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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Spatial And Temporal Trends Of Southeastern Florida's Octocoral Comunity, Alexandra Hiley
Spatial And Temporal Trends Of Southeastern Florida's Octocoral Comunity, Alexandra Hiley
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
In the Caribbean, local and global stressors have driven significant declines in scleractinian coral cover up to 80% in only three decades. Following these declines, phase shifts in benthic community composition have been reported. Shifts towards macroalgal dominance has been the most widely observed case, however, shifts towards octocoral and sponge dominance have also been reported. In Florida, USA, the Florida Reef Tract is an extensive barrier reef system that contains diverse assemblages of corals, sponges, fish, and other taxa. The Southeast Florida Reef Tract (SEFRT) within the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Conservation Area is the northern portion of this …
Fear Effects Associated With Predator Presence And Habitat Structure Interact To Alter Herbivory On Coral Reefs, Andrew G. Bauman, Jovena C. L. Seah, Fraser A. Januchowski-Hartley, Andrew S. Hoey, Jenny Fong, Peter A. Todd
Fear Effects Associated With Predator Presence And Habitat Structure Interact To Alter Herbivory On Coral Reefs, Andrew G. Bauman, Jovena C. L. Seah, Fraser A. Januchowski-Hartley, Andrew S. Hoey, Jenny Fong, Peter A. Todd
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
Non-consumptive fear effects are an important determinant of foraging decisions by consumers across a range of ecosystems. However, how fear effects associated with the presence of predators interact with those associated with habitat structure remain unclear. Here, we used predator fish models (Plectropomus leopardus) and experimental patches of the macroalga Sargassum ilicifolium of varying densities to investigate how predator- and habitat-associated fear effects influence herbivory on coral reefs. We found the removal of macroalgal biomass (i.e. herbivory) was shaped by the interaction between predator- and habitat-associated fear effects. Rates of macroalgal removal declined with increasing macroalgal density, likely …
Spatial And Temporal Variation In Fecundity Of Acropora Spp. In The Northern Great Barrier Reef, Morgan S. Pratchett, Andrew S. Hoey, Chun-Hong Tan, Chao-Yang Kuo, Andrew G. Bauman, Rajani Kumaraswamy, Andrew H. Baird
Spatial And Temporal Variation In Fecundity Of Acropora Spp. In The Northern Great Barrier Reef, Morgan S. Pratchett, Andrew S. Hoey, Chun-Hong Tan, Chao-Yang Kuo, Andrew G. Bauman, Rajani Kumaraswamy, Andrew H. Baird
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
The amount of energy invested in sexual reproduction by scleractinian corals depends on their life history strategies (i.e., allocation of energy between growth, reproduction, and maintenance). However, energy allocated to reproduction will also be affected by the amount of energy acquired and prevailing environmental conditions. Coral fecundity is therefore likely to vary spatially, especially along marked gradients in environmental conditions. One of the foremost gradients in reef structure and environmental conditions occurs with distance from the coast, whereby inner-shelf or near shore reefs are generally subject to higher levels of nutrients, sediments and pollutants, which often adversely affect reef-building corals. …