Coral assemblages at higher latitudes favor short-term potential over long-term performance.

Cant, J; Reimer, JD; Sommer, B; Cook, KM; Kim, SW; Sims, CA; Mezaki, T; O'Flaherty, C; Brooks, M; Malcolm, HA; Pandolfi, JM; Salguero-Gómez, R; Beger, M

Coral assemblages at higher latitudes favor short-term potential over long-term performance.

Cant, J Reimer, JD Sommer, B

Cook, KM Kim, SW Sims, CA Mezaki, T O'Flaherty, C Brooks, M Malcolm, HA Pandolfi, JM Salguero-Gómez, R Beger, M

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Publisher:: WILEY
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Ecology, 2023, 104, (9), pp. e4138
Issue Date:: 2023-09

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Cant, J
dc.contributor.author	Reimer, JD
dc.contributor.author	Sommer, B https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0617-7790
dc.contributor.author	Cook, KM
dc.contributor.author	Kim, SW
dc.contributor.author	Sims, CA
dc.contributor.author	Mezaki, T
dc.contributor.author	O'Flaherty, C
dc.contributor.author	Brooks, M
dc.contributor.author	Malcolm, HA
dc.contributor.author	Pandolfi, JM
dc.contributor.author	Salguero-Gómez, R
dc.contributor.author	Beger, M
dc.date.accessioned	2024-03-15T03:16:36Z
dc.date.available	2023-06-14
dc.date.available	2024-03-15T03:16:36Z
dc.date.issued	2023-09
dc.identifier.citation	Ecology, 2023, 104, (9), pp. e4138
dc.identifier.issn	1939-9170
dc.identifier.issn	1939-9170
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/176764
dc.description.abstract	The persistent exposure of coral assemblages to more variable abiotic regimes is assumed to augment their resilience to future climatic variability. Yet, while the determinants of coral population resilience across species remain unknown, we are unable to predict the winners and losers across reef ecosystems exposed to increasingly variable conditions. Using annual surveys of 3171 coral individuals across Australia and Japan (2016-2019), we explore spatial variation across the short- and long-term dynamics of competitive, stress-tolerant, and weedy assemblages to evaluate how abiotic variability mediates the structural composition of coral assemblages. We illustrate how, by promoting short-term potential over long-term performance, coral assemblages can reduce their vulnerability to stochastic environments. However, compared to stress-tolerant, and weedy assemblages, competitive coral taxa display a reduced capacity for elevating their short-term potential. Accordingly, future climatic shifts threaten the structural complexity of coral assemblages in variable environments, emulating the degradation expected across global tropical reefs.
dc.format	Print-Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	WILEY
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE230100141
dc.relation.ispartof	Ecology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1002/ecy.4138
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	0501 Ecological Applications, 0602 Ecology, 0603 Evolutionary Biology
dc.subject.classification	Ecology
dc.subject.classification	3103 Ecology
dc.subject.classification	3109 Zoology
dc.subject.classification	4102 Ecological applications
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Anthozoa
dc.subject.mesh	Ecosystem
dc.subject.mesh	Coral Reefs
dc.subject.mesh	Australia
dc.subject.mesh	Japan
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Anthozoa
dc.subject.mesh	Ecosystem
dc.subject.mesh	Japan
dc.subject.mesh	Australia
dc.subject.mesh	Coral Reefs
dc.title	Coral assemblages at higher latitudes favor short-term potential over long-term performance.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	104
utslib.location.activity	United States
utslib.for	0501 Ecological Applications
utslib.for	0602 Ecology
utslib.for	0603 Evolutionary Biology
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2024-03-15T03:16:34Z
pubs.issue	9
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	104
utslib.citation.issue	9

Abstract:

The persistent exposure of coral assemblages to more variable abiotic regimes is assumed to augment their resilience to future climatic variability. Yet, while the determinants of coral population resilience across species remain unknown, we are unable to predict the winners and losers across reef ecosystems exposed to increasingly variable conditions. Using annual surveys of 3171 coral individuals across Australia and Japan (2016-2019), we explore spatial variation across the short- and long-term dynamics of competitive, stress-tolerant, and weedy assemblages to evaluate how abiotic variability mediates the structural composition of coral assemblages. We illustrate how, by promoting short-term potential over long-term performance, coral assemblages can reduce their vulnerability to stochastic environments. However, compared to stress-tolerant, and weedy assemblages, competitive coral taxa display a reduced capacity for elevating their short-term potential. Accordingly, future climatic shifts threaten the structural complexity of coral assemblages in variable environments, emulating the degradation expected across global tropical reefs.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/176764