Effects of simulated fish predation on small colonies of massive Porites spp. and Pocillopora meandrina

Cameron, Caitlin M.; Edmunds, Peter J.

doi:10.3354/meps10862

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…The extent of damage often mediates the effects of corallivory on coral growth. Cameron and Edmunds (2014) observed that massive Porites and Pocillopora meandrina growth rates declined with more damaging modes of simulated fish corallivory (growth rates: browsed > scraped > excavated). Yet protection from corallivores with various foraging strategies can increase coral growth (Cox, 1986;Lenihan et al, 2011;Shantz et al, 2011), suggesting that even browsing corallivory has observable effects on coral growth (Shaver et al, 2017;Clements and Hay, 2018;Hamman, 2018).…”

Section: Growthmentioning

confidence: 97%

Corallivory in the Anthropocene: Interactive Effects of Anthropogenic Stressors and Corallivory on Coral Reefs

2019

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Corallivory is the predation of coral mucus, tissue, and skeleton by fishes and invertebrates, and a source of chronic stress for many reef-building coral species. Corallivores often prey on corals repeatedly, and this predation induces wounds that require extensive cellular resources to heal. The effects of corallivory on coral growth, reproduction, and community dynamics are well-documented, and often result in reduced growth rates and fitness. Given the degree of anthropogenic pressures that threaten coral reefs, it is now imperative to focus on understanding how corallivory interacts with anthropogenic forces to alter coral health and community dynamics. For example, coral bleaching events that stem from global climate change often reduce preferred corals species for many corallivorous fishes. These reductions in preferred prey may result in declines in populations of more specialized corallivores while more generalist corallivores may increase. Corallivory may also make corals more susceptible to thermal stress and exacerbate bleaching. At local scales, overfishing depletes corallivorous fish stocks, reducing fish corallivory and bioerosion, whilst removing invertivorous fishes and allowing population increases in invertebrate corallivores (e.g., urchins, Drupella spp.). Interactive effects of local stressors, such as overfishing and nutrient pollution, can alter the effect of corallivory by increasing coral-algal competition and destabilizing the coral microbiome, subsequently leading to coral disease and mortality. Here, we synthesize recent literature of how global climate change and local stressors affect corallivore populations and shape the patterns and effect of corallivory. Our review indicates that the combined effects of corallivory and anthropogenic pressures may be underappreciated and that these interactions often drive changes in coral reefs on scales from ecosystems to microbes. Understanding the ecology of coral reefs in the Anthropocene will require an increased focus on how anthropogenic forcing alters biotic interactions, such as corallivory, and the resulting cascading effects on corals and reef ecosystems.

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Section: Growthmentioning

confidence: 97%

Corallivory in the Anthropocene: Interactive Effects of Anthropogenic Stressors and Corallivory on Coral Reefs

2019

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“…In O. patagonica , preferential translocation to recovering tissue proceeded from a distance of 4–5 cm, but this phenomenon does not occur in colonies that were fully or partially (30%–80%) bleached (Fine et al, ). The pace and completion of wound recovery are subject to the impacts of several intrinsic and extrinsic factors (such as colony size, wound size, wound location, temperature, disease state, sedimentation [as reviewed by Henry & Hart, and for example: Van Veghel & Bak, , Meesters, Noordeloos, & Bak, , Meesters, Wesseling, & Bak , Meesters, Pauchli, & Bak, , Nagelkerken & Bak, , Nagelkerken, Meesters, & Bak, , Kramarsky‐Winter & Loya, , Rotjan & Lewis, , Edmunds, , Denis et al, , Cameron & Edmunds, ]), which also have the potential to interact with energy sourcing and nutritional state. The type of damage inflicted may also play a role in how energy is regulated or redirected to recovery and other biological processes (DeFilippo et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, both symbiotic state and lesion induction can alter the quantity and directionality of carbon translocation across a coral colony (Fine et al, 2002;Oren et al, 1997). In O. patagonica, preferential translocation to recovering tissue proceeded from a distance of 4-5 cm, but this phenomenon does not occur in colonies that were fully or partially (30%-80%) bleached (Fine et al, 2002 , Edmunds, 2009, Denis et al, 2011, Cameron & Edmunds, 2014), which also have the potential to interact with energy sourcing and nutritional state. The type of damage inflicted may also play a role in how energy is regulated or redirected to recovery and other biological processes (DeFilippo et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of autotrophic versus heterotrophic nutritional pathways on colony health and wound recovery in corals

Burmester

Breef‐Pilz

Lawrence

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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For animals that harbor photosynthetic symbionts within their tissues, such as corals, the different relative contributions of autotrophy versus heterotrophy to organismal energetic requirements have direct impacts on fitness. This is especially true for facultatively symbiotic corals, where the balance between host‐caught and symbiont‐produced energy can be altered substantially to meet the variable demands of a shifting environment. In this study, we utilized a temperate coral–algal system (the northern star coral, Astrangia poculata, and its photosynthetic endosymbiont, Symbiodinium psygmophilum) to explore the impacts of nutritional sourcing on the host's health and ability to regenerate experimentally excised polyps. For fed and starved colonies, wound healing and total colony tissue cover were differentially impacted by heterotrophy versus autotrophy. There was an additive impact of positive nutritional and symbiotic states on a coral's ability to initiate healing, but a greater influence of symbiont state on the recovery of lost tissue at the lesion site and complete polyp regeneration. On the other hand, regardless of symbiont state, fed corals maintained a higher overall colony tissue cover, which also enabled more active host behavior (polyp extension) and endosymbiont behavior (photosynthetic ability of Symbiondinium). Overall, we determined that the impact of nutritional state and symbiotic state varied between biological functions, suggesting a diversity in energetic sourcing for each of these processes.

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“…Rates of healing during Experiment 2 were 4.0% d -1 in ambient P CO2 and 3.9% d -1 in elevated P CO2 , which are similar to rates previously reported for massive Porites spp. For example, Cameron and Edmunds (2014) found that small colonies with single sites of excavation damage (each ~ 105 mm 2 and 2-5 mm deep) healed at ~ 2.5 % d -1 over 21 d, while Edmunds and Lenihan (2009) reported tissue healing of 4-5 % d -1 over 10 d for small colonies with lesions ~ 67 mm 2 and 1-2 mm deep.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regeneration of tissue within the lesions was evaluated photographically as the rate at which new coral tissue filled in the damage (see Fig. 1 in Cameron and Edmunds, 2014). In Experiment 1, pictures of the lesions were recorded with a camera (Olympus 850 SW, 8 megapixels) prior to, and following, the incubation.…”

Section: Response Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of ocean acidification on wound repair in the coral Porites spp.

Edmunds

2017

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

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Scleractinian corals on tropical reefs are exposed to many natural and anthropogenic disturbances, and while much is known about their responses to such conditions, it is unclear whether the responses will remain the same in a future affected by climate change and ocean acidification. To evaluate how one aspect of these effects-wound repair-might be influenced by ocean acidification, small colonies of massive Porites spp. from the back reef of Moorea, French Polynesia, were damaged to simulate the effects of single bites by corallivorous fishes, and healing was measured under contrasting P CO2 regimes. Using experiments lasting 19-20 d and employing superficial (2013) or deep (2014) lesions, the effects of damage were evaluated at ~ 400 µatm (ambient) and ~1,000 µatm P CO2 (both at ~ 28.5°C) using calcification and healing as dependent variables. Damage reduced calcification of massive Porites spp. in 2013, but not in 2014, and P CO2 had no effect on area-normalized calcification or healing in both years, although biomass-normalized calcification was reduced by high P CO2 in 2014. Overall these results reveal the physiological resilience of this functional group of corals to the extent of ocean acidification expected by the end of this century, and suggest that over this period small colonies will remain capable of recovery from minor damage arising from fish corallivory.

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Effects of simulated fish predation on small colonies of massive Porites spp. and Pocillopora meandrina

Cited by 16 publications

References 61 publications

Corallivory in the Anthropocene: Interactive Effects of Anthropogenic Stressors and Corallivory on Coral Reefs

Corallivory in the Anthropocene: Interactive Effects of Anthropogenic Stressors and Corallivory on Coral Reefs

The impact of autotrophic versus heterotrophic nutritional pathways on colony health and wound recovery in corals

The effects of ocean acidification on wound repair in the coral Porites spp.

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