Patterns of recruitment and abundance of corals along the Great Barrier Reef (original) (raw)

Nature volume 397, pages 59–63 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Different physical and biological processes prevail at different scales1,2,3,4. As a consequence, small-scale experiments or local observations provide limited insights into regional or global phenomena5,6,7,8. One solution is to incorporate spatial scale explicitly into the experimental and sampling design of field studies, to provide a broader, landscape view of ecology1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Here we examine spatial patterns in corals on the Great Barrier Reef, across a spectrum of scales ranging from metres to more than 1,700 km. Our study is unusual because we explore large-scale patterns of a process (recruitment by juveniles) as well as patterns of adult abundance, revealing the relationship between the two. We show that coral-reef assemblages that are similar in terms of abundance may nonetheless show profound differences in dynamics and turnover, with major implications for their ecology, evolution and management.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the 41 graduate-student volunteers from James Cook University (JCU) who provided field assistance, and D. Ayre, J. Caley, P. Doherty and L. Smith for comments on the manuscript. Research was funded by grants to T.P.H. from the Australian Research Council. This is contribution no. 162 of the Coral Group at JCU.

Author information

Author notes

  1. N. A. Moltschaniwskyj
    Present address: Department of Aquaculture, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, 7250, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, Queensland, Australia
    T. P. Hughes, A. H. Baird, E. A. Dinsdale, M. S. Pratchett, J. E. Tanner & B. L. Willis

Authors

  1. T. P. Hughes
  2. A. H. Baird
  3. E. A. Dinsdale
  4. N. A. Moltschaniwskyj
  5. M. S. Pratchett
  6. J. E. Tanner
  7. B. L. Willis

Corresponding author

Correspondence toT. P. Hughes.

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Hughes, T., Baird, A., Dinsdale, E. et al. Patterns of recruitment and abundance of corals along the Great Barrier Reef.Nature 397, 59–63 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/16237

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