Population and Community Dynamics of Corals: A Long-Term Study

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

Connell This project is a long-term study of a coral reef system. The project goals are: 1) to extend the detailed long-term monitoring of ecological communities of corals and algae on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, which has been carried on continuously over the past 36 years, the longest such study on any coral reef; 2) to analyze spatial patterns and dynamics of corals and algae at several scales, from mm to kilometers, both during the course of colonization of patches (opened by disturbances) and after most of the surface has become crowded by many colonies; and 3) to build mathematical models and computer simulations of the dynamics of these populations and communities of corals and algae that include: an investigation of past and present conditions on future changes; characterizations of temporal and spatial dynamics; and tests of hypotheses about the consequences of these dynamics to the community. The models also will be used to assess the degree to which community structure and dynamics may or may not be influenced by details of spatial relationships and interactions. The significance of this proposed research are: a extension of the general knowledge of how natural communities of corals and algae are assembled and structured in the face of changes in their environment over extended periods of time; a revelation of some of the mechanisms that link the environment with these community changes, and how both vary over short and long time periods and between small and larger spatial scales; and an increase in our ability to predict the effect of environmental changes, including those caused by human activity, on these natural communities.