[Coral-List] New paper on effects of corallivory on coral growth and survival

[Kai Kopecky]

Hi everyone,

I would like to direct those who are interested to our new publication on
the effects of corallivory and coral colony density on the growth and
survival of early life stage Pacific Staghorn coral (Acropora pulchra; see
abstract below). This may be of particular interest to those involved in
restoration efforts of highly palatable coral species. We also conducted a
review of literature regarding density dependent effects in scleractinian
corals, a table for which is included in the supplemental materials of the
article. The article is open access and available via the link below.
Please let me know if you have any questions or issues accessing the
publication or supplementary material.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-021-02076-z

Abstract: A suite of processes drive variation in coral populations in
space and time, yet our understanding of how variation in coral density
affects coral performance is limited. Theory predicts that reductions in
density can send coral populations into a predator pit, where concentrated
corallivory maintains corals at low densities. In reality, how variation in
coral density alters corallivory rates is poorly resolved. Here, we
experimentally quantified the effects of corallivory and coral density on
growth and survival of small colonies of the staghorn coral Acropora
pulchra. Our findings suggest that coral density and corallivory have
strong but independent effects on coral performance. In the presence of
corallivores, corals suffered high but density-independent mortality. When
corallivores were excluded, however, vertical extension rates of colonies
increased with increasing densities. While we found no evidence for a
predator pit, our results suggest that spatio-temporal variation in
corallivore and coral densities can fundamentally alter population dynamics
via strong effects on juvenile corals.

Cheers,

Kai L. Kopecky
kaikopecky at ucsb.edu
PhD student
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
University of California, Santa Barbara | Moorea Coral Reef LTER