Abstract
Understanding population dynamics is a long-standing objective of ecology, but the need for progress in this area has become urgent. For coral reefs, achieving this objective is impeded by a lack of information on settlement versus post-settlement events in determining recruitment and population size. Declines in coral abundance are often inferred to be associated with reduced densities of recruits, which could arise from mechanisms occurring at larval settlement, or throughout post-settlement stages. This study uses annual measurements from 2008 to 2021 of coral cover, the density of coral settlers (S), the density of small corals (SC), and environmental conditions, to evaluate the roles of settlement versus post-settlement events in determining rates of coral recruitment and changes in coral cover at Moorea, French Polynesia. Coral cover, S, SC, and the SC:S ratio (a proxy for post-settlement success), and environmental conditions, were used in generalized additive models (GAMs) to show that: (a) coral cover was more strongly related to SC and SC:S than S, and (b) SC:S was highest when preceded by cool seawater, low concentrations of Chlorophyll a, and low flow speeds, and S showed evidence of declining with elevated temperature. Together, these results suggest that changes in coral cover in Moorea are more strongly influenced by post-settlement events than settlement. The key to understanding coral community resilience may lie in elucidating the factors attenuating the bottleneck between settlers and small corals.
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All data reported in this manuscript are available at www.bco-dmo.org. Data DOIs: https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.918265.1, https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.918299.1, https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.918306.1, https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.918312.1, https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.918318.1, https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.918324.1, https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.918330.1.
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Acknowledgements
We thank V. Moriarty, S. Ginther, G. Srednick, and K. Scafidi for field support aided by our graduate students, A. Dahl for assistance in preparing graphics reporting the results of the GAM analyses, and the staff of the University of California, Berkeley, Richard B. Gump South Pacific Research Station, for making our visits productive and enjoyable. This is a product of the MCR-LTER and is contribution number 383 of the Marine Biology Program of California State University, Northridge.
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This study was funded by the US National Science Foundation through the Long-Term Ecological Research Program (most recently, OCE 16-37396 and 22-24354) and gifts from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
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PJE conducted the fieldwork that generated the empirical biological data upon which this study is based. PJE conceived this study, PJE, SM, and SCB developed the analytical approaches, and SM advanced the remote sensing analyses. PJE prepared the first draft of the paper, PJE and SCB developed the graphic presentations of the data, and all authors contributed to editing and focusing the text.
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Coral settlers were collected under permits issued by the Government of French Polynesia (Délégation à la Recherche) and the Haut-Commissariat de la République en Polynésie Francaise (DTRT), and the surveys was completed under the same authorization. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. No corals were exported from French Polynesia.
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Edmunds, P.J., Maritorena, S. & Burgess, S.C. Early post-settlement events, rather than settlement, drive recruitment and coral recovery at Moorea, French Polynesia. Oecologia 204, 625–640 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-024-05517-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-024-05517-y