressure on bio ersity across the globe and, particularly, on the world's coral reefs. The rate of adaptation to climate change is proportional to the amount of phenotypic variation that can be inherited by subsequent generations (i.e., narrow‐sense heritability, h 2 ). Thus, traits that have higher heritability (e.g., h 2 0.5) are likely to adapt to future conditions faster than traits with lower heritability (e.g., h 2 0.1). Here, we synthesize 95 heritability estimates across 19 species of reef‐building corals. Our meta‐analysis reveals low heritability ( h 2 0.25) of gene expression metrics, intermediate heritability ( h 2 = 0.25–0.50) of photochemistry, growth, and bleaching, and high heritability ( h 2 0.50) for metrics related to survival and immune responses. Some of these values are higher than typically observed in other taxa, such as survival and growth, while others were more comparable, such as gene expression and photochemistry. There was no detectable effect of temperature on heritability, but narrow‐sense heritability estimates were generally lower than broad‐sense estimates, indicative of significant non‐additive genetic variation across traits. Trait heritability also varied depending on coral life stage, with bleaching and growth in juveniles generally having lower heritability compared to bleaching and growth in larvae and adults. These differences may be the result of previous stabilizing selection on juveniles or may be due to constrained evolution resulting from genetic trade‐offs or genetic correlations between growth and thermotolerance. While we find no evidence that heritability decreases under temperature stress, explicit tests of the heritability of thermal tolerance itself—such as coral thermal reaction norm shape—are lacking. Nevertheless, our findings overall reveal high trait heritability for the majority of coral traits, suggesting corals may have a greater potential to adapt to climate change than has been assumed in recent evolutionary models.

Ongoing Collapse of Coral-Reef Shark Populations

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 12-2006

DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2006.09.044

Abstract: Marine ecosystems are suffering severe depletion of apex predators worldwide shark declines are principally due to conservative life-histories and fisheries overexploitation. On coral reefs, sharks are strongly interacting apex predators and play a key role in maintaining healthy reef ecosystems. Despite increasing fishing pressure, reef shark catches are rarely subject to specific limits, with management approaches typically depending upon no-take marine reserves to maintain populations. Here, we reveal that this approach is failing by documenting an ongoing collapse in two of the most abundant reef shark species on the Great Barrier Reef (Australia). We find an order of magnitude fewer sharks on fished reefs compared to no-entry management zones that encompass only 1% of reefs. No-take zones, which are more difficult to enforce than no-entry zones, offer almost no protection for shark populations. Population viability models of whitetip and gray reef sharks project ongoing steep declines in abundance of 7% and 17% per annum, respectively. These findings indicate that current management of no-take areas is inadequate for protecting reef sharks, even in one of the world's most-well-managed reef ecosystems. Further steps are urgently required for protecting this critical functional group from ecological extinction.

A comparative analysis of alternative approaches to fitting species-abundance models

Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)

Date: 03-2012

DOI: 10.1093/JPE/RTR043

Climate Change, Human Impacts, and the Resilience of Coral Reefs

Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Date: 15-08-2003

DOI: 10.1126/SCIENCE.1085046

Abstract: The ersity, frequency, and scale of human impacts on coral reefs are increasing to the extent that reefs are threatened globally. Projected increases in carbon dioxide and temperature over the next 50 years exceed the conditions under which coral reefs have flourished over the past half-million years. However, reefs will change rather than disappear entirely, with some species already showing far greater tolerance to climate change and coral bleaching than others. International integration of management strategies that support reef resilience need to be vigorously implemented, and complemented by strong policy decisions to reduce the rate of global warming.

Author Correction: The population sizes and global extinction risk of reef-building coral species at biogeographic scales

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 16-03-2021

DOI: 10.1038/S41559-021-01441-Z

Network theory and metapopulation persistence: incorporating node self-connections

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 13-06-2017

DOI: 10.1111/ELE.12784

Abstract: Network analysis is gaining increasing importance in conservation planning. However, which network metrics are the best predictors of metapopulation persistence is still unresolved. Here, we identify a critical limitation of graph theory-derived network metrics that have been proposed for this purpose: their omission of node self-connections. We resolve this by presenting modifications of existing network metrics, and developing entirely new metrics, that account for node self-connections. Then, we illustrate the performance of these new and modified metrics with an age-structured metapopulation model for a real-world marine reserve network case study, and we evaluate the robustness of our findings by systematically varying particular features of that network. Our new and modified metrics predict metapopulation persistence much better than existing metrics do, even when self-connections are weak. Existing metrics become good predictors of persistence only when self-connections are entirely absent, an unrealistic scenario in the overwhelming majority of metapopulation applications. Our study provides a set of novel tools that can substantially enhance the extent to which network metrics can be employed to understand, and manage for, metapopulation persistence.

Biogeography and the structure of coral reef fish communities on isolated islands

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 08-08-2012

DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2699.2011.02576.X

What is macroecology?

Publisher: The Royal Society

Date: 22-08-2012

DOI: 10.1098/RSBL.2012.0672

Abstract: The symposium ‘What is Macroecology?’ was held in London on 20 June 2012. The event was the inaugural meeting of the Macroecology Special Interest Group of the British Ecological Society and was attended by nearly 100 scientists from 11 countries. The meeting reviewed the recent development of the macroecological agenda. The key themes that emerged were a shift towards more explicit modelling of ecological processes, a growing synthesis across systems and scales, and new opportunities to apply macroecological concepts in other research fields.

Farming behaviour of reef fishes increases the prevalence of coral disease associated microbes and black band disease

Publisher: The Royal Society

Date: 23-07-2014

DOI: 10.1098/RSPB.2014.1032

Abstract: Microbial community structure on coral reefs is strongly influenced by coral–algae interactions however, the extent to which this influence is mediated by fishes is unknown. By excluding fleshy macroalgae, cultivating palatable filamentous algae and engaging in frequent aggression to protect resources, territorial damselfish (f. Pomacentridae), such as Stegastes , mediate macro-benthic dynamics on coral reefs and may significantly influence microbial communities. To elucidate how Stegastes apicalis and Stegastes nigricans may alter benthic microbial assemblages and coral health, we determined the benthic community composition (epilithic algal matrix and prokaryotes) and coral disease prevalence inside and outside of damselfish territories in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. 16S rDNA sequencing revealed distinct bacterial communities associated with turf algae and a two to three times greater relative abundance of phylotypes with high sequence similarity to potential coral pathogens inside Stegastes 's territories. These potentially pathogenic phylotypes (totalling 30.04% of the community) were found to have high sequence similarity to those lified from black band disease (BBD) and disease affected corals worldwide. Disease surveys further revealed a significantly higher occurrence of BBD inside S. nigricans 's territories. These findings demonstrate the first link between fish behaviour, reservoirs of potential coral disease pathogens and the prevalence of coral disease.

Net effects of life‐history traits explain persistent differences in abundance among similar species

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 11-2022

DOI: 10.1002/ECY.3863

Abstract: Life‐history traits are promising tools to predict species commonness and rarity because they influence a population's fitness in a given environment. Yet, species with similar traits can have vastly different abundances, challenging the prospect of robust trait‐based predictions. Using long‐term demographic monitoring, we show that coral populations with similar morphological and life‐history traits show persistent (decade‐long) differences in abundance. Morphological groups predicted species positions along two, well known life‐history axes (the fast‐slow continuum and size‐specific fecundity). However, integral projection models revealed that density‐independent population growth (λ) was more variable within morphological groups, and was consistently higher in dominant species relative to rare species. Within‐group λ differences projected large abundance differences among similar species in short timeframes, and were generated by small but compounding variation in growth, survival, and reproduction. Our study shows that easily measured morphological traits predict demographic strategies, yet small life‐history differences can accumulate into large differences in λ and abundance among similar species. Quantifying the net effects of multiple traits on population dynamics is therefore essential to anticipate species commonness and rarity.

Mechanical vulnerability explains size‐dependent mortality of reef corals

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 03-06-2014

DOI: 10.1111/ELE.12306

Effects of photoacclimation on the light niche of corals: A process-based approach

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 11-2009

DOI: 10.1007/S00227-009-1274-2

Erratum: Coral reef diversity refutes the neutral theory of biodiversity

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 10-2006

DOI: 10.1038/NATURE05187

The Coral Reef Sentinels Program: A Mars Shot for Blue Planetary Health

Publisher: Marine Technology Society

Date: 05-2021

DOI: 10.4031/MTSJ.55.3.51

Abstract: Abstract Up to 90% of global coral reefs are predicted to be severely degraded by 2050 under “business-as-usual” scenarios. To meet the scale and scope of this challenge, we propose designing and demonstrating a multi-modal system that can incorporate data from remote sensing (satellites, aircraft, and aerial drones), acoustics, genetics, sensor arrays, and low-cost imaging systems. The latter will be collected by low-cost smart sensing and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) guided by adaptive s ling modeling software and rapidly analyzed using automated machine learning systems. Development and deployment will be linked to extensive and ersity-enhancing training programs. The Coral Sentinel System will be globally deployed to enable rapid-response adaptive management and to build public engagement in conservation interventions to save coral reefs.Phase 1 (Year 1) will involve testing assumptions, coalition building, fundraising, and initial system development. Phase 2 (Years 2‐4) will focus on engineering and development with a pilot deployment in the Caribbean. Phase 3 (Years 5‐6) will involve system expansion and iteration along the Tropical Eastern Pacific corridor. Phase 4 (Years 7‐10) will involve global deployment to over 50 reef sites. This will lead during the following decade (Phase 5) to provisioning of low-cost Sentinel systems to coastal communities globally.

Multiple modes in a coral species abundance distribution

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 09-2008

DOI: 10.1111/J.1461-0248.2008.01208.X

Abstract: Species abundance distributions are an important measure of bio ersity and community structure. These distributions are affected by s ling, and alternative species-abundance models often make similar predictions for small s le sizes. Very large s les reveal the relative abundances of rare species, and thus provide information about species relative abundances that small s les cannot. Here, we present the species-abundance distribution for a s le of > 40,000 coral colonies at a single site, exceeding existing s les of coral local assemblages by over an order of magnitude. This abundance distribution is multimodal when examined on a logarithmic scale. Four different model selection procedures all indicate that the underlying community abundance distribution has at least three modes. We show that the multiple modes are not caused by mixtures of species with different habitat preferences. However, spatial aggregation partially explains our results. We inspect published work on species abundance distributions, and suggest that multimodality may be a common feature of large s les.

The Coral Trait Database, a curated database of trait information for coral species from the global oceans

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 29-03-2016

DOI: 10.1038/SDATA.2016.17

Abstract: Trait-based approaches advance ecological and evolutionary research because traits provide a strong link to an organism’s function and fitness. Trait-based research might lead to a deeper understanding of the functions of, and services provided by, ecosystems, thereby improving management, which is vital in the current era of rapid environmental change. Coral reef scientists have long collected trait data for corals however, these are difficult to access and often under-utilized in addressing large-scale questions. We present the Coral Trait Database initiative that aims to bring together physiological, morphological, ecological, phylogenetic and biogeographic trait information into a single repository. The database houses species- and in idual-level data from published field and experimental studies alongside contextual data that provide important framing for analyses. In this data descriptor, we release data for 56 traits for 1547 species, and present a collaborative platform on which other trait data are being actively federated. Our overall goal is for the Coral Trait Database to become an open-source, community-led data clearinghouse that accelerates coral reef research.

Coral reef diversity refutes the neutral theory of biodiversity

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 02-03-2006

DOI: 10.1038/NATURE04534

Abstract: The global decline of coral reefs highlights the need to understand the mechanisms that regulate community structure and sustain bio ersity in these systems. The neutral theory, which assumes that in iduals are demographically identical regardless of species, seeks to explain ubiquitous features of community structure and bio ersity patterns. Here we present a test of neutral-theory predictions with the use of an extensive species-level data set of Indo-Pacific coral communities. We show that coral assemblages differ markedly from neutral-model predictions for patterns of community similarity and the relative abundance of species. Within local communities, neutral models do not fit relative abundance distributions as well as the classical log-normal distribution. Relative abundances of species across local communities also differ markedly from neutral-theory predictions: coral communities exhibit community similarity values that are far more variable, and lower on average, than the neutral theory can produce. Empirical community similarities deviate from the neutral model in a direction opposite to that predicted in previous critiques of the neutral theory. Instead, our results support spatio-temporal environmental stochasticity as a major driver of ersity patterns on coral reefs.

Testing species abundance models: a new bootstrap approach applied to Indo‐Pacific coral reefs

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 11-2009

DOI: 10.1890/08-1832.1

Abstract: Patterns in the commonness and rarity of species are a fundamental characteristic of ecological assemblages however, testing between alternative models for such patterns remains an important challenge. Conventional approaches to fitting or testing species abundance models often assume that species, not in iduals, are the units that are s led and that species' abundances are independent of one another. Here we test three different models (the Poisson lognormal, the negative binomial, and the neutral, "zero-sum multinomial" [ZSM]) against species abundance distributions of Indo-Pacific corals and reef fishes. We derive and apply several alternative bootstrap analyses of model fit, each of which makes different assumptions about how species abundance data are s led, and we assess the extent to which tests of model fit are sensitive to such assumptions. For all models, goodness of fit is remarkably consistent, regardless of whether one assumes that species or in iduals are the units that are s led or whether or not one assumes that species' abundances are statistically independent of one another. However, goodness-of-fit estimates are approximately twice as precise and detect lack of model fit more frequently, when based on s ling of in iduals, rather than species. Bootstrap analyses indicate that the Poisson lognormal distribution exhibits substantially better fit to species abundance patterns, consistent with model selection analyses. In particular, heterogeneity in species abundances (many rare and few highly abundant species) is too great to be captured by the ZSM model or the negative binomial model and is best explained by models that predict species abundance patterns that are much closer, but not identical, to the lognormal distribution. More broadly, our bootstrap analyses suggest that estimates of model fit are likely to be robust to assumptions about the statistical interdependence of species abundances, but that tests of model fit are more powerful when they assume s ling of in iduals, rather than species. Such in idual-based tests therefore may be able to identify lack of model fit where previous tests have been inconclusive.

Integrating modelling of biodiversity composition and ecosystem function

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 22-10-2016

DOI: 10.1111/OIK.02792

Energetic cost of photoinhibition in corals

Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center

Date: 11-05-2006

DOI: 10.3354/MEPS313001

Species Differences Drive Nonneutral Structure in Pleistocene Coral Communities

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Date: 11-2012

DOI: 10.1086/667892

Abstract: Although ecological assemblages frequently depart from neutral model predictions, these discrepancies have not been unambiguously attributed to neutral theory's core assumption: that community structure is primarily the result of chance variation in birth, death, speciation, and dispersal, rather than the manifestation of demographic differences among species. Using coral communities in Barbados from four time periods during the Pleistocene, we demonstrate that the neutral theory cannot explain coral community similarity distributions, species' regional abundance distributions, or their local occupancy. Furthermore, discrepancies between the neutral theory and the observed communities can be attributed to violation of the core assumption of species equivalence. In particular, species' variable growth rates are driving departures from neutral predictions. Our results reinforce an understanding of reef coral community assembly that invokes trade-offs in species' demographic strategies. The results further suggest that conservation management actions will fail if they are based on the neutral assumption that different coral species are equally able to create live coral cover in the shallow-water reef environment. These findings highlight the importance of developing bio ersity theory that can parsimoniously incorporate species differences in coral reef communities, rather than further elaborating neutral theory.

Faunal breaks and species composition of Indo-Pacific corals: the role of plate tectonics, environment and habitat distribution

Publisher: The Royal Society

Date: 22-07-2013

DOI: 10.1098/RSPB.2013.0818

Abstract: Species richness gradients are ubiquitous in nature, but the mechanisms that generate and maintain these patterns at macroecological scales remain unresolved. We use a new approach that focuses on overlapping geographical ranges of species to reveal that Indo-Pacific corals are assembled within 11 distinct faunal provinces. Province limits are characterized by co-occurrence of multiple species range boundaries. Unexpectedly, these faunal breaks are poorly predicted by contemporary environmental conditions and the present-day distribution of habitat. Instead, faunal breaks show striking concordance with geological features (tectonic plates and mantle plume tracks). The depth range over which a species occurs, its larval development rate and genus age are important determinants of the likelihood that species will straddle faunal breaks. Our findings indicate that historical processes, habitat heterogeneity and species colonization ability account for more of the present-day biogeographical patterns of corals than explanations based on the contemporary distribution of reefs or environmental conditions.

Understanding diversity–stability relationships: towards a unified model of portfolio effects

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 24-10-2012

DOI: 10.1111/ELE.12019

A Trait-Based Approach to Advance Coral Reef Science

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 06-2016

DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2016.02.012

Abstract: Coral reefs are biologically erse and ecologically complex ecosystems constructed by stony corals. Despite decades of research, basic coral population biology and community ecology questions remain. Quantifying trait variation among species can help resolve these questions, but progress has been h ered by a paucity of trait data for the many, often rare, species and by a reliance on nonquantitative approaches. Therefore, we propose filling data gaps by prioritizing traits that are easy to measure, estimating key traits for species with missing data, and identifying 'supertraits' that capture a large amount of variation for a range of biological and ecological processes. Such an approach can accelerate our understanding of coral ecology and our ability to protect critically threatened global ecosystems.

The population sizes and global extinction risk of reef-building coral species at biogeographic scales

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 03-2021

DOI: 10.1038/S41559-021-01393-4

Abstract: Knowledge of a species' abundance is critically important for assessing its risk of extinction, but for the vast majority of wild animal and plant species such data are scarce at biogeographic scales. Here, we estimate the total number of reef-building corals and the population sizes of more than 300 in idual species on reefs spanning the Pacific Ocean bio ersity gradient, from Indonesia to French Polynesia. Our analysis suggests that approximately half a trillion corals (0.3 × 10

The molecular biogeography of the Indo‐Pacific: Testing hypotheses with multispecies genetic patterns

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 22-04-2019

DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12905

Connectivity, biodiversity conservation and the design of marine reserve networks for coral reefs

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 10-03-2009

DOI: 10.1007/S00338-009-0484-X

Natural experiments and long-term monitoring are critical to understand and predict marine host-microbe ecology and evolution

Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Date: 19-08-2021

DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PBIO.3001322

Abstract: Marine multicellular organisms host a erse collection of bacteria, archaea, microbial eukaryotes, and viruses that form their microbiome. Such host-associated microbes can significantly influence the host’s physiological capacities however, the identity and functional role(s) of key members of the microbiome (“core microbiome”) in most marine hosts coexisting in natural settings remain obscure. Also unclear is how dynamic interactions between hosts and the immense standing pool of microbial genetic variation will affect marine ecosystems’ capacity to adjust to environmental changes. Here, we argue that significantly advancing our understanding of how host-associated microbes shape marine hosts’ plastic and adaptive responses to environmental change requires (i) recognizing that in idual host–microbe systems do not exist in an ecological or evolutionary vacuum and (ii) expanding the field toward long-term, multidisciplinary research on entire communities of hosts and microbes. Natural experiments, such as time-calibrated geological events associated with well-characterized environmental gradients, provide unique ecological and evolutionary contexts to address this challenge. We focus here particularly on mutualistic interactions between hosts and microbes, but note that many of the same lessons and approaches would apply to other types of interactions.

Smithsonian Institution

Location: United States of America

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Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP0209047

Start Date: 03-2002

End Date: 12-2003

Amount: $50,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP0880544

Start Date: 2008

End Date: 12-2012

Amount: $540,452.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP0664840

Start Date: 2006

End Date: 12-2010

Amount: $356,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP0209507

Start Date: 10-2002

End Date: 12-2005

Amount: $2,100,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453501

Start Date: 09-2004

End Date: 12-2005

Amount: $406,097.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Research Networks - Grant ID: RN0457921

Start Date: 10-2004

End Date: 10-2009

Amount: $1,500,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354638

Start Date: 01-2004

End Date: 12-2004

Amount: $20,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Super Science Fellowships - Grant ID: FS100100088

Start Date: 08-2010

End Date: 12-2013

Amount: $556,800.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

ARC Centres Of Excellence - Grant ID: CE0561435

Start Date: 2006

End Date: 12-2014

Amount: $21,800,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP0453612

Start Date: 05-2004

End Date: 12-2006

Amount: $493,356.00

Funder: Australian Research Council