Coral assemblages at higher latitudes favor short-term potential over long-term performance.
Ecology
; 104(9): e4138, 2023 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37458125
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.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Antozoários
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
/
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
/
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Ecology
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido