Spatial competition dynamics between reef corals under ocean acidification

Horwitz, Rael; Hoogenboom, Mia O.; Fine, Maoz

doi:10.1038/srep40288

Cited by 37 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…To the best of our knowledge, these results provide the first evidence for interspecific facilitation of photosynthetic productivity among corals. In addition, the results support previous observations that intraspecific competition can be greater than interspecific competition among corals [30,31].…”

Section: Competition Versus Facilitationsupporting

confidence: 89%

Neighbor Diversity Regulates the Productivity of Coral Assemblages

2018

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Section: Competition Versus Facilitationsupporting

confidence: 89%

Neighbor Diversity Regulates the Productivity of Coral Assemblages

2018

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“…For example, Acropora and Pocillopora corals are preferred prey in the Indo-Pacific (Cole et al, 2008) and compete for space on the benthos. Under future ocean acidification scenarios, the competitive dominance shifts from Pocillopora to Acropora (Horwitz et al, 2017). Rapid Acropora growth rates (Anderson et al, 2017) may allow Acropora to outcompete Pocillopora, further reinforcing the reversed competitive hierarchy under low pH.…”

Section: Future Directions For Corallivory Research How Does Anthropomentioning

confidence: 99%

Corallivory in the Anthropocene: Interactive Effects of Anthropogenic Stressors and Corallivory on Coral Reefs

2019

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Corallivory is the predation of coral mucus, tissue, and skeleton by fishes and invertebrates, and a source of chronic stress for many reef-building coral species. Corallivores often prey on corals repeatedly, and this predation induces wounds that require extensive cellular resources to heal. The effects of corallivory on coral growth, reproduction, and community dynamics are well-documented, and often result in reduced growth rates and fitness. Given the degree of anthropogenic pressures that threaten coral reefs, it is now imperative to focus on understanding how corallivory interacts with anthropogenic forces to alter coral health and community dynamics. For example, coral bleaching events that stem from global climate change often reduce preferred corals species for many corallivorous fishes. These reductions in preferred prey may result in declines in populations of more specialized corallivores while more generalist corallivores may increase. Corallivory may also make corals more susceptible to thermal stress and exacerbate bleaching. At local scales, overfishing depletes corallivorous fish stocks, reducing fish corallivory and bioerosion, whilst removing invertivorous fishes and allowing population increases in invertebrate corallivores (e.g., urchins, Drupella spp.). Interactive effects of local stressors, such as overfishing and nutrient pollution, can alter the effect of corallivory by increasing coral-algal competition and destabilizing the coral microbiome, subsequently leading to coral disease and mortality. Here, we synthesize recent literature of how global climate change and local stressors affect corallivore populations and shape the patterns and effect of corallivory. Our review indicates that the combined effects of corallivory and anthropogenic pressures may be underappreciated and that these interactions often drive changes in coral reefs on scales from ecosystems to microbes. Understanding the ecology of coral reefs in the Anthropocene will require an increased focus on how anthropogenic forcing alters biotic interactions, such as corallivory, and the resulting cascading effects on corals and reef ecosystems.

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“…Finally, other benthic organisms that compete for space with corals, such as soft corals and macroalgae, contain secondary metabolites that can lead to the expulsion of Symbiodinium (i.e., bleaching, Aceret et al, 1995). Moreover, competition can influence coral fitness more generally (e.g., by growth suppression, see Horwitz et al, 2017), and such effects might act as an additional stressor that increases bleaching severity. To the best of our knowledge, effects of competition on bleaching severity have not previously been investigated in situ.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Drivers of Variation in Bleaching Severity of Acropora Species during an Extreme Thermal Anomaly

et al. 2017

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High sea surface temperatures caused global coral bleaching during [2015][2016]. During this thermal stress event, we quantified within-and among-species variability in bleaching severity for critical habitat-forming Acropora corals. The objective of this study was to understand the drivers of spatial and species-specific variation in the bleaching susceptibility of these corals, and to evaluate whether bleaching susceptibility under extreme thermal stress was consistent with that observed during less severe bleaching events. We surveyed and mapped Acropora corals at 10 sites (N = 596) around the Lizard Island group on the northern Great Barrier Reef. For each colony, bleaching severity was quantified using a new image analysis technique, and we assessed whether small-scale environmental variables (depth, microhabitat, competition intensity) and species traits (colony morphology, colony size, known symbiont clade association) explained variation in bleaching. Results showed that during severe thermal stress, bleaching of branching corals was linked to microhabitat features, and was more severe at reef edge compared with lagoonal sites. Bleaching severity worsened over a very short time-frame (∼1 week), but did not differ systematically with water depth, competition intensity, or colony size. At our study location, within-and among-species variation in bleaching severity was relatively low compared to the level of variation reported in the literature. More broadly, our results indicate that variability in bleaching susceptibility during extreme thermal stress is not consistent with that observed during previous bleaching events that have ranged in severity among globally dispersed sites, with fewer species escaping bleaching during severe thermal stress. In addition, shaded microhabitats can provide a refuge from bleaching which provides further evidence of the importance of topographic complexity for maintaining the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of coral reefs.

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Spatial competition dynamics between reef corals under ocean acidification

Cited by 37 publications

References 58 publications

Neighbor Diversity Regulates the Productivity of Coral Assemblages

Neighbor Diversity Regulates the Productivity of Coral Assemblages

Corallivory in the Anthropocene: Interactive Effects of Anthropogenic Stressors and Corallivory on Coral Reefs

Environmental Drivers of Variation in Bleaching Severity of Acropora Species during an Extreme Thermal Anomaly

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