Citation: Carturan, B. S., L. Parrott, and J. Pither. 2018. A modified trait-based framework for assessing the resilience of ecosystem services provided by coral reef communities. Ecosphere 9(5):e02214. 10.1002/ecs2.2214Abstract. Climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances are having dramatic impacts on tropical coral reefs and the ecosystem services they provide. Anticipating change in ecosystem services is a pressing challenge that requires understanding how species respond to an environmental change, and how they contribute to ecosystem services. Building on analogous efforts by plant ecologists, we propose a traitbased framework that aims to predict the resistance and recovery of coral ecosystem services against both pulse and press disturbances. The framework involves identifying effect, resistance, and recovery traits across coral species and using these to ascertain how species might (1) contribute to a service, (2) resist disturbance, and (3) recover after the disturbance. By identifying trait functional overlaps and quantifying correlations among the trait types, the framework can yield a better understanding of the potential mechanistic links between community assembly, ecosystem dynamics, and ecosystem functioning. We demonstrate the utility of the framework by applying it to a virtual scenario, implemented via simulation, in which habitat provisioning is the focal ecosystem service, and cyclones and bleaching events are the disturbances of interest. This demonstration required us to assemble an extensive dataset of relevant traits-a process that revealed key gaps in the coral trait database and in our understanding of coral functional ecology. The framework can provide predictive power for the resilience of ecosystem services and can also help identify crucial knowledge gaps, research objectives, and strategies for applying a trait-based approach to advancing coral reef science and conservation.

Axons normally degenerate during development of the mammalian nervous system, but dysregulation of the same genetically-encoded destructive cellular machinery can destroy crucial structures during adult neurodegenerative diseases. Nerve growth factor (NGF) withdrawal from dorsal root ganglia (DRG) axons is a well-established in vitro experimental model for biochemical and cell biological studies of developmental degeneration. Definitive methods for measuring axon degeneration have been lacking and here we report a novel method of axon degeneration quantification from bulk cultures of DRG that enables objective and automated measurement of axonal density over the entire field of radial axon outgrowth from the ganglion. As proof of principal, this new method, written as an R script called Axoquant 2.0, was used to examine the role of extracellular Ca2+ in the execution of cytoskeletal disassembly during degeneration of NGF-deprived DRG axons. This method can be easily applied to examine degenerative or neuroprotective effects of gene manipulations and pharmacological interventions.

21The complexity of coral-reef ecosystems makes it challenging to predict their dynamics 22 and resilience under future disturbance regimes. Models for coral-reef dynamics do not 23 adequately accounts for the high functional diversity exhibited by corals. Models that are 24 ecologically and mechanistically detailed are therefore required to simulate the ecological 25 processes driving coral reef dynamics. Here we describe a novel model that includes 26 processes at different spatial scales, and the contribution of species' functional diversity 27 to benthic-community dynamics. We calibrated and validated the model to reproduce 28 observed dynamics using empirical data from Caribbean reefs. The model exhibits 29 realistic community dynamics, and individual population dynamics are ecologically 30 plausible. A global sensitivity analysis revealed that the number of larvae produced 31 locally, and interaction-induced reductions in growth rate are the parameters with the 32 largest influence on community dynamics. The model provides a platform for virtual 33 experiments to explore diversity-functioning relationships in coral reefs. 34 35