Coral reefs are in dramatic global decline, with seaweeds commonly replacing corals. It is unclear, however, whether seaweeds harm corals directly or colonize opportunistically following their decline and then suppress coral recruitment. In the Caribbean and tropical Pacific, we show that, when protected from herbivores, approximately 40 to 70% of common seaweeds cause bleaching and death of co...

Many coral reefs have phase shifted from coral to macroalgal dominance. Ocean acidification (OA) due to elevated CO2 is hypothesised to advantage macroalgae over corals, contributing to these shifts, but the mechanisms affecting coral-macroalgal interactions under OA are unknown. Here, we show that (i) three common macroalgae are more damaging to a common coral when they compete under CO2 conce...

Coral guard-crabs in the genus Trapezia are well-documented defenders of their pocilloporid coral hosts against coral predators such as the Crown-of-Thorns seastar (Acanthaster planci complex). The objectives of this study were to examine the protective services of six species of Trapezia against corallivory, and the extent of functional diversity among these Trapezia species. Studies conducted...

Coral reefs have entered a state of global decline party due to an increasing incidence of coral disease. However, the diversity and complexity of coral-associated bacterial communities has made identifying the mechanisms underlying disease transmission and progression extremely difficult. This study explores the effects of coral cell-free culture fluid (CFCF) and autoinducer (a quorum sensing ...

Examination of coral fragments infected with black band disease (BBD) at the fine- and ultrastructural levels using scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed novel features of the disease. SEM images of the skeleton from the host coral investigated (Montastraea annularis species complex) revealed extensive boring underneath the BBD mat, with cyanobacterial filaments pre...

Turf algae are becoming more abundant on coral reefs worldwide, but their effects on other benthic organisms remain poorly described. To describe the general characteristics of competitive interactions between corals and turf algae, we determined the occurrence and outcomes of coral-turf algal interactions among different coral growth forms (branching, upright, massive, encrusting, plating, and...

The significance of bacteria for eukaryotic functioning is increasingly recognized. Coral reef ecosystems critically rely on the relationship between coral hosts and their intracellular photosynthetic dinoflagellates, but the role of the associated bacteria remains largely theoretical. Here, we set out to relate coral-associated bacterial communities of the fungid host species Ctenactis echinat...

Flow and coral morphology control coral surface pH Chan, Neil C.S.; Wangpraseurt, Daniel; Kühl, Michael; Connolly, Sean R. Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00010 Publication date: 2016 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Citation for published version (APA): Chan, N. C. S., Wangpraseurt, D., Kühl, M., & Connolly, S. R. (2016). Flow ...

Citation: Tortolero-Langarica JJA, Cupul-Magaña AL, Carricart-Ganivet JP, Mayfield AB and Rodríguez-Troncoso AP (2016) Differences in Growth and Calcification Rates in the Reef-Building Coral Porites lobata: The Implications of Morphotype and Gender on Coral Growth. Front. Mar. Sci. 3:179. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00179 Differences in Growth and Calcification Rates in the Reef-Building Coral Por...

A three-dimensional model of diffusion limited coral growth is introduced. As opposed to previous models, in this model we take a “polyp oriented” approach. Here, coral morphogenesis is the result of the collective behaviour of the individual coral polyps. In the polyp oriented model, branching occurs spontaneously, as opposed to previous models in which an explicit rule was responsible for bra...