Combining fish and benthic communities into multiple regimes reveals complex reef dynamics

Donovan, M.K. and Friedlander, A.M. and Lecky, J. and Jouffray, J.-B. and Williams, G.J. and Wedding, L.M. and Crowder, L.B. and Erickson, A.L. and Graham, N.A.J. and Gove, J.M. and Kappel, C.V. and Karr, K. and Kittinger, J.N. and Norström, A.V. and Nyström, M. and Oleson, K.L.L. and Stamoulis, K.A. and White, C. and Williams, I.D. and Selkoe, K.A. (2018) Combining fish and benthic communities into multiple regimes reveals complex reef dynamics. Scientific Reports, 8 (1). ISSN 2045-2322

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Coral reefs worldwide face an uncertain future with many reefs reported to transition from being dominated by corals to macroalgae. However, given the complexity and diversity of the ecosystem, research on how regimes vary spatially and temporally is needed. Reef regimes are most often characterised by their benthic components; however, complex dynamics are associated with losses and gains in both fish and benthic assemblages. To capture this complexity, we synthesised 3,345 surveys from Hawai‘i to define reef regimes in terms of both fish and benthic assemblages. Model-based clustering revealed five distinct regimes that varied ecologically, and were spatially heterogeneous by island, depth and exposure. We identified a regime characteristic of a degraded state with low coral cover and fish biomass, one that had low coral but high fish biomass, as well as three other regimes that varied significantly in their ecology but were previously considered a single coral dominated regime. Analyses of time series data reflected complex system dynamics, with multiple transitions among regimes that were a function of both local and global stressors. Coupling fish and benthic communities into reef regimes to capture complex dynamics holds promise for monitoring reef change and guiding ecosystem-based management of coral reefs. © 2018, The Author(s).

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Scientific Reports
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1000
Subjects:
?? ARTICLEBIOMASSCORAL REEFECOLOGYHUMANMAJOR CLINICAL STUDYMONITORINGTIME SERIES ANALYSISGENERAL ??
ID Code:
129596
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
10 Dec 2018 09:12
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
18 Sep 2023 01:29