Enduring regardless the conditions: Plasticity in modular growth as a strategy to cope with hydrodynamic variation by the invasive sun-coral (Tubastraea spp.)

Tanasovici, Rodrigo M.; Dias, Gustavo Muniz; Kitahara, Marcelo V.; Vieira, Edson A.

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105563

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 96 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Strong currents have indeed been linked to higher budding rates in D. pertusum (Chapron et al 2020), as well as in the shallow-water scleractinian Tubastraea spp. (Tanasovici et al 2022), which is also nonphotosynthetic. Along with long-term flow regimes, CWC architecture could be affected by isolated strong current events.…”

Section: Environmental Influence On Cwc Architecturementioning

confidence: 99%

Cold-water coral framework architecture is selectively shaped by bottom current flow

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The three-dimensional (3D) structure of habitat-forming corals has profound impacts on reef ecosystem processes. Elucidating coral structural responses to the environment is therefore crucial to understand changes in these ecosystems. However, little is known of how environmental factors shape coral structure in deep and dark waters, where cold-water coral (CWC) reefs thrive. Here, we attempt to infer the influence of current flow on CWC framework architecture, using 3D scanning to quantify colony shape traits (volume compactness and surface complexity) in the reef-building CWC Desmophyllum pertusum from adjacent fjord and offshore habitats with contrasting flow regimes. We find substantial architectural variability both between and within habitats. We show that corals are generally more compact in the fjord habitat, reflecting the prevailing higher current speeds, although differences in volume compactness between fjord and offshore corals are more subtle when comparing the fjord with the more exposed side of the offshore setting, probably due to locally intensified currents. Conversely, we observe no clear disparity in coral surface complexity between habitats (despite its positive correlation with volume compactness), suggesting it is not affected by current speed. Unlike volume compactness, surface complexity is similarly variable within a single colony as it is between colonies within the same habitat or between habitats and is therefore perhaps more dependent than volume compactness on microenvironmental conditions. These findings suggest a highly plastic, trait-specific and functionally relevant structural response of CWCs to current flow and underscore the importance of multiple concurrent sources of hydrodynamic forcing on CWC growth.

show abstract

Section: Environmental Influence On Cwc Architecturementioning

confidence: 99%

Cold-water coral framework architecture is selectively shaped by bottom current flow

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Marine debris provide long-distance pathways for spreading invasive corals

Soares

Garcia

Giarrizzo

et al. 2023

Science of The Total Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Priority effects, environmental filtering and neutral coexistence explain large- to small-scale distribution of invasive sun corals in the SW Atlantic

Barbosa

Vinagre

Kitahara

et al. 2023

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Two sun coral species, Tubastraea tagusensis and T. coccinea, have successfully colonized reef habitats along the Southwest Atlantic. However, their invasive biology has been largely addressed without considering species-specific distribution patterns. Here, we assessed the distribution and abundance of Tubastraea spp. at vertical rocky reef sites within a number of islands along 120 km of coastline off the northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil, to (1) investigate possible mechanisms underlying the invasion dynamics in the region, (2) test species-specific distributions according to a key environmental filter (depth), and (3) examine within-patch patterns to assess whether competition, niche-based or neutral processes are best candidates to modulate local species coexistence. Sun corals were found in the great majority of the studied locations, and the probability of finding them at any given reef site was estimated to be 0.54. There was substantial species segregation across locations, consistent with primary priority effects. Within locations, results suggest environmental filtering, with T. coccinea apparently advantaged in more hydrodynamic environments just below the surf zone. At sun coral patches with extensive co-occurrence of T. tagusensis and T. coccinea, the presence of each species can be, remarkably, modeled as an independent event, suggesting neutral coexistence. The spread of sun corals is an ongoing and increasingly invasive process that may be explained by the enemy-release hypothesis and the lack of negative interactions between Tubastraea species. The stochastic nature of small-scale distributions sets an additional challenge to predict (and thus control) sun coral invasion.

show abstract

Enduring regardless the conditions: Plasticity in modular growth as a strategy to cope with hydrodynamic variation by the invasive sun-coral (Tubastraea spp.)

Cited by 3 publications

References 96 publications

Cold-water coral framework architecture is selectively shaped by bottom current flow

Cold-water coral framework architecture is selectively shaped by bottom current flow

Marine debris provide long-distance pathways for spreading invasive corals

Priority effects, environmental filtering and neutral coexistence explain large- to small-scale distribution of invasive sun corals in the SW Atlantic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About