Patterns of recruitment and abundance of corals along the Great Barrier Reef

Hughes, T.P.;Baird, A.H.;Dinsdale, E.A.;Moltschaniwskyj, Natalie;Pratchett, M.S.;Tanner, J.E.;Willis, B.L.

Abstract

Different physical and biological processes prevail at different scales(1-4). As a consequence, small-scale experiments or local observations provide limited insights into regional or global phenomena(5-8). One solution is to incorporate spatial scale explicitly into the experimental and sampling design of field studies, to provide a broader, landscape view of ecology(1-8). Here we examine spatial patterns in corals on the Great Barrier Reef, across a spectrum of scales ranging from metres to more than 1,700 km. Our study is unusual because we explore large-scale patterns of a process (recruitment by juveniles) as well as patterns of adult abundance, revealing the relationship between the two. We show that coral-reef assemblages that are similar in terms of abundance may nonetheless show profound differences in dynamics and turnover, with major implications for their ecology, evolution and management.

Journal

Nature

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397

ISBN/ISSN

1476-4687

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Nature Publishing Group

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DOI

10.1038/16237