Seminar Series 2005

Coral population ecology: what processes influence reef resilience?

Hunter Lenihan
UCSB Bren School of Environmental Sciecne and Management

Natural disturbances, including storms, predator outbreaks, and bleaching events cause high mortality in corals worldwide. Recovery of coral populations after disturbances is also influenced by human activities such as fishing and nutrient-loading. Complicated interactions among natural and human disturbances have been used to explain coral declines and population shifts in Caribbean corals. Similar shifts in corals species, often characterized by loss of Acropora spp. and increase in the abundance of Porites spp., are thought to be occurring in the Indo-Pacific. What processes regulate coral recovery? Are certain genera more successful than others during recolonization (i.e., more resilient) and others more susceptible to disturbance? I will present preliminary results from experimental work that examines how abiotic and biotic factors, and their interaction influence the recovery of corals following disturbance in Moorea.