Contributors | Affiliation | Role |
---|---|---|
Edmunds, Peter J. | California State University Northridge (CSUN) | Principal Investigator |
Girard, John | California State University Northridge (CSUN) | Student |
York, Amber D. | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO) | BCO-DMO Data Manager |
This research was conducted from the University of the Virgin Islands Marine Station in Lameshur Bay St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands at depth ≤ 13 m during July – August 2019 and January 2020.
Methods & Sampling:
Benthic surveys of invertebrates and octocoral forests were conducted using the same quadrats (1 m2) on SCUBA during July – August of 2019 and in January of 2020 placed at ≤ 13-m depth. Quadrats were randomly placed along 20 m, non-overlapping transects that were positioned haphazardly along fringing reefs.Unitary organisms were recorded as individuals, and encrusting modular organisms were counted by the number of autonomous patches of biomass, with both expressed as organisms quadrat-1. Organisms were identified in situ or with reference photos (18.2 megapixels) using field guides (Humann et al., 2013), expert opinion (mostly for sponges), and an electronic reference catalog (Zea et al., 2014). Surveys were conducted at the Cabritte Horn, Tektite, and White Point study sites. Arborescent octocorals with their holdfasts present in the quadrat were measured and contributed to mean height, and density of octocoral canopy measurements. Octocoral height was quantified by measuring the distance from hold fast to to the most distal branch perpendicular to the benthos.
Canopy closure was quantified using a modified method from (Jennings et. al. 1999) whereby a GoPro Hero 3+ camera with a 130° field of view (manufacturer’s specification, Go-Pro., Inc. San Mateo, CA) was used to record still images in the center, and at each of the four corners, of quadrats, with all five images quadrat-1 recorded within < 5 minutes. To avoid biases in estimating canopy closure caused by adjacent non-living substrata (e.g., boulders and rock walls), images were excluded when they included these features. Images were analyzed using ImageJ software (v1.52a, Schneider et al., 2012), in which 300 randomly located dots (~ 0.5 pixel in diameter) were superimposed on each image. The number of dots on the octocoral canopy were counted and expressed as a percentage of the dot population. This metric was used to quantify canopy closure, and the results from the five images quadrat-1 were averaged to characterize each quadrat.
Instruments:
PVC Quadrats (1 m2)
Transect tapes
Measuring ribbons with mm graduations
GoPro Hero 3+ camera
Sony Cybershot DSC-WX300/B
To calculate canopy closure images were analyzed using ImageJ software (v1.52a, Schneider et al., 2012), in which 300 randomly located dots (~ 0.5 pixel in diameter) were superimposed on each image. The number of dots on the octocoral canopy were counted and expressed as a percentage of the dot population. To aid in the quantification of dots a grid of twenty squares was superimposed on the image. Each "box" was scored for the number of points in it that fell on the octocoral canopy. All twenty boxes for each image were summed for the total points out of 300 falling on the octocoral canopy.
BCO-DMO Data Manager Processing Notes:
* Source file "St.John_BenthicInvertebrates_Octocoral Forests.csv" imported into the BCO-DMO data system
* Column names adjusted to conform to BCO-DMO naming conventions designed to support broad re-use by a variety of research tools and scripting languages. [Only numbers, letters, and underscores. Can not start with a number]
* Column names with taxonomic names matched to known names in the World Register of marine species (WoRMS) using the taxa match tool on 2023-01-13. A supplemental table was added including the names used in column names of this dataset, and the matched AphiaID, LSID and accepted name.
* lat and lon added to the data from a site list
* Date format converted to ISO 8601 format
* Mean closure rounded to 4 decimal places and mean octocoral height rounded to two decimal places.
File |
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Benthic Invertebrate Abundance filename: benthic_invert_abund.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 23.81 KB) MD5:a38e78a55aabeee8d0650f222cb5105b This is the primary data table for dataset 892248 see "Parameters" section for full column information. See supplemental file "Taxonomic Identifiers" for more information about taxonimic names in each column. The corresponding photos for each site, transect number and quadrat number are provided as supplemental files (see "Photo Inventory" and Girard_and_Edmunds_2023_supporting_photos.zip). |
File |
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Photo inventory filename: photo_inventory.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 148.68 KB) MD5:2bdcfdff1945b4e75048f03870524b7b Photo inventory table for files within Girard_and_Edmunds_2023_supporting_photos.zip This table has columns: filename, file name relative_filepath, relative path inside the zip file filesize_bytes, filesize in bytes md5sum, checksum of image file Site, site name Quadrat_Num, quadrat number Transect_Num, transect number Year, year (YYYY) lat, site latitude in decimal degrees lon, site longitude in decimal degrees Category, description of survey type (Closure, Community, etc). The site, transect number and quadrat number correspond to the values in the main data table "Benthic Invertebrate Abundance." |
Site List filename: site_list.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 192 bytes) MD5:4415feb2d663fc251a671a2a7c5cac04 Site list for all dataset related to the results publication Girard and Edmunds (2023). Parameters (column names, descriptions, and units): Site, Site name used in dataset related to Girard and Edmunds (2023),unitless lat, Site latitude,decimal degrees lon,Site longitude,decimal degrees Alternate_name, Alternate name for the site,unitless |
Supporting Photos for Girard and Edmunds (2023) filename: Girard_and_Edmunds_2023_supporting_photos.zip (ZIP Archive (ZIP), 3.77 GB) MD5:55008bec5933c4c2eefb45f7a7824d39 See "photo_inventory.csv" for a full file listing within this photo zip file. Photo inventory also includes site and quadrat information. |
Taxonomic Identifers filename: taxon_identifiers.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 9.42 KB) MD5:86e7a0edf7cc84cdfc5d74844eabb2a3 Taxon identifiers (AphiaID and LSID) used in this dataset. Generated using the World Register of Species taxa match tool performed 2023-01-13. |
Parameter | Description | Units |
Date | Date sample was taken in ISO 8601 format. | unitless |
Site | Site name | unitless |
lat | Site latitude | decimal degrees |
lon | Site longitude | decimal degrees |
Transect_Num | Transect number at site | unitless |
Quadrat_Num | Quadrat number on transect | unitless |
Quadrat_Depth | Depth below the water's surface where the quadrat was placed | meters (m) |
Quadrat_ID | Code to quickly identify quadrats. Letter is the first letter of the site and the number reflects the quadrat number at that site | unitless |
Mean_height_Octocorals_gt_50mm | Mean height of octocoral greater than 50mm Tall | mm |
Densty_Octocorals_gt_50mm | Density of Octocorals greater than 50 mm Tall | individuals per meter squared (#/m2) |
Mean_Closure | Proportion of sky abscured by octocoral branched in quadrats. Averaged from 5 closure photos within the quadrat | unitless |
Num_of_Benthic_Invertebrates | Total count of benthic invertebrates | per individual |
Num_of_Taxa | Total number of different taxonomic units | per taxon |
Acropora_cervicornis | Count of Acropora cervicornis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Acropora_palmata | Count of Acropora palmata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Agaricia_agaricites | Count of Agaricia agaricites individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Agaricia_lamarcki | Count of Agaricia lamarcki individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Agaricia_humilis | Count of Agaricia humilis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Agaricia_fragilis | Count of Agaricia fragilis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Dichocoenia_stokesi | Count of Dichocoenia stokesi individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Colpophyllia_natans | Count of Colpophyllia natans individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Dendrogyra_cylindrus | Count of Dendrogyra cylindrus individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Diploria_labyrinthiformis | Count of Diploria labyrinthiformis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Pseudodiploria_strigosa | Count of Pseudodiploria strigosa individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Eusmilia_fastigiata | Count of Eusmilia fastigiata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Favia_fragum | Count of Favia fragum individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Leptoseris_helioseris_cucullata | Count of Leptoseris (helioseris) cucullata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Isophyllia_sinuosa | Count of Isophyllia sinuosa individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Manicina_areolata | Count of Manicina areolata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Madracis_decactis | Count of Madracis decactis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Madracis_mirabilis_auretenra | Count of Madracis mirabilis (auretenra) individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Montastrea_cavernosa | Count of Montastrea cavernosa individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Meandrina_meandrites | Count of Meandrina meandrites individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Mussa_angulosa | Count of Mussa angulosa individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Mycetophyllia_aliciae | Count of Mycetophyllia aliciae individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Mycetophyllia_lamarckiana | Count of Mycetophyllia lamarckiana individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Orbicella_annularis | Count of Orbicella annularis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Orbicella_faveolata | Count of Orbicella faveolata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Orbicella_franksi | Count of Orbicella franksi individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Porites_astreoides | Count of Porites astreoides individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Porites_divaricata | Count of Porites divaricata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Porites_furcata | Count of Porites furcata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Porites_porites | Count of Porites porites individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Porites_colonensis | Count of Porites colonensis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Scolymia_cubensis | Count of Scolymia cubensis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Scolymia_lacera | Count of Scolymia lacera individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Siderastrea_radians | Count of Siderastrea radians individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Solenastrea_hyades | Count of Solenastrea hyades individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Siderastrea_siderea | Count of Siderastrea siderea individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Stephanocoenia_intersepta | Count of Stephanocoenia intersepta individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Millepora_alcicornis | Count of Millepora alcicornis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Stenopus_hispidus | Count of Stenopus hispidus individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Ancylomenes_pedersoni | Count of Ancylomenes pedersoni individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Stenorhynchus_seticornis | Count of Stenorhynchus seticornis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Periclimenes_yucatanicus | Count of Periclimenes yucatanicus individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Ophiuroidea | Count of Ophiuroidea individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Diadema_antillarum | Count of Diadema antillarum individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Echinometra_viridis | Count of Echinometra viridis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Arbacia_punctulata | Count of Arbacia punctulata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Eucidaris_tribuloides | Count of Eucidaris tribuloides individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Echinometra_lucunter | Count of Echinometra lucunter individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Exaiptasia_diaphana | Count of Exaiptasia diaphana individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Bartholomea_annulata | Count of Bartholomea annulata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Spirobranchus_giganteus | Count of Spirobranchus giganteus individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Pomatostegus_stellatus | Count of Pomatostegus stellatus individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Notaulax_occidentalis | Count of Notaulax occidentalis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Anamobaea_orstedii | Count of Anamobaea orstedii individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Sabellidae_Unknown_1 | Count of Sabellidae - Unknown 1 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Sabellidae_Unknown_2 | Count of Sabellidae - Unknown 2 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Branchiomma_nigromaculatum | Count of Branchiomma nigromaculatum individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Serpulidae_Unknown_1 | Count of Serpulidae - Unknown 1 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Sabellastarte_magnifica | Count of Sabellastarte magnifica individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Filogranella_sp | Count of Filogranella sp. individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Serpulidae_Unknown_2 | Count of Serpulidae - Unknown 2 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Bispira_melanostigma | Count of Bispira melanostigma individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Hermodice_carunculata | Count of Hermodice carunculata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Cerithium_litteratum | Count of Cerithium litteratum individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_Gastropod | Count of Unknown Gastropod individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Cyphoma_gibbosum | Count of Cyphoma gibbosum individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Clavelina_picta | Count of Clavelina picta individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Rhopalaea_abdominalis | Count of Rhopalaea abdominalis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Polycarpa_spongiabilis | Count of Polycarpa spongiabilis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Palythoa_caribaeorum | Count of Palythoa caribaeorum individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Amphimedon_compressa | Count of Amphimedon compressa individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_13 | Count of Unknown 13 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_15 | Count of Unknown 15 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_14 | Count of Unknown 14 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Didemnidae | Count of Didemnidae individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Spirastrella_coccinea | Count of Spirastrella coccinea individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_16 | Count of Unknown 16 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_17 | Count of Unknown 17 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Smenospongia_aurea | Count of Smenospongia aurea individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Aplysinidae_tubes_Verongula_spp_Aiolochroia_spp | Count of Aplysinidae tubes Verongula spp & Aiolochroia spp individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Aplysina_fulva | Count of Aplysina fulva individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_5 | Count of Unknown 5 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Monanchora_arbuscula | Count of Monanchora arbuscula individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_27 | Count of Unknown 27 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Cliona_delitrix | Count of Cliona delitrix individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Niphates_digitalis | Count of Niphates digitalis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_12 | Count of Unknown 12 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_11 | Count of Unknown 11 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Ectyoplasia_ferox | Count of Ectyoplasia ferox individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Diplosoma_glandulosum | Count of Diplosoma glandulosum individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_1 | Count of Unknown 1 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Ircinia_strobilina | Count of Ircinia strobilina individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Eudistoma_obscuratum | Count of Eudistoma obscuratum individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_2 | Count of Unknown 2 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_26 | Count of Unknown 26 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Ircinia_felix | Count of Ircinia felix individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Aplysina_cauliformis | Count of Aplysina cauliformis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Erythropodium_caribaeorum | Count of Erythropodium caribaeorum individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Ircinia_campana | Count of Ircinia campana individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Scopalina_ruetzleri | Count of Scopalina ruetzleri individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_18 | Count of Unknown 18 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Callyspongia_fallax | Count of Callyspongia fallax individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Siphonodictyon_coralliphagum | Count of Siphonodictyon coralliphagum individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_25 | Count of Unknown 25 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Cinachyrella_kuekenthali | Count of Cinachyrella kuekenthali individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Mycale_laevis | Count of Mycale laevis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_19 | Count of Unknown 19 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_23 | Count of Unknown 23 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_8 | Count of Unknown 8 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_24 | Count of Unknown 24 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_22 | Count of Unknown 22 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Ascidia_sydneiensis | Count of Ascidia sydneiensis individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Desmapsamma_anchorata | Count of Desmapsamma anchorata individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Callyspongia_plicifera | Count of Callyspongia plicifera individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Clathria_Microciona_bulbotoxa | Count of Clathria (Microciona) bulbotoxa individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_6 | Count of Unknown 6 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_4 | Count of Unknown 4 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_10 | Count of Unknown 10 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_7 | Count of Unknown 7 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Spirastrella_hartmani | Count of Spirastrella hartmani individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Clathria_Micronciona_spinosa | Count of Clathria (Micronciona) spinosa individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_21 | Count of Unknown 21 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Aiolochroia_crassa | Count of Aiolochroia crassa individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_20 | Count of Unknown 20 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_3 | Count of Unknown 3 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Unknown_9 | Count of Unknown 9 individuals within the quadrat | per individual |
Dataset-specific Instrument Name | Sony Cybershot DSC-WX300/B |
Generic Instrument Name | Camera |
Generic Instrument Description | All types of photographic equipment including stills, video, film and digital systems. |
Dataset-specific Instrument Name | GoPro Hero 3+ camera |
Generic Instrument Name | Underwater Camera |
Generic Instrument Description | All types of photographic equipment that may be deployed underwater including stills, video, film and digital systems. |
NSF Award Abstract:
Coral reefs are exposed to a diversity of natural and anthropogenic disturbances, and the consequences for ecosystem degradation have been widely publicized. However, the reported changes have been biased towards fishes and stony corals, and for Caribbean reefs, the most notable example of this bias are octocorals ("soft corals"). Although they are abundant and dominate many Caribbean reefs, they are rarely included in studies due to the difficulty of both identifying them and in quantifying their abundances. In some places there is compelling evidence that soft corals have increased in abundance, even while stony corals have become less common. This suggests that soft corals are more resilient than stony corals to the wide diversity of disturbances that have been impacting coral corals. The best coral reefs on which to study these changes are those that have been studied for decades and can provide a decadal context to more recent events, and in this regard the reefs of St. John, US Virgin Islands are unique. Stony corals on the reefs have been studied since 1987, and the soft corals from 2014. This provides unrivalled platform to evaluate patterns of octocoral abundance and recruitment; identify the patterns of change that are occurring on these reefs, and identify the processes responsible for the resilience of octocoral populations. The project will extend soft coral monitoring from 4 years to 8 years, and within this framework will examine the roles of baby corals, and their response to seafloor roughness, seawater flow, and seaweed, in determining the success of soft corals. The work will also assess whether the destructive effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria have modified the pattern of change. In concert with these efforts the project will be closely integrated with local high schools at which the investigators will host marine biology clubs and provide independent study opportunities for their students and teachers. Unique training opportunities will be provided to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a postdoctoral researcher, all of whom will study and work in St. John, and the investigators will train coral reef researchers to identify the species of soft corals through a hands-on workshop to be conducted in the Florida Keys.
Understanding how changing environmental conditions will affect the community structure of major biomes is the ecological objective defining the 21st century. The holistic effects of these conditions on coral reefs will be studied on shallow reefs within the Virgin Islands National Park in St. John, US Virgin Islands, which is the site of one of the longest-running, long-term studies of coral reef community dynamics in the region. With NSF-LTREB support, the investigators have been studying long-term changes in stony coral communities in this location since 1987, and in 2014 NSF-OCE support was used to build an octocoral "overlay" to this decadal perspective. The present project extends from this unique history, which has been punctuated by the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, to place octocoral synecology in a decadal context, and the investigators exploit a rich suite of legacy data to better understand the present and immediate future of Caribbean coral reefs. This four-year project will advance on two concurrent fronts: first, to extend time-series analyses of octocoral communities from four to eight years to characterize the pattern and pace of change in community structure, and second, to conduct a program of hypothesis-driven experiments focused on octocoral settlement that will uncover the mechanisms allowing octocorals to more effectively colonize substrata than scleractinian corals on present day reefs. Specifically, the investigators will conduct mensurative and manipulative experiments addressing four hypotheses focusing on the roles of: (1) habitat complexity in distinguishing between octocoral and scleractinian recruitment niches, (2) the recruitment niche in mediating post-settlement success, (3) competition in algal turf and macroalgae in determining the success of octocoral and scleractian recruits, and (4) role of octocoral canopies in modulating the flux of particles and larvae to the seafloor beneath. The results of this study will be integrated to evaluate the factors driving higher ecological resilience of octocorals versus scleractinians on present-day Caribbean reefs.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
NSF Award Abstract:
The coral reef crisis refers to the high rates of death affecting tropical reef-building corals throughout the world, and the strong likelihood that coral reefs will become functionally extinct within the current century. Knowledge of these trends comes from the monitoring of coral reefs to evaluate their health over time, with the most informative projects providing high-resolution information extending over decades. Such projects describe both how reefs are changing, and answer questions addressing the causes of the changes and the form in which reefs will persist in the future. This project focuses on coral reefs in United States waters, specifically around St. John in the US Virgin Islands. These reefs are protected within the Virgin Islands National Park, and have been studied more consistently and in greater detail than most reefs anywhere in the world. Building from 33 years of research, this project extends monitoring of these habitats by another five years, and uses the emerging base of knowledge, and the biological laboratory created by the reefs of St. John, to address the causes and consequences of the bottleneck preventing baby corals from repopulating the reefs. The work is accomplished with annual expeditions, staffed by faculty, graduate students, undergraduates, and teachers, coupled with analyses of samples at California State University, Northridge, and Florida State University, Tallahassee. The students and teachers assist with the research goals at the center of this project, but also engage in independent study and integrate with the rich and diverse societal context and natural history of the Caribbean. The scope of the science agenda extends to schools in California, where students are introduced to the roles played by marine animals in ecosystem health, concepts of long-term change in the biological world, and the role of science engagement in promoting positive environmental outcomes. In addition to generating a wide spectrum of project deliverables focusing on scientific discovery, the project promotes STEM careers and train globally aware scientists and educators capable of supporting the science agenda of the United States in the 21st Century.
This project leverages one of the longest time-series analyses of Caribbean coral reefs to extend the time-series from 33 to 38 years, and it tests hypotheses addressing the causes and consequences of changing coral reef community structure. The project focuses on reefs within the Virgin Islands National Park (VINP) and along the shore of St. John, US Virgin Islands, and is integrated with stakeholders working in conservation (VINP) and local academia (University of the Virgin Islands). Beginning in 1987, the project has addressed detail-oriented analyses within a small spatial area that complements the large-scale analyses conducted by the VINP. The results of these efforts create an unrivaled context within which ecologically relevant hypotheses can be tested to elucidate mechanisms driving ecological change. Building from image- and survey- based analyses, 33 years of data reveal the extent to which these reefs have transitioned to a low-abundance coral state, and the importance of the bottleneck preventing coral recruits from contributing to adult size classes. The intellectual merits of this project leverage these discoveries to address eight hypotheses: (H1) long-term changes are defining a cryptic regime change, with the low coral abundance reinforced by, (H2) enhanced community resilience, (H3) low post-settlement success, (H4) negative effects of peyssonnelid algal crusts (PAC) on juvenile corals, (H5) inability of juvenile corals to match their phenotypes to future conditions, (H6) impaired population growth caused by reduced genetic diversity, (H7) the premium placed on PAC-free halos around Diadema sea urchins for coral recruitment, and (H8) biotic homogenization occurring on a landscape-scale.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Related Projects:
Funding Source | Award |
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NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) | |
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) |