We model coral community response to bleaching and mass mortality events which are predicted to increase in frequency with climate change. The model was parameterized for the Arabian/Persian Gulf, but is generally applicable. We assume three species groups (Acropora, faviids, and Porites) in two life-stages each where the juveniles are in competition but the adults can enter a size-refuge in wh...

It is well-established that there is a hierarchy of susceptibilities amongst coral genera during heat-stress. However, molecular mechanisms governing these differences are still poorly understood. Here we explored if specific corals possessing different morphologies and different susceptibilities to heat stress may manifest varied gene expression patterns. We examined expression patterns of sev...

Recent studies in higher plants or animals have shown that phospholipase D (PLD) signaling regulates many aspects of development, including organization of microtubules (MTs), actin and the endomembrane system. PLD hydrolyzes structural phospholipids to form the second messenger phosphatidic acid (PA). To begin to understand the signaling pathways and molecules that regulate cytoskeletal and en...

Populations of intertidal species span a steep environmental gradient driven by differences in emersion time. In spite of strong differential selection on traits related to this gradient, the small spatial scale over which differences occur may prevent local adaptation, and instead may favor a single intermediate phenotype, or nongenetic mechanisms of differentiation. Here I examine whether a c...

Scleractinian corals experience a wide range of ̄ow regimes which, coupled with colony morphology, can a€ect the ability of corals to capture zooplankton and other particulate materials. We used a ®eld enclosure oriented parallel to prevailing oscillatory ̄ow on the forereef at Discovery Bay, Jamaica, to investigate rates of zooplankton capture by corals of varying morphology and polyp size unde...

Tropical reefs are in global decline with seaweeds commonly replacing corals. Negative associations between macroalgae and corals are well documented, but the mechanisms involved, the dynamics of the interactions, and variance in effects of different macroalgal-coral pairings are poorly investigated. We assessed the frequency, magnitude, and dynamics of macroalgal-coral competition involving al...

Mass coral bleaching affected large parts of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in 1998 and 2002. In this study, we assessed if signatures of these major thermal stress events were recorded in the growth characteristics of massive Porites colonies. In 2005 a suite of short (<50 cm) cores were collected from apparently healthy, surviving Porites colonies, from reefs in the central GBR (18-19°S) that h...

There has been a worldwide increase in the reports of diseases affecting marine organisms. In the Caribbean, mass mortalities among organisms in reef ecosystems have resulted in major shifts in community structure. However, our ability to fully understand recent disease outbreaks is hampered by the paucity of baseline and epidemiological information on the normal disease levels in the ocean. Th...