Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research Site
The Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research Site (MCR LTER) is the complex of coral reefs and lagoons that surround the island of Moorea in French Polynesia. The project, funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF), is a partnership between the University of California Santa Barbara and California State University, Northridge that includes additional researchers from UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego and the University of Hawaii. Field operations are conducted from the UC Berkeley Richard B. Gump South Pacific Research Station (UCB Gump) on Moorea.
The Moorea Coral Reef LTER is part of the National Science Foundation's Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network. The LTER Program was established by the NSF in 1980 to support research on long-term ecological phenomena. The Moorea Coral Reef LTER became the 26th site in the LTER network in September of 2004.
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Coordinated interdisciplinary research by our investigators addresses the five core LTER research areas:
Dynamics and control of primary production
Population dynamics of representative groups
Pattern and control of organic recycling
Pattern of inorganic input and dynamics
Patterns and consequences of disturbances that arise from or induce long-term trends
The science themes that form the nucleus of the Moorea Coral Reef LTER research program include:
Biological bases for variation in ecological performance of stony corals (the foundational group)
Population dynamics of key groups
Food web and nutrient dynamics
Maintenance and functional consequences of diversity
Two additional research components cut across these themes:
Physical biological coupling over multiple scales
Physical and ecological models that synthesize field results and yield generality
Identified issues within each thematic area are explored through focused, process-oriented studies and by long-term experiments and monitoring. Such mechanistic understanding will allow more accurate predictions of how coral reef ecosystems will respond to disturbances and climate forcing.
Contact Information
| Individual | Affiliation | Area of Expertise | |
| Russell J. Schmitt (Lead PI) | UCSB | Population dynamics of fishes & invertebrates | |
| Robert Carpenter (Co-PI) | CSUN | Coral reef trophodynamics / productivity | |
| Peter Edmunds (Co-PI) | CSUN | Physiological ecology of stony corals | |
| Sally Holbrook (Co-PI) | UCSB | Community ecology of fishes | |
| Alice Alldredge | UCSB | Zooplankton ecology | |
| Giacomo Bernardi | UCSC | Population genetics of fishes | |
| Andrew Brooks | UCSB | Community ecology of fishes | |
| Craig Carlson | UCSB | Marine microbial ecology / organic cycling | |
| Joseph Connell | UCSB | Community ecology | |
| Ruth Gates | Univ. of Hawaii | Population genetics of coral & symbionts | |
| Gretchen Hofmann | UCSB | Ecological physiology of marine invertebrates | |
| David Lea | UCSB | Paleoceanography & paleoclimatology | |
| James Leichter | UCSD / SIO | Physical - biological coupling | |
| Hunter Lenihan | UCSB | Marine stressor - demography linkages | |
| Sally MacIntyre | UCSB | Hydrodynamics & ecosystem ecology | |
| Stephane Maritorena | UCSB | Remote sensing of coral reefs & ocean waters | |
| Roger Nisbet | UCSB | Ecological modeling | |
| Libe Washburn | UCSB | Physical oceanography & modeling | |
| Allison Whitmer | UCSB | Physiological ecology of algae | |
| Susan Williams | UCD / BML | Nutrient dynamics in reef environments | |
More Information
Visit the Official Moorea Coral Reef LTER site for more information.