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Coral larvae change their settlement preference for crustose coralline algae dependent on availability of bare space

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Abstract

Competition for space is a major factor affecting coral survival. Since adult coral colonies are sessile, the settlement preferences of larvae have a strong impact on the competition for space that corals will face post-metamorphosis and will therefore influence long-term survival. Laboratory-based studies show that in simplified systems coral larvae use cues to guide them to suitable settlement locations, an adaptation that enhances post-settlement survival. Settlement preferences have also been reported from the field, where coral larvae encounter a wide variety of different potential settlement surfaces as the availability of free substratum (bare space) changes over time. In this field-based study, the abundance of different encrusting organisms and bare space present on settlement tiles was compared to their abundance under newly settled pocilloporid and poritid recruits, to determine if recruits choose their settlement substratum randomly. Tiles deployed for 3, 9, 12 and 15 months were used to determine if settlement choice varied as a function of benthic community successional stage. We found that pocilloporid and poritid larvae changed their settlement preference depending on the age of the benthic community they encountered. They reacted neutrally to crustose coralline algae (CCA) on tiles deployed for 3 months when bare space was abundant, but showed a clear preference for settlement on CCA on tiles deployed for 9–15 months once bare space was limited. Simultaneously, poritid recruits showed a decreasing preference over time to settle on biofilm. This change in preference is not linked to the availability of CCA because its abundance did not change significantly between tiles deployed for 3 versus 9–15 months. These results indicate that coral recruits react to several settlement cues simultaneously, guiding them to different settlement locations as the benthos changes over time. Furthermore, recruits from both families reacted similarly, suggesting that this is an evolutionarily old adaption.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (USA) and by a Victoria University of Wellington Doctoral Scholarship from Victoria University of Wellington (to FE) and was carried out as part of The Reefs Tomorrow Initiative (http://reefstomorrowinitiative.org/). We thank The Nature Conservancy and the US Fish and Wildlife Service for access to Palmyra Atoll for fieldwork and for their help in the field. We also thank Holly Bennett, Charlie Clark, Alex Laferriere and Eva Schemmel for help with fieldwork and David Young for illustrations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P O Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand

    Franziska Elmer, James J. Bell & Jonathan P. A. Gardner

  2. CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean, The Netherlands

    Franziska Elmer

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  1. Franziska Elmer
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Correspondence to Franziska Elmer.

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Elmer, F., Bell, J.J. & Gardner, J.P.A. Coral larvae change their settlement preference for crustose coralline algae dependent on availability of bare space. Coral Reefs 37, 397–407 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-018-1665-2

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