Shallow warm-water and deep-sea cold-water corals engineer the coral reef framework and fertilize reef communities by releasing coral mucus, a source of reef dissolved organic matter (DOM). By transforming DOM into particulate detritus, sponges play a key role in transferring the energy and nutrients in DOM to higher trophic levels on Caribbean reefs via the so-called sponge loop. Coral mucus m...

Understanding the drivers of variability in the composition of fish assemblages across the Indo-Pacific region is crucial to support coral reef ecosystem resilience. Whilst numerous relationships and feedback mechanisms between the functional roles of coral reef fishes and reef benthic composition have been investigated, certain key groups, such as the herbivores, are widely suggested to mainta...

This work analyzes the mortality, recovery, and shifts in the composition of scleractinian corals from Puerto Rico one decade after the 2005 regional coral bleaching event. Temporal and spatial patterns of coral community structure were examined using a stratified, non-random sampling approach based on five permanent transects per reef at 16 reef stations. A negative correlation between percent...

BACKGROUND The coral is predominantly composed of the metabolically dependent coral host and the photosynthetic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium sp. The system as a whole interacts with symbiotic eukaryotes, bacteria and viruses. Gemmocystiscylindrus (cf. "type-N" symbiont) belonging to the obligatory parasitic phylum Apicomplexa (Alveolata) is ubiquitous in the Caribbean coral, but its presence in ...

Coral reef fishes, like many other marine organisms, are affected by anthropogenic stressors such as fishing and pollution and, owing to climate change, are experiencing increasing water temperatures and ocean acidification. Against the backdrop of these various stressors, a mechanistic understanding of processes governing individual organismal performance is the first step for identifying driv...

The continuous degradation of coral reef ecosystems on a global level, the disheartening expectations of a gloomy future for reefs’ statuses, the failure of traditional conservation acts to revive most of the degrading reefs and the understanding that it is unlikely that future reefs will return to historic conditions, all call for novel management approaches. Among the most effective approache...

1. Climate change is emerging as one of the greatest threats to coral reef ecosystems. Climate-induced warming events trigger coral bleaching and mortality, which can indirectly affect coral reef fishes. Managing fisheries across coral mortality events is expected to influence the persistence of species and reef recovery potential. The most common management recommendation has been to prohibit ...

Knowledge of coral reef GPP is the foundation for understanding the function of reef systems. GPP sets the maximum energy available to a reef community through autotrophic pathways and ultimately limit the biomass and secondary production of reef consumers [1-3]. Calcification, or the production of carbonate, is directly related to the value of GPP [4]. GPP describes the basic energy production...

Coral reef calcification is predicted to decline as a result of ocean acidification and other anthropogenic stressors. The majority of studies predicting declines based on in situ relationships between environmental parameters and net community calcification rate have been location-specific, preventing accurate predictions for coral reefs globally. In this study, net community calcification and...

Structural change in both the habitat and reef-associated fish assemblages within spatially managed coral reefs can provide key insights into the benefits and limitations of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). While MPA zoning effects on particular target species are well reported, we are yet to fully resolve the various affects of spatial management on the structure of coral reef communities over d...