Given the highly stochastic nature of larval supply, coral reef fish may often settle in sub-optimal habitats with limited prey. This study examines the foraging and territorial habits of a cora/feeding butterfiyfish, Chaetodon baronessa, living in two contrasting habitats with markedly different coral prey. In exposed front reef habitats, where coral prey was highly abundant, C. baronessa was ...

The three-dimensional form of a coral reef develops through interactions and feedbacks between its constituent organisms and their environment. Reef morphology therefore contains a potential wealth of ecological information, accessible if the relationships between morphology and ecology can be decoded. Traditionally, reef morphology has been attributed to external controls such as substrate top...

Tropical coral reefs are among the most productive and diverse ecosystems, despite being surrounded by ocean waters where nutrients are in short supply. Benthic dinitrogen (N2) fixation is a significant internal source of "new" nitrogen (N) in reef ecosystems, but related information appears to be sparse. Here, we review the current state (and gaps) of knowledge on N2 fixation associated with c...

Recreational diving on coral reefs is an activity that has experienced rapidly growing levels of popularity and participation. Despite providing economic activity for many developing coastal communities, the potential role of dive impacts in contributing to coral reef damage is a concern at heavily dived locations. Management measures to address this issue increasingly include the introduction ...

This discussion paper is/has been under review for the journal Biogeosciences (BG). Please refer to the corresponding final paper in BG if available. Abstract Ocean acidification (OA) poses a severe threat to tropical coral reefs, yet much of what is know about these effects comes from individual corals and algae incubated in isolation under high pCO 2. Studies of similar effects on coral reef ...

Reef-building corals are the framework builders for coral reefs and a key player in the coral reef ecosystem. They are the animals that form the foundation of Virgin Islands coral reefs which provide protection from the open ocean, are an economic resource in terms of tourism and fisheries, are the source of chemical compounds of biomedical importance, and provide great natural beauty. Due to b...

*Correspondence: Antoine Collin, Nadaoka Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Environmental Informatics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, O-okayama 2-12-1-W8-13, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8552, Japan e-mail: [email protected] Reliably translating real-world spatial patterns of ecosystems is critical for understanding processes susceptible to reinforce resilience. However, the great majorit...

Coral reefs and their associated fauna are largely impacted by ongoing climate change. Unravelling species responses to past climatic variations might provide clues on the consequence of ongoing changes. Here, we tested the relationship between changes in sea surface temperature and sea levels during the Quaternary and present-day distributions of coral reef fish species. We investigated whethe...

Global-scale deteriorations in coral reef health have caused major shifts in species composition. One projected consequence is a lowering of reef carbonate production rates, potentially impairing reef growth, compromising ecosystem functionality and ultimately leading to net reef erosion. Here, using measures of gross and net carbonate production and erosion from 19 Caribbean reefs, we show tha...

Dominance shifts in ecosystems can occur rapidly, resulting in alternative stable states. While some coral reef ecosystems shift and recover relatively quickly, others recover slowly or not at all over periods of centuries. We explore the role of large (fishing-susceptible) parrotfish in triggering algal phase shifts as alternative attractors that may lock reefs into coral-depleted alternative ...