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Roik A, Wall M, Dobelmann M, Nietzer S, Brefeld D, Fiesinger A, Reverter M, Schupp PJ, Jackson M, Rutsch M, Strahl J. Trade-offs in a reef-building coral after six years of thermal acclimation. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 949:174589. [PMID: 38981551 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 06/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
There is growing evidence that reef-building corals can acclimate to novel and challenging thermal conditions. However, potential trade-offs that accompany acclimation remain largely unexplored. We investigated physiological trade-offs in colonies of a globally abundant coral species (Pocillopora acuta) that were acclimated ex situ to an elevated temperature of 31 °C (i.e., 1 °C above their bleaching threshold) for six years. By comparing them to conspecifics maintained at a cooler temperature, we found that the energy storage of corals was prioritized over skeletal growth at the elevated temperature. This was associated with the formation of higher density skeletons, lower calcification rates and consequently lower skeletal extension rates, which entails ramifications for future reef-building processes, structural complexity and reef community composition. Furthermore, symbionts were physiologically compromised at 31 °C and had overall lower energy reserves, likely due to increased exploitation by their host, resulting in an overall lower stress resilience of the holobiont. Our study shows how biological trade-offs of thermal acclimation unfold, helping to refine our picture of future coral reef trajectories. Importantly, our observations in this six-year study do not align with observations of short-term studies, where elevated temperatures were often associated with the depletion of energy reserves, highlighting the importance of studying acclimation of organisms at relevant biological scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Roik
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany; Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany.
| | - Marlene Wall
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany; GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
| | - Melina Dobelmann
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Samuel Nietzer
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - David Brefeld
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Anna Fiesinger
- GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Miriam Reverter
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Peter J Schupp
- Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany; Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Matthew Jackson
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Marie Rutsch
- Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany; Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Julia Strahl
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany; Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany.
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2
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Benkwitt CE, D'Angelo C, Dunn RE, Gunn RL, Healing S, Mardones ML, Wiedenmann J, Wilson SK, Graham NAJ. Seabirds boost coral reef resilience. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadj0390. [PMID: 38055814 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj0390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Global climate change threatens tropical coral reefs, yet local management can influence resilience. While increasing anthropogenic nutrients reduce coral resistance and recovery, it is unknown how the loss, or restoration, of natural nutrient flows affects reef recovery. Here, we test how natural seabird-derived nutrient subsidies, which are threatened by invasive rats, influence the mechanisms and patterns of reef recovery following an extreme marine heatwave using multiyear field experiments, repeated surveys, and Bayesian modeling. Corals transplanted from rat to seabird islands quickly assimilated seabird-derived nutrients, fully acclimating to new nutrient conditions within 3 years. Increased seabird-derived nutrients, in turn, caused a doubling of coral growth rates both within individuals and across entire reefs. Seabirds were also associated with faster recovery time of Acropora coral cover (<4 years) and more dynamic recovery trajectories of entire benthic communities. We conclude that restoring seabird populations and associated nutrient pathways may foster greater coral reef resilience through enhanced growth and recovery rates of corals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cecilia D'Angelo
- Coral Reef Laboratory, School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO143ZH, UK
| | - Ruth E Dunn
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
- The Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
| | - Rachel L Gunn
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Auf Der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Samuel Healing
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - M Loreto Mardones
- Coral Reef Laboratory, School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO143ZH, UK
| | - Joerg Wiedenmann
- Coral Reef Laboratory, School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO143ZH, UK
| | - Shaun K Wilson
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
- University of Western Australia, UWA Oceans Institute, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
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3
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Stahl F, Mezger SD, Migani V, Rohlfs M, Fahey VJ, Schoenig E, Wild C. Recent and rapid reef recovery around Koh Phangan Island, Gulf of Thailand, driven by plate-like hard corals. PeerJ 2023; 11:e16115. [PMID: 38025748 PMCID: PMC10640840 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Mass bleaching events and local anthropogenic influences have changed the benthic communities of many coral reefs with pronounced spatial differences that are linked to resilience patterns. The Gulf of Thailand is an under-investigated region with only few existing datasets containing long-term developments of coral reef communities using the same method at fixed sites. We thus analyzed benthic community data from seven reefs surrounding the island of Koh Phangan collected between 2014 and 2022. Findings revealed that the average live hard coral cover around Koh Phangan increased from 37% to 55% over the observation period, while turf algae cover decreased from 52% to 29%, indicating some recovery of local reefs. This corresponds to a mean increased rate of coral cover by 2.2% per year. The increase in live hard coral cover was mainly driven by plate-like corals, which quadrupled in proportion over the last decade from 7% to 28% while branching corals decreased in proportion from 9% to 2%. Furthermore, the hard coral genus richness increased, indicating an increased hard coral diversity. While in other reefs, increasing live hard coral cover is often attributed to fast-growing, branching coral species, considered more susceptible to bleaching and other disturbances, the reefs around Koh Phangan recovered mainly via growth of plate-like corals, particularly of the genus Montipora. Although plate-like morphologies are not necessarily more bleaching tolerant, they are important for supporting reef fish abundance and structural complexity on reefs, aiding reef recovery and sturdiness. Hence, our findings indicate that the intensity of local stressors around Kho Phangan allows reef recovery driven by some hard coral species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Stahl
- Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, Marine Botany Group, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, Marine Ecology Group, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Selma D. Mezger
- Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, Marine Ecology Group, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Valentina Migani
- Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, Evolutionary Biology Group, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Marko Rohlfs
- Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, Chemical Ecology Group, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Victoria J. Fahey
- Center for Oceanic Research and Education (COREsea), Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Thailand
| | - Eike Schoenig
- Center for Oceanic Research and Education (COREsea), Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Thailand
| | - Christian Wild
- Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, Marine Ecology Group, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
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4
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Álvarez-Noriega M, Madin JS, Baird AH, Dornelas M, Connolly SR. Disturbance-Induced Changes in Population Size Structure Promote Coral Biodiversity. Am Nat 2023; 202:604-615. [PMID: 37963122 DOI: 10.1086/726738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
AbstractReef-building coral assemblages are typically species rich, yet the processes maintaining high biodiversity remain poorly understood. Disturbance has long been thought to promote coral species coexistence by reducing the strength of competition (i.e., the intermediate disturbance hypothesis [IDH]). However, such disturbance-induced effects are insufficient to inhibit competitive exclusion. Nevertheless, there are other mechanisms by which disturbance and, more generally, environmental variation can favor coexistence. Here, we develop a size-structured, stochastic coral competition model calibrated with field data from two common colony morphologies to investigate the effects of hydrodynamic disturbance on community dynamics. We show that fluctuations in wave action can promote coral species coexistence but that this occurs via interspecific differences in size-dependent mortality rather than solely via stochastic fluctuations in competition (i.e., free space availability). While this mechanism differs from that originally envisioned in the IDH, it is nonetheless a mechanism by which intermediate levels of disturbance do promote coexistence. Given the sensitivity of coexistence to disturbance frequency and intensity, anthropogenic changes in disturbance regimes are likely to affect coral assemblages in ways that are not predictable from single-population models.
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5
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Speelman PE, Parger M, Schoepf V. Divergent recovery trajectories of intertidal and subtidal coral communities highlight habitat-specific recovery dynamics following bleaching in an extreme macrotidal reef environment. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15987. [PMID: 37727686 PMCID: PMC10506583 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Coral reefs face an uncertain future punctuated by recurring climate-induced disturbances. Understanding how reefs can recover from and reassemble after mass bleaching events is therefore important to predict their responses and persistence in a rapidly changing ocean. On naturally extreme reefs characterized by strong daily temperature variability, coral heat tolerance can vary significantly over small spatial gradients but it remains poorly understood how this impacts bleaching resilience and recovery dynamics, despite their importance as resilience hotspots and potential refugia. In the macrotidal Kimberley region in NW Australia, the 2016 global mass bleaching event had a strong habitat-specific impact on intertidal and subtidal coral communities at our study site: corals in the thermally variable intertidal bleached less severely and recovered within six months, while 68% of corals in the moderately variable subtidal died. We therefore conducted benthic surveys 3.5 years after the bleaching event to determine potential changes in benthic cover and coral community composition. In the subtidal, we documented substantial increases in algal cover and live coral cover had not fully recovered to pre-bleaching levels. Furthermore, the subtidal coral community shifted from being dominated by branching Acropora corals with a competitive life history strategy to opportunistic, weedy Pocillopora corals which likely has implications for the functioning and stress resilience of this novel coral community. In contrast, no shifts in algal and live coral cover or coral community composition occurred in the intertidal. These findings demonstrate that differences in coral heat tolerance across small spatial scales can have large consequences for bleaching resilience and that spatial patchiness in recovery trajectories and community reassembly after bleaching might be a common feature on thermally variable reefs. Our findings further confirm that reefs adapted to high daily temperature variability play a key role as resilience hotspots under current climate conditions, but their ability to do so may be limited under intensifying ocean warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. Elias Speelman
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Dept. of Freshwater and Marine Ecology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Parger
- UWA Ocean Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Verena Schoepf
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Dept. of Freshwater and Marine Ecology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- UWA Ocean Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
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6
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Ferreira SB, Burns JHR, Pascoe KH, Kapono CA, Reyes AJ, Fukunaga A. Prediction of habitat complexity using a trait-based approach on coral reefs in Guam. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11095. [PMID: 37422484 PMCID: PMC10329656 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38138-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Scleractinian corals are primary contributors to the structural complexity of coral reef ecosystems. The structure derived from their carbonate skeletons underpins the biodiversity and myriad of ecosystem services provided by coral reefs. This study used a trait-based approach to provide new insights into the relationships between habitat complexity and coral morphology. Three-Dimensional (3D) photogrammetry techniques were used to survey 208 study plots on the island of Guam, from which structural complexity metrics were derived and physical traits of corals were quantified. Three traits at the individual colony level (e.g., morphology, size, and genera) and two site-level environmental characteristics (e.g., wave exposure and substratum-habitat type) were examined. Standard taxonomy-based metrics were also included at the reef-plot level (e.g., coral abundance, richness, and diversity). Different traits disproportionately contributed to 3D metrics of habitat complexity. Larger colonies with a columnar morphology have the highest contribution to surface complexity, slope, and vector ruggedness measure, whereas branching and encrusting columnar colonies have the highest contribution to planform and profile curvature. These results highlight the importance of considering colony morphology and size in addition to conventional taxonomic metrics for the understanding and monitoring reef structural complexity. The approach presented here provides a framework for studies in other locations to predict the trajectory of reefs under changing environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia B Ferreira
- MEGA Lab, College of Natural and Health Sciences, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA.
| | - John H R Burns
- MEGA Lab, College of Natural and Health Sciences, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
| | - Kailey H Pascoe
- MEGA Lab, College of Natural and Health Sciences, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
| | - Clifford A Kapono
- MEGA Lab, College of Natural and Health Sciences, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
| | - Andres J Reyes
- Marine Scientist, NAVFAC Systems Command Marianas, Joint Region Marianas, Santa Rita, GU, 96915, USA
| | - Atsuko Fukunaga
- MEGA Lab, College of Natural and Health Sciences, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
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7
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Burn D, Hoey AS, Matthews S, Harrison HB, Pratchett MS. Differential bleaching susceptibility among coral taxa and colony sizes, relative to bleaching severity across Australia's Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea Marine Parks. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 191:114907. [PMID: 37080018 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Climate-induced coral bleaching represents the foremost threat to coral assemblages globally, however bleaching susceptibility varies among and within coral taxa. We compared bleaching susceptibility among 10 coral morpho-taxa and two colony size classes relative to reef-scale bleaching severity at 33 reefs across the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea Marine Parks in February-March 2020. Colony size and bleaching severity caused the hierarchy of bleaching susceptibility among taxa to change considerably. Notably, massive Porites shifted from being among the least likely taxa to exhibit bleaching, to among the most susceptible as overall bleaching severity increased. Juvenile corals (≤5 cm diameter) were generally more resistant to bleaching, except for Montipora and Pocillopora colonies, which were more likely to bleach than adults (>5 cm). These findings suggest that colony size and reef-scale bleaching severity are important determinants of bleaching susceptibility among taxa and provide insights into possible shifts in the structure of coral assemblages caused by bleaching events.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Burn
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
| | - A S Hoey
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - S Matthews
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - H B Harrison
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia; School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - M S Pratchett
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
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8
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Álvarez-Noriega M, Marrable I, Noonan SHC, Barneche DR, Ortiz JC. Highly conserved thermal performance strategies may limit adaptive potential in corals. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20221703. [PMID: 36629109 PMCID: PMC9832572 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Increasing seawater temperatures are expected to have profound consequences for reef-building corals' physiology. Understanding how demography changes in response to chronic exposure to warming will help forecast how coral communities will respond to climate change. Here, we measure growth rates of coral fragments of four common species, while exposing them to temperatures ranging from 19°C to 31°C for one month to calibrate their thermal-performance curves (TPCs). Our results show that, while there are contrasting differences between species, the shape of the TPCs was remarkably consistent among individuals of the same species. The low variation in thermal sensitivity within species may imply a reduced capacity for rapid adaptive responses to future changes in thermal regimes. Additionally, interspecific differences in thermal responses show a negative relationship between maximum growth and thermal optima, contradicting expectations derived from the classic 'warmer-is-better' hypothesis. Among species, there was a trade-off between current and future growth, whereby most species perform well under current thermal regimes but are susceptible to future increases in temperature. Increases in water temperature with climate change are likely to reduce growth rates, further hampering future coral reef recovery rates and potentially altering community composition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Isabella Marrable
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia
| | - Sam H. C. Noonan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia
| | - Diego R. Barneche
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Juan C. Ortiz
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia
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9
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McWilliam M, Dornelas M, Álvarez-Noriega M, Baird AH, Connolly SR, Madin JS. Net effects of life-history traits explain persistent differences in abundance among similar species. Ecology 2023; 104:e3863. [PMID: 36056537 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mike McWilliam
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kāne'ohe, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Maria Dornelas
- Centre for Biological Diversity, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Mariana Álvarez-Noriega
- Centre for Geometric Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew H Baird
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Joshua S Madin
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kāne'ohe, Hawai'i, USA
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10
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Lippmann RB, Helmstedt KJ, Gibbs MT, Corry P. Optimizing facility location, sizing, and growth time for a cultivated resource: A case study in coral aquaculture. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0282668. [PMID: 36921005 PMCID: PMC10016709 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Production of cultivated resources require additional planning that takes growth time into account. We formulate a mathematical programming model to determine the optimal location and sizing of growth facilities, impacted by resource survival rate as a function of its growth time. Our method informs strategic decisions regarding the number, location, and sizing of facilities, as well as operational decisions of optimal growth time for a cultivated resource in a facility to minimize total costs. We solve this facility location and sizing problem in the context of coral aquaculture for large-scale reef restoration using a two-stage algorithm and a linear mixed-integer solver. We assess growth time in a facility in terms of its impact on survival (post-deployment) considering growth quantity requirements and growth facility production constraints. We explore the sensitivity of optimal facility number, location, and sizing to changes in the geographic distribution of demand and cost parameters computationally. Results show that the relationship between growth time and survival is critical to optimizing operational decisions for grown resources. These results inform the value of data certainty to optimize the logistics of coral aquaculture production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryu B. Lippmann
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Kate J. Helmstedt
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for Data Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mark T. Gibbs
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Paul Corry
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for Data Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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11
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Evidence for adaptive morphological plasticity in the Caribbean coral, Acropora cervicornis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2203925119. [PMID: 36442118 PMCID: PMC9894258 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2203925119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Genotype-by-environment interactions (GxE) indicate that variation in organismal traits cannot be explained by fixed effects of genetics or site-specific plastic responses alone. For tropical coral reefs experiencing dramatic environmental change, identifying the contributions of genotype, environment, and GxE on coral performance will be vital for both predicting persistence and developing restoration strategies. We quantified the impacts of G, E, and GxE on the morphology and survival of the endangered coral, Acropora cervicornis, through an in situ transplant experiment exposing common garden (nursery)-raised clones of ten genotypes to nine reef sites in the Florida Keys. By fate-tracking outplants over one year with colony-level 3D photogrammetry, we uncovered significant GxE on coral size, shape, and survivorship, indicating that no universal winner exists in terms of colony performance. Rather than differences in mean trait values, we found that individual-level morphological plasticity is adaptive in that the most plastic individuals also exhibited the fastest growth and highest survival. This indicates that adaptive morphological plasticity may continue to evolve, influencing the success of A. cervicornis and resulting reef communities in a changing climate. As focal reefs are active restoration sites, the knowledge that variation in phenotype is an important predictor of performance can be directly applied to restoration planning. Taken together, these results establish A. cervicornis as a system for studying the ecoevolutionary dynamics of phenotypic plasticity that also can inform genetic- and environment-based strategies for coral restoration.
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12
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Zhang J, Richards ZT, Adam AAS, Chan CX, Shinzato C, Gilmour J, Thomas L, Strugnell JM, Miller DJ, Cooke I. Evolutionary responses of a reef-building coral to climate change at the end of the last glacial maximum. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:msac201. [PMID: 36219871 PMCID: PMC9578555 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2022] [Revised: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change threatens the survival of coral reefs on a global scale, primarily through mass bleaching and mortality as a result of marine heatwaves. While these short-term effects are clear, predicting the fate of coral reefs over the coming century is a major challenge. One way to understand the longer-term effects of rapid climate change is to examine the response of coral populations to past climate shifts. Coastal and shallow-water marine ecosystems such as coral reefs have been reshaped many times by sea-level changes during the Pleistocene, yet, few studies have directly linked this with its consequences on population demographics, dispersal, and adaptation. Here we use powerful analytical techniques, afforded by haplotype phased whole-genomes, to establish such links for the reef-building coral, Acropora digitifera. We show that three genetically distinct populations are present in northwestern Australia, and that their rapid divergence since the last glacial maximum (LGM) can be explained by a combination of founder-effects and restricted gene flow. Signatures of selective sweeps, too strong to be explained by demographic history, are present in all three populations and overlap with genes that show different patterns of functional enrichment between inshore and offshore habitats. In contrast to rapid divergence in the host, we find that photosymbiont communities are largely undifferentiated between corals from all three locations, spanning almost 1000 km, indicating that selection on host genes and not acquisition of novel symbionts, has been the primary driver of adaptation for this species in northwestern Australia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Zhang
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
| | - Zoe T Richards
- Coral Conservation and Research Group, Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
- Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, 49 Kew Street Welshpool, WA 6106, Australia
| | - Arne A S Adam
- Coral Conservation and Research Group, Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Cheong Xin Chan
- The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Chuya Shinzato
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo277-8564, Chiba, Japan
| | - James Gilmour
- Australia Institute of Marine Science, Indian Oceans Marine Research Centre, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Luke Thomas
- Australia Institute of Marine Science, Indian Oceans Marine Research Centre, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
- Oceans Graduate School, The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Jan M Strugnell
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
- Centre for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
| | - David J Miller
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
- Marine Climate Change Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Onna-son, Okinawa, Japan 904-0495
| | - Ira Cooke
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
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13
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Nielsen JJV, Matthews G, Frith KR, Harrison HB, Marzonie MR, Slaughter KL, Suggett DJ, Bay LK. Experimental considerations of acute heat stress assays to quantify coral thermal tolerance. Sci Rep 2022; 12:16831. [PMID: 36207307 PMCID: PMC9546840 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20138-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the distribution and abundance of heat tolerant corals across seascapes is imperative for predicting responses to climate change and to support novel management actions. Thermal tolerance is variable in corals and intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of tolerance are not well understood. Traditional experimental evaluations of coral heat and bleaching tolerance typically involve ramp-and-hold experiments run across days to weeks within aquarium facilities with limits to colony replication. Field-based acute heat stress assays have emerged as an alternative experimental approach to rapidly quantify heat tolerance in many samples yet the role of key methodological considerations on the stress response measured remains unresolved. Here, we quantify the effects of coral fragment size, sampling time point, and physiological measures on the acute heat stress response in adult corals. The effect of fragment size differed between species (Acropora tenuis and Pocillopora damicornis). Most physiological parameters measured here declined over time (tissue colour, chlorophyll-a and protein content) from the onset of heating, with the exception of maximum photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) which was surprisingly stable over this time scale. Based on our experiments, we identified photosynthetic efficiency, tissue colour change, and host-specific assays such as catalase activity as key physiological measures for rapid quantification of thermal tolerance. We recommend that future applications of acute heat stress assays include larger fragments (> 9 cm2) where possible and sample between 10 and 24 h after the end of heat stress. A validated high-throughput experimental approach combined with cost-effective genomic and physiological measurements underpins the development of markers and maps of heat tolerance across seascapes and ocean warming scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- J J V Nielsen
- College of Public Health, Medicine, and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia. .,Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB #3, Townsville, MC, QLD, 4810, Australia. .,AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia.
| | - G Matthews
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
| | - K R Frith
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB #3, Townsville, MC, QLD, 4810, Australia.,Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste, Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, Devon, UK
| | - H B Harrison
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB #3, Townsville, MC, QLD, 4810, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
| | - M R Marzonie
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB #3, Townsville, MC, QLD, 4810, Australia.,AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
| | - K L Slaughter
- AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia.,College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
| | - D J Suggett
- Climate Change Cluster, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - L K Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB #3, Townsville, MC, QLD, 4810, Australia
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14
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Morais J, Morais R, Tebbett SB, Bellwood DR. On the fate of dead coral colonies. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Juliano Morais
- Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions, College of Science and Engineering and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University 4811 Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Renato Morais
- Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions, College of Science and Engineering and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University 4811 Townsville Queensland Australia
- Paris Sciences et Lettres Université École Pratique des Hautes Études, EPHE‐UPVD‐CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, University of Perpignan, 66860 Perpignan France
| | - Sterling B. Tebbett
- Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions, College of Science and Engineering and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University 4811 Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - David R. Bellwood
- Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions, College of Science and Engineering and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University 4811 Townsville Queensland Australia
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15
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Edmunds PJ. Persistence of a sessile benthic organism promoted by a morphological strategy combining sheets and trees. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220952. [PMID: 35858059 PMCID: PMC9277250 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Sessile organisms exploit a life-history strategy in which adults are immobile and their growth position is determined at settlement. The morphological strategy exploited by these organisms has strong selective value, because it can allow beneficial matching of morphology to environmental and biological conditions. In benthic marine environments, a 'sheet-tree' morphology is a classic mechanism exploited by select sessile organisms, and milleporine hydrocorals provide one of the best examples of this strategy. Using 30-year analysis of Millepora sp. on the reefs of St. John, US Virgin Islands, I tested for the benefits of a sheet-tree morphology in mediating the ecological success of an important functional group of benthic space holders. The abundance of Millepora sp. chaotically changed from 1992 to 2021 in concert with hurricanes, bleaching and macroalgal crowding. Millepora sp. responded to these disturbances by exploiting their morphological strategy to increase the use of trees when their sheets were compromised by bleaching and spatial competition with macroalgae, and the use of sheets when their trees were broken by storms. Together, these results reveal the selective value of a plastic sheet-tree morphology, which can be exploited by sessile organisms to respond to decadal-scale variation in environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J. Edmunds
- Department of Biology, California State University, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330-8303, USA
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16
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Carturan BS, Parrott L, Pither J. Functional Richness and Resilience in Coral Reef Communities. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.780406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Within the Anthropocene the functional diversity of coral communities is changing rapidly, putting the resilience of many coral reef ecosystems in jeopardy. A better understanding of the relationship between coral functional diversity and reef resilience could reveal practical ways to achieve increased resilience. However, manipulating coral diversity experimentally is challenging, and consequently the links between coral functional diversity, resilience, and ecosystem functioning remain obscure. We used an ecologically detailed agent-based model to conduct a virtual experiment in which functional diversity was manipulated over the entire trait space of scleractinian corals. Using an imputed trait dataset of 798 coral species and eight key functional traits, we assembled 245 functionally distinct coral communities, which we subjected to a cyclone and bleaching event. We then measured four different aspects of their resilience and quantified for each measure the respective effect of (i) the functional richness (FRic), and (ii) community-weighted means (CWM) of four types of trait: effect, resistance, recovery, and competitive. FRic represents the volume occupied by a community in the functional space, while CWM indicates the location of the communities’ centroid in the functional space. We found a significant and positive effect of FRic on three measures of resilience: communities with higher FRic recovered surface cover faster and had more rugosity and cover 10 years after the disturbances. In contrast, the resistance of the coral community—i.e., the capacity to maintain surface cover when subjected to the disturbances—was independent of FRic and was determined primarily by the CWM of resistance traits. By analyzing community dynamics and functional trade-offs, we show that FRic increases resilience via the selection and the insurance effects due to the presence of competitive species in the functional space, i.e., those highly dominant species that contribute the most to the complexity of the habitat and recover quickly from disturbances. Building from the results of our experiment and the trait correlation analysis, we discuss the potential for FRic to serve as a proxy measure of resilience and we present a strategy that can provide direction to on-going reef restoration efforts, and pave the way for sustaining coral communities in a context of rapid global change.
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17
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Culling corallivores improves short-term coral recovery under bleaching scenarios. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2520. [PMID: 35534497 PMCID: PMC9085818 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30213-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Management of coral predators, corallivores, is recommended to improve coral cover on tropical coral reefs under projected increasing levels of accumulated thermal stress, but whether corallivore management can improve coral cover, which is necessary for large-scale operationalisation, remains equivocal. Here, using a multispecies ecosystem model, we investigate intensive management of an invertebrate corallivore, the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris), and show that culling could improve coral cover at sub-reef spatial scales, but efficacy varied substantially within and among reefs. Simulated thermal stress events attenuated management-derived coral cover improvements and was dependent on the level of accumulated thermal stress, the thermal sensitivity of coral communities and the rate of corallivore recruitment at fine spatial scales. Corallivore management was most effective when accumulated thermal stress was low, coral communities were less sensitive to heat stress and in areas of high corallivore recruitment success. Our analysis informs how to manage a pest species to promote coral cover under future thermal stress events. This study uses multispecies modelling to show that the management of a coral predator, the crown-of-thorns starfish, could help corals recover following bleaching events. They show that management was most effective when heat stress severity for corals was low to moderate, when corals had lower heat sensitivity and when the recruitment rate of starfish was high.
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18
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Hernandez‐Agreda A, Marina Sahit F, Englebert N, Hoegh‐Guldberg O, Bongaerts P. Hidden in the deep: Distinct benthic trajectories call for monitoring of mesophotic reefs. Conserv Lett 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/conl.12875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Francesca Marina Sahit
- Global Change Institute and School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland Saint Lucia Australia
| | - Norbert Englebert
- Global Change Institute and School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland Saint Lucia Australia
| | - Ove Hoegh‐Guldberg
- Global Change Institute and School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland Saint Lucia Australia
| | - Pim Bongaerts
- California Academy of Sciences San Francisco California USA
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19
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Castro-Sanguino C, Bozec YM, Callaghan D, Vercelloni J, Rodriguez-Ramirez A, Lopez-Marcano S, Gonzalez-Marrero Y, Puotinen M, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Gonzalez-Rivero M. Coral composition and bottom-wave metrics improve understanding of the patchiness of cyclone damage on reefs. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 804:150178. [PMID: 34798733 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Coral reefs are likely to be exposed to more intense cyclones under climate change. Cyclone impacts are spatially highly variable given complex hydrodynamics, and coral-specific sensitivity to wave impacts. Predicting reef vulnerability to cyclones is critical to management but requires high resolution environmental data that are difficult to obtain over broad spatial scales. Using 30m-resolution wave modelling, we tested cyclonic and non-cyclonic wave metrics as predictors of coral damage on 22 reefs after severe cyclone Ita impacted the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia in 2014. Analyses of coral cover change accounting for the type of coral along a gradient of vulnerability to wave damage (e.g., massive, branching, Acroporids) excluded cyclone-generated surface wave metrics (derived from wave height) as important predictors. Increased bottom stress wave environment (near-bed wave orbital velocity) due to Ita (Ita-Ub) explained spatial patterns of 17% to 46% total coral cover loss only when the initial abundance of Acroporids was accounted for, and only when exceeding 35% cover. Greater coral losses occurred closer to the cyclone path irrespective of coral type. Massive and encrusting corals, however, had losses exacerbated in higher non-cyclonic bottom-wave energy environments (nc-Ub). The effect of community composition on structural vulnerability to wave damage was more important predicting damage that the magnitude of the cyclone-generated waves, especially when reefs are surveyed well beyond where damaging waves are expected to occur. Exposure to Ita-Ub was greater in typically high nc-Ub environments with relatively low cover of the most fragile morphologies explaining why these were the least affected overall. We reveal that the common surface-wave metrics of cyclone intensity may not always be able to predict spatial impacts and conclude that reef vulnerability assessments need to account for chronic wave patterns and differences in community composition in order to provide predictive tools for future conservation and restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Castro-Sanguino
- Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
| | - Y-M Bozec
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Brisbane, Australia; School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - D Callaghan
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - J Vercelloni
- Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - A Rodriguez-Ramirez
- Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - S Lopez-Marcano
- Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Y Gonzalez-Marrero
- Canary Islands Oceanographic Center, The Spanish National Research Council, Tenerife, Spain
| | - M Puotinen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, WA, Australia
| | - O Hoegh-Guldberg
- Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - M Gonzalez-Rivero
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville MC, QLD 4810, Australia; Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
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20
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Bozec Y, Hock K, Mason RAB, Baird ME, Castro‐Sanguino C, Condie SA, Puotinen M, Thompson A, Mumby PJ. Cumulative impacts across Australia’s Great Barrier Reef: a mechanistic evaluation. ECOL MONOGR 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yves‐Marie Bozec
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab School of Biological Sciences & ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Karlo Hock
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab School of Biological Sciences & ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Robert A. B. Mason
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab School of Biological Sciences & ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Mark E. Baird
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart Tasmania 7001 Australia
| | - Carolina Castro‐Sanguino
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab School of Biological Sciences & ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland 4072 Australia
| | | | - Marji Puotinen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science & Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre Crawley Western Australia 6009 Australia
| | - Angus Thompson
- Australian Institute of Marine Science Townsville Queensland 4810 Australia
| | - Peter J. Mumby
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab School of Biological Sciences & ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland 4072 Australia
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21
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Bairos-Novak KR, Hoogenboom MO, van Oppen MJH, Connolly SR. Coral adaptation to climate change: Meta-analysis reveals high heritability across multiple traits. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:5694-5710. [PMID: 34482591 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic climate change is a rapidly intensifying selection pressure on biodiversity 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, h2 ). Thus, traits that have higher heritability (e.g., h2 > 0.5) are likely to adapt to future conditions faster than traits with lower heritability (e.g., h2 < 0.1). Here, we synthesize 95 heritability estimates across 19 species of reef-building corals. Our meta-analysis reveals low heritability (h2 < 0.25) of gene expression metrics, intermediate heritability (h2 = 0.25-0.50) of photochemistry, growth, and bleaching, and high heritability (h2 > 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin R Bairos-Novak
- College of Science and Engineering and ARCCOE for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mia O Hoogenboom
- College of Science and Engineering and ARCCOE for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Madeleine J H van Oppen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sean R Connolly
- College of Science and Engineering and ARCCOE for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
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22
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Clements CS, Hay ME. Biodiversity has a positive but saturating effect on imperiled coral reefs. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabi8592. [PMID: 34644117 PMCID: PMC8514098 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abi8592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Species loss threatens ecosystems worldwide, but the ecological processes and thresholds that underpin positive biodiversity effects among critically important foundation species, such as corals on tropical reefs, remain inadequately understood. In field experiments, we manipulated coral species richness and intraspecific density to test whether, and how, biodiversity affects coral productivity and survival. Corals performed better in mixed species assemblages. Improved performance was unexplained by competition theory alone, suggesting that positive effects exceeded agonistic interactions during our experiments. Peak coral performance occurred at intermediate species richness and declined thereafter. Positive effects of coral diversity suggest that species’ losses on degraded reefs make recovery more difficult and further decline more likely. Harnessing these positive interactions may improve ecosystem conservation and restoration in a changing ocean.
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23
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Dietzel A, Connolly SR, Hughes TP, Bode M. The spatial footprint and patchiness of large-scale disturbances on coral reefs. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:4825-4838. [PMID: 34390297 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Dietzel
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sean R Connolly
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Terry P Hughes
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Michael Bode
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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24
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Dangerous demographics in post-bleach corals reveal boom-bust versus protracted declines. Sci Rep 2021; 11:18787. [PMID: 34552159 PMCID: PMC8458526 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98239-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Thermal-stress events have changed the structure, biodiversity, and functioning of coral reefs. But how these disturbances affect the dynamics of individual coral colonies remains unclear. By tracking the fate of 1069 individual Acropora and massive Porites coral colonies for up to 5 years, spanning three bleaching events, we reveal striking genus-level differences in their demographic response to bleaching (mortality, growth, and recruitment). Although Acropora colonies were locally extirpated, substantial local recruitment and fast growth revealed a marked capacity for apparent recovery. By contrast, almost all massive Porites colonies survived and the majority grew in area; yet no new colonies were detected over the 5 years. Our results highlight contrasting dynamics of boom-and-bust vs. protracted declines in two major coral groups. These dangerous demographics emphasise the need for caution when documenting the susceptibility and perceived resistance or recovery of corals to disturbances.
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25
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Parrotfish corallivory on stress-tolerant corals in the Anthropocene. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0250725. [PMID: 34499664 PMCID: PMC8428567 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Cumulative anthropogenic stressors on tropical reefs are modifying the physical and community structure of coral assemblages, altering the rich biological communities that depend on this critical habitat. As a consequence, new reef configurations are often characterized by low coral cover and a shift in coral species towards massive and encrusting corals. Given that coral numbers are dwindling in these new reef systems, it is important to evaluate the potential influence of coral predation on these remaining corals. We examined the effect of a key group of coral predators (parrotfishes) on one of the emerging dominant coral taxa on Anthropocene reefs, massive Porites. Specifically, we evaluate whether the intensity of parrotfish predation on this key reef-building coral has changed in response to severe coral reef degradation. We found evidence that coral predation rates may have decreased, despite only minor changes in parrotfish abundance. However, higher scar densities on small Porites colonies, compared to large colonies, suggests that the observed decrease in scarring rates may be a reflection of colony-size specific rates of feeding scars. Reduced parrotfish corallivory may reflect the loss of small Porites colonies, or changing foraging opportunities for parrotfishes. The reduction in scar density on massive Porites suggests that the remaining stress-tolerant corals may have passed the vulnerable small colony stage. These results highlight the potential for shifts in ecological functions on ecosystems facing high levels of environmental stress.
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26
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Gross K, de Roos AM. Resonance in Physiologically Structured Population Models. Bull Math Biol 2021; 83:86. [PMID: 34155575 DOI: 10.1007/s11538-021-00915-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Ecologists have long sought to understand how the dynamics of natural populations are affected by the environmental variation those populations experience. A transfer function is a useful tool for this purpose, as it uses linearization theory to show how the frequency spectrum of the fluctuations in a population's abundance relates to the frequency spectrum of environmental variation. Here, we show how to derive and to compute the transfer function for a continuous-time model of a population that is structured by a continuous individual-level state variable such as size. To illustrate, we derive, compute, and analyze the transfer function for a size-structured population model of stony corals with open recruitment, parameterized for a common Indo-Pacific coral species complex. This analysis identifies a sharp multi-decade resonance driven by space competition between existing coral colonies and incoming recruits. The resonant frequency is most strongly determined by the rate at which colonies grow, and the potential for resonant oscillations is greatest when colony growth is only weakly density-dependent. While these resonant oscillations are unlikely to be a predominant dynamical feature of degraded reefs, they suggest dynamical possibilities for marine invertebrates in more pristine waters. The size-structured model that we analyze is a leading example of a broader class of physiologically structured population models, and the methods we present should apply to a wide variety of models in this class.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Gross
- Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
| | - André M de Roos
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, 87501, USA
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3D assessment of a coral reef at Lalo Atoll reveals varying responses of habitat metrics following a catastrophic hurricane. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12050. [PMID: 34103641 PMCID: PMC8187721 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91509-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Extreme disturbances such as hurricanes can cause reductions in coral cover and three-dimensional (3D) structural complexity of coral reefs. We examined changes in structural complexity utilizing 3D reconstruction of a coral-reef site before and after Hurricane Walaka passed through Lalo of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. This event resulted in complete destruction of the coral-reef habitat, with dramatic changes in benthic cover from pre-hurricane tabulate coral to post-hurricane rubble. Rugosity and mean slope decreased after the hurricane, while structural complexity, captured by vector ruggedness measure (VRM), showed resolution-specific responses. This metric captured the structural complexity of rubble at a high raster resolution of 1 cm and that of tabulate coral at lower resolutions, resulting in decreases in mean VRM values at 2- and 4-cm resolutions but an increase at 1-cm resolution. Variability in profile and planform curvature was reduced after the hurricane due to a disappearance of extreme curvature values created by the tabulate coral after the hurricane. This study highlights the varying responses of habitat complexity metrics to the complete destruction of a coral reef and provides us with insights into how choices of habitat complexity metrics can affect quantitative assessments of 3D habitat structure.
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28
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Hall TE, Freedman AS, de Roos AM, Edmunds PJ, Carpenter RC, Gross K. Stony coral populations are more sensitive to changes in vital rates in disturbed environments. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 31:e02234. [PMID: 33064870 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Reef-building corals, like many long-lived organisms, experience environmental change as a combination of separate but concurrent processes, some of which are gradual yet long-lasting, while others are more acute but short-lived. For corals, some chronic environmental stressors, such as rising temperature and ocean acidification, are thought to induce gradual changes in colonies' vital rates. Meanwhile, other environmental changes, such as the intensification of tropical cyclones, change the disturbance regime that corals experience. Here, we use a physiologically structured population model to explore how chronic environmental stressors that impact the vital rates of individual coral colonies interact with the intensity and magnitude of disturbance to affect coral population dynamics and cover. We find that, when disturbances are relatively benign, intraspecific density dependence driven by space competition partially buffers coral populations against gradual changes in vital rates. However, the impact of chronic stressors is amplified in more highly disturbed environments, because disturbance weakens the buffering effect of space competition. We also show that coral cover is more sensitive to changes in colony growth and mortality than to external recruitment, at least in open populations, and that space competition and size structure mediate the extent and pace of coral population recovery following a large-scale mortality event. Understanding the complex interplay among chronic environmental stressors, mass-mortality events, and population size structure sharpens our ability to manage and to restore coral-reef ecosystems in an increasingly disturbed future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tessa E Hall
- Biomathematics Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, USA
| | - Andrew S Freedman
- Biomathematics Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, USA
| | - André M de Roos
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501, USA
| | - Peter J Edmunds
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, California, 91330, USA
| | - Robert C Carpenter
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, California, 91330, USA
| | - Kevin Gross
- Biomathematics Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, USA
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29
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Cooke I, Ying H, Forêt S, Bongaerts P, Strugnell JM, Simakov O, Zhang J, Field MA, Rodriguez-Lanetty M, Bell SC, Bourne DG, van Oppen MJ, Ragan MA, Miller DJ. Genomic signatures in the coral holobiont reveal host adaptations driven by Holocene climate change and reef specific symbionts. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:6/48/eabc6318. [PMID: 33246955 PMCID: PMC7695477 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc6318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Genetic signatures caused by demographic and adaptive processes during past climatic shifts can inform predictions of species' responses to anthropogenic climate change. To identify these signatures in Acropora tenuis, a reef-building coral threatened by global warming, we first assembled the genome from long reads and then used shallow whole-genome resequencing of 150 colonies from the central inshore Great Barrier Reef to inform population genomic analyses. We identify population structure in the host that reflects a Pleistocene split, whereas photosymbiont differences between reefs most likely reflect contemporary (Holocene) conditions. Signatures of selection in the host were associated with genes linked to diverse processes including osmotic regulation, skeletal development, and the establishment and maintenance of symbiosis. Our results suggest that adaptation to post-glacial climate change in A. tenuis has involved selection on many genes, while differences in symbiont specificity between reefs appear to be unrelated to host population structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ira Cooke
- College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Hua Ying
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Sylvain Forêt
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Pim Bongaerts
- California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jan M Strugnell
- Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Oleg Simakov
- Department of Molecular Evolution and Development, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Jia Zhang
- College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Matt A Field
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mauricio Rodriguez-Lanetty
- Institute of Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, Fl 33199, USA
| | - Sara C Bell
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - David G Bourne
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Madeleine Jh van Oppen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Mark A Ragan
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - David J Miller
- College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
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30
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Dietzel A, Bode M, Connolly SR, Hughes TP. Long-term shifts in the colony size structure of coral populations along the Great Barrier Reef. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201432. [PMID: 33049171 PMCID: PMC7657849 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Dietzel
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Michael Bode
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Sean R. Connolly
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
- Naos Marine Laboratories, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Terry P. Hughes
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
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31
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Sandin SA, Eynaud Y, Williams GJ, Edwards CB, McNamara DE. Modelling the linkage between coral assemblage structure and pattern of environmental forcing. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:200565. [PMID: 33204448 PMCID: PMC7657928 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Geographical comparisons suggest that coral reef communities can vary as a function of their environmental context, differing not just in terms of total coral cover but also in terms of relative abundance (or coverage) of coral taxa. While much work has considered how shifts in benthic reef dynamics can shift dominance of stony corals relative to algal and other benthic competitors, the relative performance of coral types under differing patterns of environmental disturbance has received less attention. We construct an empirically-grounded numerical model to simulate coral assemblage dynamics under a spectrum of disturbance regimes, contrasting hydrodynamic disturbances (which cause morphology-specific, whole-colony mortality) with disturbances that cause mortality independently of colony morphology. We demonstrate that the relative representation of morphological types within a coral assemblage shows limited connection to the intensity, and essentially no connection to the frequency, of hydrodynamic disturbances. Morphological types of corals that are more vulnerable to mortality owing to hydrodynamic disturbance tend to grow faster, with rates sufficiently high to recover benthic coverage during inter-disturbance intervals. By contrast, we show that factors causing mortality without linkage to morphology, including those that cause only partial colony loss, more dramatically shift coral assemblage structure, disproportionately favouring fast-growing tabular morphologies. Furthermore, when intensity and likelihood of such disturbances increases, assemblages do not adapt smoothly and instead reveal a heightened level of temporal variance, beyond which reefs demonstrate drastically reduced coral coverage. Our findings highlight that adaptation of coral reef benthic assemblages depends on the nature of disturbances, with hydrodynamic disturbances having little to no effect on the capacity of reef coral communities to resist and recover with sustained coral dominance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart A. Sandin
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA
| | - Yoan Eynaud
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA
| | - Gareth J. Williams
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK
| | - Clinton B. Edwards
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA
| | - Dylan E. McNamara
- Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography/Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
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32
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Pisapia C, Edmunds PJ, Moeller HV, M Riegl B, McWilliam M, Wells CD, Pratchett MS. Projected shifts in coral size structure in the Anthropocene. ADVANCES IN MARINE BIOLOGY 2020; 87:31-60. [PMID: 33293015 DOI: 10.1016/bs.amb.2020.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Changes in the size structure of coral populations have major consequences for population dynamics and community function, yet many coral reef monitoring projects do not record this critical feature. Consequently, our understanding of current and future trajectories in coral size structure, and the demographic processes underlying these changes, is still emerging. Here, we provide a conceptual summary of the benefits to be gained from more comprehensive attention to the size of coral colonies in reef monitoring projects, and we support our argument through the use of case-history examples and a simplified ecological model. We neither seek to review the available empirical data, or to rigorously explore causes and implications of changes in coral size, we seek to reveal the advantages to modifying ongoing programs to embrace the information inherent in changing coral colony size. Within this framework, we evaluate and forecast the mechanics and implications of changes in the population structure of corals that are transitioning from high to low abundance, and from large to small colonies, sometimes without striking effects on planar coral cover. Using two coral reef locations that have been sampled for coral size, we use demographic data to underscore the limitations of coral cover in understanding the causes and consequences of long-term declining coral size, and abundance. A stage-structured matrix model is used to evaluate the demographic causes of declining coral colony size and abundance, particularly with respect to the risks of extinction. The model revealed differential effects of mortality, growth and fecundity on coral size distributions. It also suggested that colony rarity and declining colony size in association with partial tissue mortality and chronic declines in fecundity, can lead to a demographic bottleneck with the potential to prolong the existence of coral populations when they are characterized by mostly very small colonies. Such bottlenecks could have ecological importance if they can delay extinction and provide time for human intervention to alleviate the environmental degradation driving reductions in coral abundance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Pisapia
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, United States; Department of Ocean Science and Hong Kong Branch of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
| | - Peter J Edmunds
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, United States
| | - Holly V Moeller
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Bernhard M Riegl
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL, United States
| | - Mike McWilliam
- Hawai'I Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'I at Manoa, Kaneohe, HI, United States
| | - Christopher D Wells
- Department of Geology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Morgan S Pratchett
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
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33
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Carturan BS, Pither J, Maréchal JP, Bradshaw CJA, Parrott L. Combining agent-based, trait-based and demographic approaches to model coral-community dynamics. eLife 2020; 9:e55993. [PMID: 32701058 PMCID: PMC7473774 DOI: 10.7554/elife.55993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The complexity of coral-reef ecosystems makes it challenging to predict their dynamics and resilience under future disturbance regimes. Models for coral-reef dynamics do not adequately account for the high functional diversity exhibited by corals. Models that are ecologically and mechanistically detailed are therefore required to simulate the ecological processes driving coral reef dynamics. Here, we describe a novel model that includes processes at different spatial scales, and the contribution of species' functional diversity to benthic-community dynamics. We calibrated and validated the model to reproduce observed dynamics using empirical data from Caribbean reefs. The model exhibits realistic community dynamics, and individual population dynamics are ecologically plausible. A global sensitivity analysis revealed that the number of larvae produced locally, and interaction-induced reductions in growth rate are the parameters with the largest influence on community dynamics. The model provides a platform for virtual experiments to explore diversity-functioning relationships in coral reefs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jason Pither
- Department of Biology, University of British ColumbiaKelownaCanada
- Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services, University of British ColumbiaKelownaCanada
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences, University of British ColumbiaKelownaCanada
| | | | - Corey JA Bradshaw
- Global Ecology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders UniversityAdelaideAustralia
| | - Lael Parrott
- Department of Biology, University of British ColumbiaKelownaCanada
- Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services, University of British ColumbiaKelownaCanada
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences, University of British ColumbiaKelownaCanada
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34
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Pisapia C, Stella J, Silbiger NJ, Carpenter R. Epifaunal invertebrate assemblages associated with branching Pocilloporids in Moorea, French Polynesia. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9364. [PMID: 32596053 PMCID: PMC7307568 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Reef-building corals can harbour high abundances of diverse invertebrate epifauna. Coral characteristics and environmental conditions are important drivers of community structure of coral-associated invertebrates; however, our current understanding of drivers of epifaunal distributions is still unclear. This study tests the relative importance of the physical environment (current flow speed) and host quality (e.g., colony height, surface area, distance between branches, penetration depth among branches, and background partial mortality) in structuring epifaunal communities living within branching Pocillopora colonies on a back reef in Moorea, French Polynesia. A total of 470 individuals belonging to four phyla, 16 families and 39 genera were extracted from 36 Pocillopora spp. colonies. Decapods were the most abundant epifaunal organisms (accounting for 84% of individuals) found living in Pocillopora spp. While coral host characteristics and flow regime are very important, these parameters were not correlated with epifaunal assemblages at the time of the study. Epifaunal assemblages associated with Pocillopora spp. were consistent and minimally affected by differences in host characteristics and flow regime. The consistency in abundance and taxon richness among colonies (regardless of habitat characteristics) highlighted the importance of total habitat availability. With escalating effects of climate change and other localized disturbances, it is critical to preserve branching corals to support epifaunal communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Pisapia
- Department of Ocean Science and Hong Kong Branch of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA
| | - Jessica Stella
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Nyssa J. Silbiger
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA
| | - Robert Carpenter
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA
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35
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Karkarey R, Rathod P, Arthur R, Yadav S, Theo A, Alcoverro T. Wave exposure reduces herbivory in post-disturbed reefs by filtering species composition, abundance and behaviour of key fish herbivores. Sci Rep 2020; 10:9854. [PMID: 32561833 PMCID: PMC7305165 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-66475-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Harsh environmental conditions limit how species use the landscape, strongly influencing the way assemblages are distributed. In the wake of repeated coral bleaching mortalities in Lakshadweep, we examined how wave exposure influences herbivory in exposed and sheltered reefs. We used a combination of i. field observations of fish herbivore composition, abundance and activity across 6 exposed and 6 sheltered reefs; ii. experimental manipulations in a subset of these reefs (herbivore exclosures); and iii. opportunistic observations of fish recruitment, to determine how exposure influences herbivore biomass and herbivory. Species richness, biomass, abundance, total bite rates and species-specific per capita bite rates were lower in exposed compared to sheltered reefs, linked to strong environmental filtering of species composition, abundance and behaviour. For some critical species, this environmental filtering begins with differential recruitment and post-recruitment processes between exposures. Bite rates at sheltered sites were dominated by just a few species, most being laterally compressed surgeonfish that may find it difficult accessing or surviving in wave-battered shallow reefs. Exclosure experiments confirmed that exposed reefs were less controlled by herbivores than sheltered reefs. In post-disturbed reefs like Lakshadweep, environmental gradients appear to be key mediators of critical functions like herbivory by determining species composition, abundance and behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rucha Karkarey
- Nature Conservation Foundation, 3076/5, IV Cross, Gokulam Park, Mysore, 570002, India. .,National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bangalore, 560 065, India.
| | - Pooja Rathod
- Nature Conservation Foundation, 3076/5, IV Cross, Gokulam Park, Mysore, 570002, India
| | - Rohan Arthur
- Nature Conservation Foundation, 3076/5, IV Cross, Gokulam Park, Mysore, 570002, India.,Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB, CSIC). Dept. of Marine Ecology. Accés a la Cala S. Francesc 14.17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain
| | | | - Anne Theo
- Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, 560012, India
| | - Teresa Alcoverro
- Nature Conservation Foundation, 3076/5, IV Cross, Gokulam Park, Mysore, 570002, India.,Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB, CSIC). Dept. of Marine Ecology. Accés a la Cala S. Francesc 14.17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain
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36
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McWilliam M, Pratchett MS, Hoogenboom MO, Hughes TP. Deficits in functional trait diversity following recovery on coral reefs. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192628. [PMID: 31910784 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The disturbance regimes of ecosystems are changing, and prospects for continued recovery remain unclear. New assemblages with altered species composition may be deficient in key functional traits. Alternatively, important traits may be sustained by species that replace those in decline (response diversity). Here, we quantify the recovery and response diversity of coral assemblages using case studies of disturbance in three locations. Despite return trajectories of coral cover, the original assemblages with diverse functional attributes failed to recover at each location. Response diversity and the reassembly of trait space was limited, and varied according to biogeographic differences in the attributes of dominant, rapidly recovering species. The deficits in recovering assemblages identified here suggest that the return of coral cover cannot assure the reassembly of reef trait diversity, and that shortening intervals between disturbances can limit recovery among functionally important species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mike McWilliam
- Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.,Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA
| | - Morgan S Pratchett
- Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Mia O Hoogenboom
- Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.,Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Terry P Hughes
- Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
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37
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Roberts TE, Keith SA, Rahbek C, Bridge TCL, Caley MJ, Baird AH. Testing biodiversity theory using species richness of reef-building corals across a depth gradient. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190493. [PMID: 31662067 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural environmental gradients encompass systematic variation in abiotic factors that can be exploited to test competing explanations of biodiversity patterns. The species-energy (SE) hypothesis attempts to explain species richness gradients as a function of energy availability. However, limited empirical support for SE is often attributed to idiosyncratic, local-scale processes distorting the underlying SE relationship. Meanwhile, studies are also often confounded by factors such as sampling biases, dispersal boundaries and unclear definitions of energy availability. Here, we used spatially structured observations of 8460 colonies of photo-symbiotic reef-building corals and a null-model to test whether energy can explain observed coral species richness over depth. Species richness was left-skewed, hump-shaped and unrelated to energy availability. While local-scale processes were evident, their influence on species richness was insufficient to reconcile observations with model predictions. Therefore, energy availability, either in isolation or in combination with local deterministic processes, was unable to explain coral species richness across depth. Our results demonstrate that local-scale processes do not necessarily explain deviations in species richness from theoretical models, and that the use of idiosyncratic small-scale factors to explain large-scale ecological patterns requires the utmost caution.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Edward Roberts
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.,AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia
| | - Sally A Keith
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK.,Center for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Carsten Rahbek
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark.,Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Tom C L Bridge
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.,Queensland Museum Network, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia
| | - M Julian Caley
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS), James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Andrew H Baird
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
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38
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Zakharova L, Meyer K, Seifan M. Trait-based modelling in ecology: A review of two decades of research. Ecol Modell 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2019.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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39
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Zawada KJA, Madin JS, Baird AH, Bridge TCL, Dornelas M. Morphological traits can track coral reef responses to the Anthropocene. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J. A. Zawada
- Centre for Biological Diversity, Scottish Oceans Institute University of St. Andrews St. Andrews UK
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Joshua S. Madin
- Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Kaneohe Hawai‘i
| | - Andrew H. Baird
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Tom C. L. Bridge
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia
- Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Museum of Tropical Queensland Queensland Museum Network Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Maria Dornelas
- Centre for Biological Diversity, Scottish Oceans Institute University of St. Andrews St. Andrews UK
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40
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Kayal M, Lenihan HS, Brooks AJ, Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ, Kendall BE. Predicting coral community recovery using multi‐species population dynamics models. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:605-615. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Kayal
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California Santa Barbara CA93106 USA
- UPVD‐CNRS Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens UMR 5110 52 avenue Paul Alduy 66860 Perpignan France
- Centre de Recherche sur les Ecosystèmes Marins (CREM) impasse du solarium 66420 Port‐Barcarès France
| | - Hunter S. Lenihan
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California Santa Barbara CA93106 USA
| | - Andrew J. Brooks
- Marine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara CA93106USA
| | - Sally J. Holbrook
- Marine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara CA93106USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California Santa Barbara CA93106 USA
| | - Russell J. Schmitt
- Marine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara CA93106USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California Santa Barbara CA93106 USA
| | - Bruce E. Kendall
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California Santa Barbara CA93106 USA
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41
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Vercelloni J, Kayal M, Chancerelle Y, Planes S. Exposure, vulnerability, and resiliency of French Polynesian coral reefs to environmental disturbances. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1027. [PMID: 30705361 PMCID: PMC6355954 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-38228-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Preserving coral reef resilience is a major challenge in the Anthropocene, yet recent studies demonstrate failures of reef recovery from disturbance, globally. The wide and vigorous outer-reef system of French Polynesia presents a rare opportunity to assess ecosystem resilience to disturbances at a large-scale equivalent to the size of Europe. In this purpose, we analysed long-term data on coral community dynamics and combine the mixed-effects regression framework with a set of functional response models to evaluate coral recovery trajectories. Analyses of 14 years data across 17 reefs allowed estimating impacts of a cyclone, bleaching event and crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak, which generated divergence and asynchrony in coral community trajectory. We evaluated reef resilience by quantifying levels of exposure, degrees of vulnerability, and descriptors of recovery of coral communities in the face of disturbances. Our results show an outstanding rate of coral recovery, with a systematic return to the pre-disturbance state within only 5 to 10 years. Differences in the impacts of disturbances among reefs and in the levels of vulnerability of coral taxa to these events resulted in diverse recovery patterns. The consistent recovery of coral communities, and convergence toward pre-disturbance community structures, reveals that the processes that regulate ecosystem recovery still prevail in French Polynesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Vercelloni
- École pratique des hautes études, PSL Research University, UPVD, CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, BP 1013, 98729, Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia. .,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
| | - Mohsen Kayal
- École pratique des hautes études, PSL Research University, UPVD, CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, BP 1013, 98729, Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia.,Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens, UPVD, CNRS, UMR 5110, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860, Perpignan, France.,Centre de Recherche sur les Ecosystèmes Marins, Impasse du solarium, 66420, Port-Barcarès, France
| | - Yannick Chancerelle
- École pratique des hautes études, PSL Research University, UPVD, CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, BP 1013, 98729, Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia.,Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL", Université de Perpignan, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860, Perpignan, France
| | - Serge Planes
- École pratique des hautes études, PSL Research University, UPVD, CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, BP 1013, 98729, Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia.,Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL", Université de Perpignan, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860, Perpignan, France
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42
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Edmunds PJ. Implications of high rates of sexual recruitment in driving rapid reef recovery in Mo'orea, French Polynesia. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16615. [PMID: 30413729 PMCID: PMC6226471 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34686-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral abundance continues to decline on tropical reefs around the world, and this trend suggests that coral reefs may not persist beyond the current century. In contrast, this study describes the near-complete mortality of corals on the outer reef (10 m and 17 m depth) of the north shore of Mo’orea, French Polynesia, from 2005 to 2010, followed by unprecedented recovery from 2011 to 2017. Intense corallivory and a cyclone drove coral cover from 33–48% to <3% by 2010, but over the following seven years, recovery occurred through rapid population growth (up to 12% cover y−1) to 25–74% cover by 2017. The thirteen-year, U-shape trajectory of coral cover over time created by the loss and replacement of millions of corals through sexual reproduction underscores the potential for beneficial genetic responses to environmental conditions for at least one genus, Pocillopora. The high ecological resilience of this coral community appears to have been enhanced by variation among genera in the susceptibility to declining cover, and the capacity for population growth (i.e., response diversity). These results suggest that the outer coral communities of Mo’orea may be poised for genetic changes that could affect their capacity to persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Edmunds
- Department of Biology, California State University, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA, 91330-8303, USA.
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43
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Roth F, Saalmann F, Thomson T, Coker DJ, Villalobos R, Jones BH, Wild C, Carvalho S. Coral reef degradation affects the potential for reef recovery after disturbance. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2018; 142:48-58. [PMID: 30274715 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Revised: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The loss of coral cover is often accompanied by an increase of benthic algae, a decline in biodiversity and habitat complexity. However, it remains unclear how surrounding communities influence the trajectories of re-colonization between pulse disturbance events. Over a 12-month field experiment in the central Red Sea, we examined how healthy (hard-coral dominated) and degraded (algae-dominated) reef areas influence recruitment and succession patterns of benthic reef foundation communities on bare substrates. Crustose coralline algae and other calcifiers were important colonizers in the healthy reef area, promoting the accumulation of inorganic carbon. Contrary, substrates in the degraded area were predominantly colonized by turf algae, lowering the accumulation of inorganic carbon by 178%. While coral larvae settlement similarly occurred in both habitats, degraded areas showed 50% fewer recruits. Our findings suggest that in degraded reefs the replenishment of adult coral populations is reduced due to recruitment inhibition through limited habitat complexity and grazing pressure, thereby restraining reef recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Roth
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
| | - F Saalmann
- Marine Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, 28369, Bremen, Germany
| | - T Thomson
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - D J Coker
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - R Villalobos
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - B H Jones
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - C Wild
- Marine Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, 28369, Bremen, Germany
| | - S Carvalho
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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44
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Kayal M, Lenihan HS, Brooks AJ, Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ, Kendall BE. Predicting coral community recovery using multi‐species population dynamics models. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1790-1799. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Kayal
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- UPVD‐CNRS Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens UMR 5110 52 avenue Paul Alduy 66860 Perpignan France
- Centre de Recherche sur les Ecosystèmes Marins (CREM) impasse du solarium 66420 Port‐Barcarès France
| | - Hunter S. Lenihan
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
| | - Andrew J. Brooks
- Marine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
| | - Sally J. Holbrook
- Marine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
| | - Russell J. Schmitt
- Marine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
| | - Bruce E. Kendall
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
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45
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Álvarez‐Noriega M, Baird AH, Dornelas M, Madin JS, Connolly SR. Negligible effect of competition on coral colony growth. Ecology 2018; 99:1347-1356. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2017] [Revised: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Álvarez‐Noriega
- College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Queensland 4811 Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Queensland 4811 Australia
| | - Andrew H. Baird
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Queensland 4811 Australia
| | - Maria Dornelas
- Centre for Biological Diversity Scottish Oceans Institute University of St. Andrews St. Andrews KY16 9TH UK
| | - Joshua S. Madin
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology University of Hawai'i at Mānoa 46‐007 Lilipuna Rd Kaneohe Hawai'i 96744 USA
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University Sydney New South Wales 2109 Australia
| | - Sean R. Connolly
- College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Queensland 4811 Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Queensland 4811 Australia
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46
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Carturan BS, Parrott L, Pither J. A modified trait‐based framework for assessing the resilience of ecosystem services provided by coral reef communities. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno S. Carturan
- Department of Biology University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road Kelowna British Columbia V1V 1V7 Canada
- Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road Kelowna British Columbia V1V 1V7 Canada
| | - Lael Parrott
- Department of Biology University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road Kelowna British Columbia V1V 1V7 Canada
- Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road Kelowna British Columbia V1V 1V7 Canada
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road Kelowna British Columbia V1V 1V7 Canada
| | - Jason Pither
- Department of Biology University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road Kelowna British Columbia V1V 1V7 Canada
- Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road Kelowna British Columbia V1V 1V7 Canada
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road Kelowna British Columbia V1V 1V7 Canada
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47
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House JE, Brambilla V, Bidaut LM, Christie AP, Pizarro O, Madin JS, Dornelas M. Moving to 3D: relationships between coral planar area, surface area and volume. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4280. [PMID: 29435392 PMCID: PMC5806594 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2016] [Accepted: 12/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral reefs are a valuable and vulnerable marine ecosystem. The structure of coral reefs influences their health and ability to fulfill ecosystem functions and services. However, monitoring reef corals largely relies on 1D or 2D estimates of coral cover and abundance that overlook change in ecologically significant aspects of the reefs because they do not incorporate vertical or volumetric information. This study explores the relationship between 2D and 3D metrics of coral size. We show that surface area and volume scale consistently with planar area, albeit with morphotype specific conversion parameters. We use a photogrammetric approach using open-source software to estimate the ability of photogrammetry to provide measurement estimates of corals in 3D. Technological developments have made photogrammetry a valid and practical technique for studying coral reefs. We anticipate that these techniques for moving coral research from 2D into 3D will facilitate answering ecological questions by incorporating the 3rd dimension into monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny E House
- Center for Biological Diversity, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Viviana Brambilla
- Center for Biological Diversity, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Luc M Bidaut
- Clinical Research Imaging Facility, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom.,College of Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom
| | - Alec P Christie
- Center for Biological Diversity, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Oscar Pizarro
- Australian Centre for Field Robotics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Joshua S Madin
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kaneohe, HI, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Maria Dornelas
- Center for Biological Diversity, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
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48
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Dornelas M, Madin JS, Baird AH, Connolly SR. Allometric growth in reef-building corals. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0053. [PMID: 28330923 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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 diverse 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Dornelas
- Centre for Biological Diversity, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Joshua S Madin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Andrew H Baird
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Sean R Connolly
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.,Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
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49
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Zinke J, Gilmour JP, Fisher R, Puotinen M, Maina J, Darling E, Stat M, Richards ZT, McClanahan TR, Beger M, Moore C, Graham NAJ, Feng M, Hobbs JPA, Evans SN, Field S, Shedrawi G, Babcock RC, Wilson SK. Gradients of disturbance and environmental conditions shape coral community structure for south-eastern Indian Ocean reefs. DIVERS DISTRIB 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jens Zinke
- Section Paleontology; Freie Universität Berlin; Berlin Germany
- UWA Oceans Institute; Australian Institute of Marine Science; Crawley WA Australia
- Department of Environment and Agriculture; Curtin University of Technology; Bentley WA Australia
- UWA Oceans Institute; University of Western Australia; Crawley WA Australia
| | - James P. Gilmour
- UWA Oceans Institute; Australian Institute of Marine Science; Crawley WA Australia
- UWA Oceans Institute; University of Western Australia; Crawley WA Australia
| | - Rebecca Fisher
- UWA Oceans Institute; Australian Institute of Marine Science; Crawley WA Australia
- UWA Oceans Institute; University of Western Australia; Crawley WA Australia
| | - Marji Puotinen
- UWA Oceans Institute; Australian Institute of Marine Science; Crawley WA Australia
- UWA Oceans Institute; University of Western Australia; Crawley WA Australia
| | - Joseph Maina
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions; School of Biological Sciences; The University of Queensland; Brisbane Qld Australia
- Department of Environmental Sciences; Macquarie University; Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Emily Darling
- Wildlife Conservation Society; Marine Programs; Bronx NY USA
- Department of Biology; The University of North Carolina; Chapel Hill NC USA
| | - Michael Stat
- Department of Environment and Agriculture; Curtin University of Technology; Bentley WA Australia
| | - Zoe T. Richards
- Department of Environment and Agriculture; Curtin University of Technology; Bentley WA Australia
- Department of Aquatic Zoology; Western Australian Museum; Welshpool WA Australia
| | | | - Maria Beger
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions; School of Biological Sciences; The University of Queensland; Brisbane Qld Australia
- School of Biology; Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds UK
| | - Cordelia Moore
- UWA Oceans Institute; Australian Institute of Marine Science; Crawley WA Australia
- Department of Environment and Agriculture; Curtin University of Technology; Bentley WA Australia
| | - Nicholas A. J. Graham
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies; James Cook University; Townsville Qld Australia
- Lancaster Environment Centre; Lancaster University; Lancaster UK
| | - Ming Feng
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere; Floreat WA Australia
| | - Jean-Paul A. Hobbs
- Department of Environment and Agriculture; Curtin University of Technology; Bentley WA Australia
| | - Scott N. Evans
- Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories; Department of Fisheries; Government of Western Australia; North Beach WA Australia
| | - Stuart Field
- Section Paleontology; Freie Universität Berlin; Berlin Germany
- Department of Parks and Wildlife; Perth WA Australia
| | | | | | - Shaun K. Wilson
- UWA Oceans Institute; University of Western Australia; Crawley WA Australia
- Department of Parks and Wildlife; Perth WA Australia
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50
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Gardner SG, Raina JB, Nitschke MR, Nielsen DA, Stat M, Motti CA, Ralph PJ, Petrou K. A multi-trait systems approach reveals a response cascade to bleaching in corals. BMC Biol 2017; 15:117. [PMID: 29216891 PMCID: PMC5719617 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-017-0459-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 11/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Climate change causes the breakdown of the symbiotic relationships between reef-building corals and their photosynthetic symbionts (genus Symbiodinium), with thermal anomalies in 2015-2016 triggering the most widespread mass coral bleaching on record and unprecedented mortality on the Great Barrier Reef. Targeted studies using specific coral stress indicators have highlighted the complexity of the physiological processes occurring during thermal stress, but have been unable to provide a clear mechanistic understanding of coral bleaching. RESULTS Here, we present an extensive multi-trait-based study in which we compare the thermal stress responses of two phylogenetically distinct and widely distributed coral species, Acropora millepora and Stylophora pistillata, integrating 14 individual stress indicators over time across a simulated thermal anomaly. We found that key stress responses were conserved across both taxa, with the loss of symbionts and the activation of antioxidant mechanisms occurring well before collapse of the physiological parameters, including gross oxygen production and chlorophyll a. Our study also revealed species-specific traits, including differences in the timing of antioxidant regulation, as well as drastic differences in the production of the sulfur compound dimethylsulfoniopropionate during bleaching. Indeed, the concentration of this antioxidant increased two-fold in A. millepora after the corals started to bleach, while it decreased 70% in S. pistillata. CONCLUSIONS We identify a well-defined cascading response to thermal stress, demarking clear pathophysiological reactions conserved across the two species, which might be central to fully understanding the mechanisms triggering thermally induced coral bleaching. These results highlight that bleaching is a conserved mechanism, but specific adaptations linked to the coral's antioxidant capacity drive differences in the sensitivity and thus tolerance of each coral species to thermal stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie G Gardner
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, 2007, NSW, Australia. .,School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, 2007, NSW, Australia.
| | - Jean-Baptiste Raina
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, 2007, NSW, Australia
| | - Matthew R Nitschke
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, 2007, NSW, Australia.,Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Daniel A Nielsen
- School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, 2007, NSW, Australia
| | - Michael Stat
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Perth, 6102, WA, Australia
| | - Cherie A Motti
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, 4810, QLD, Australia
| | - Peter J Ralph
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, 2007, NSW, Australia
| | - Katherina Petrou
- School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, 2007, NSW, Australia
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