Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Quantifying life history demographics of the scleractinian coral genus Pocillopora at Palmyra Atoll

  • Report
  • Published:
Coral Reefs Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Characterizations of colony-specific fate are necessary to predict trajectories of coral population change accurately, and a research challenge exists to collect more robust data describing coral demographic rates and the factors that influence them. Colonial, reef-building corals present challenges to the study of demography, given that the size of individual colonies can be decoupled from age, and rates of colony growth and shrinkage can be effectively indeterminate. In this study, we use a large-area imaging approach to quantify demographic rates of the coral genus Pocillopora and test for the influence of colony-specific predictors on net change in live tissue area (labeled growth and shrinkage) and whole-colony mortality. We found that a colony’s fate was linked to its initial size, with larger colonies experiencing far lower probability of mortality, but higher probability of shrinkage, than smaller colonies. Historical effects also significantly affected colony fate, as colonies with a recent history of tissue loss experienced a higher probability of subsequent shrinkage and mortality the following year. Finally, significant variability in growth and mortality rates was linked to intra-island site differences, which we hypothesize may be driven by differences in food availability and heterotrophic feeding rates. Our work highlights the importance of colony-specific characteristics, including size and historical effects, in influencing demographic fates of corals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Babcock RC (1991) Comparative demography of three species of scleractinian corals using age-and size-dependent classifications. Ecol Monogr 61(3):225–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Bak RPM (1983) Neoplasia, regeneration and growth in the reef-building coral Acropora palmata. Mar Biol 77:221–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Bak RPM, Meesters EH (1998) Coral population structure: the hidden information of colony size-frequency distributions. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 162:301–306

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker CG, Loyola RD, Haddad CFB, Zamudio KR (2010) Integrating species life-history traits and patterns of deforestation in amphibian conservation planning. Divers Distrib 16:10–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Bramanti L, Edmunds PJ (2016) Density-associated recruitment mediates coral population dynamics on a coral reef. Coral Reefs 35:543–553

    Google Scholar 

  • Brickner I, Oren U, Frank U, Loya Y (2006) Energy integration between the solitary polyps of the clonal coral Lobophyllia corymbosa. J Exp Biol 209:1690–1695

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chindapol N, Kaandorp JA, Cronemberger C, Mass T, Genin A (2013) Modelling growth and form of the scleractinian coral Pocillopora verrucosa and the influence of hydrodynamics. PLoS Comput Biol 9(1):e1002849

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH, Hughes TP, Wallace CC, Tanner JE, Harms KE, Kerr AM (2004) A long-term study of competition and diversity of corals. Ecol Monogr 74(2):179–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Darling ES, Alvarez-Filip L, Oliver TA, McClanahan TR, Côté IM (2012) Evaluating life-history strategies of reef corals from species traits. Ecol Lett 15:1378–1386

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz-Pulido G, Mc-Cook LJ, Dove S, Berkelmans R, Roff G, Kline DI, Weeks S, Evans RD, Williamson DH, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2009) Doom and boom on a resilient reef: climate change, algal overgrowth and coral recovery. PLoS One 4:e5239

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doropoulos C, Ward S, Roff G, Gonzalez-Rivero M, Mumby PJ (2015) Linking demographic processes of juvenile corals to benthic recovery trajectories in two common reef habitats. PLoS One 10(5):e0128535

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edmunds PJ (2013) Decadal-scale changes in the community structure of coral reefs of St. John, US Virgin Islands. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 489:107–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards CB, Eynaud Y, Williams GJ, Pedersen NE, Zgliczynski BJ, Gleason AC, Smith JE, Sandin SA (2017) Large-area imaging reveals biologically driven non-random spatial patterns of corals at a remote reef. Coral Reefs 36:1291–1305

    Google Scholar 

  • Fong P, Glynn PW (1998) A dynamic size-structured population model: does disturbance control size structure of a population of the massive coral Gardineroseris planulata in the Eastern Pacific? Mar Biol 130(4):663–674

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox MD, Williams GJ, Johnson MD, Radice VZ, Zgliczynski BJ, Kelly EL, Rohwer FL, Sandin SA, Smith JE (2018) Gradients in primary production predict trophic strategies of mixotrophic corals across spatial scales. Curr Biol 28:3355–3363

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fox MD, Carter AL, Edwards CB, Takeshita Y, Johnson MD, Petrovic V, Amir CG, Sala E, Sandin SA, Smith JE (2019) Limited coral mortality following acute thermal stress and widespread bleaching on Palmyra Atoll, central Pacific. Coral Reefs 38:701–712

    Google Scholar 

  • Furby KA, Smith JE, Sandin SA (2017) Porites superfusa mortality and recovery from a bleaching event at Palmyra Atoll, USA. Peer J 1:e3204

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilmour JP, Smith LD, Heyward AJ, Baird AH, Pratchett MS (2013) Recovery of an isolated coral reef system following severe disturbance. Science 340:69–71

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glynn PW, Riegl B, Correa A, Baums IB (2009) Rapid recovery of a coral reef at Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands. Galapagos Res 66:6–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Gove JM, Williams GJ, McManus MA, Clark SJ, Ehses JS, Wedding LM (2015) Coral reef benthic regimes exhibit non-linear threshold responses to natural physical drivers. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 522:33–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Grime JP (1977) Evidence for the existence of three primary strategies in plants and its relevance to ecological and evolutionary theory. Am Nat 111:1169–1194

    Google Scholar 

  • Habib AF, Kim EM, Kim CJ (2007) New methodologies for true orthophoto generation. Photogramm Eng Remote Sensing 73:25–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall VR (1997) Interspecific differences in the regeneration of artificial injuries on scleractinian corals. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 212:9–23

    Google Scholar 

  • He HS, Mladenoff DJ (1999) Spatially explicit and stochastic simulation of forest-landscape fire disturbance and succession. Ecology 80:81–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry LA, Hart M (2005) Regeneration from injury and resource allocation in sponges and corals—a review. Int Rev Hydrobiol 90:125–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Highsmith RC (1982) Reproduction by fragmentation in corals. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 7:207–226

    Google Scholar 

  • Houlbrèque F, Ferrier-Pagès C (2009) Heterotrophy in tropical scleractinian corals. Biol Rev 84:1–17

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • House JE, Brambilla V, Bidaut LM, Christie AP, Pizarro O, Madin JS, Dornelas M (2018) Moving to 3D: relationships between coral planar area, surface area and volume. PeerJ 6:e4280

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP (1984) Population dynamics based on individual size rather than age: a general model with a reef coral example. Am Nat 123:778–795

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP, Connell JH (1987) Population dynamics based on size or age? A reef-coral analysis. Am Nat 129:818–829

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP, Jackson JBC (1980) Do corals lie about their age? Some demographic consequences of partial mortality, fission and fusion. Science 209:713–714

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP, Jackson JBC (1985) Population dynamics and life histories of foliaceous corals. Ecol Monogr 55:141–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP, Tanner JE (2000) Recruitment failure, life histories, and long-term decline of Caribbean corals. Ecology 81(8):2250–2263

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP, Anderson KD, Connolly SR, Heron SF, Kerry JT, Lough JM, Baird AH, Baum JK, Berumen ML, Bridge TC, Claar DC, Eakin CM, Gilmour JP, Graham NA, Harrison H, Hobbs JA, Hoey AS, Hoogenboom M, Lowe RJ, McCulloch MT, Pandolfi JM, Pratchett M, Schoepf V, Torda G, Wilson SK (2018) Spatial and temporal patterns of mass bleaching of corals in the Anthropocene. Science 359:80–83

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson JBC (1977) Competition on marine hard substrata: the adaptive significance of solitary and colonial strategies. Am Nat 111:743–767

    Google Scholar 

  • Knowlton N, Jackson JBC (2008) Shifting baselines, local impacts, and global change on coral reefs. PLoS Biol 6:e54

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lirman D, Gracias NR, Gintert BE, Gleason ACR, Reid RP, Negahdaripour S, Kramer P (2007) Development and application of a video-mosaic survey technology to document the status of coral reef communities. Environ Monit Assess 125:59–73

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe RJ, Falter JL (2015) Oceanic forcing of coral reefs. Ann Rev Mar Sci 7:43–66

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCauley DJ, DeSalles PA, Young HS, Papastamatiou YP, Caselle JE, Deakos MH, Gardner JPA, Garton DW, Collen JD, Micheli F (2014) Reliance of mobile species on sensitive habitats: a case study of manta rays (Manta alfredi) and lagoons. Mar Biol 161:1987–1998

    Google Scholar 

  • Madin JS, Baird AH, Dornelas M, Connolly SR (2014) Mechanical vulnerability explains size-dependent mortality of reef corals. Ecol Lett 17(8):1008–1015

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Madin JS, Baird AH, Baskett ML, Connolly SR, Dornelas MA (2020) Partitioning colony size variation into growth and partial mortality. Biol Lett 16(1):20190727

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mass T, Genin A (2008) Environmental versus intrinsic determination of colony symmetry in the coral Pocillopora verrucosa. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 369:131–137

    Google Scholar 

  • Meesters EH, Bak RP (1995) Age-related deterioration of a physiological function in the branching coral Acropora palmata. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 121:203–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Meesters EH, Wesseling I, Bak RPM (1996) Partial mortality in three species of reef-building corals and the relation with colony morphology. Bull Mar Sci 58:838–852

    Google Scholar 

  • Meesters EH, Wesseling I, Bak RPM (1997) Coral colony tissue damage in six species of reef-building corals: partial mortality in relation with depth and surface area. J Sea Res 37:131–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Naughton P, Edwards C, Petrovic V, Kastner R, Kuester F, Sandin S (2015) Scaling the annotation of subtidal marine habitats. In: Proceedings of the 10th international conference on underwater networks & systems, pp 31

  • Ochwada-Doyle F, Roberts D, Gray C, Barnes L, Haddy J, Fearman J (2012) Characterizing the biological traits and life history of Acanthopagrus (Sparidae) hybrid complexes: implications for conservation and management. J Fish Biol 81:1540–1558

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oren U, Rinkevich B, Loya Y (1997a) Oriented intra-colonial transport of 14C labeled materials during coral regeneration. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 161:117–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Oren U, Benayahu Y, Loya Y (1997b) Effect of lesion size and shape on regeneration of the Red Sea coral Favia favus. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 146:101–107

    Google Scholar 

  • Oren U, Benayahu Y, Lubinevsky H, Loya Y (2001) Colony integration during regeneration in the stony coral Favia favus. Ecology 82:802–813

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen NE, Edwards CB, Eynaud Y, Gleason AC, Smith JE, Sandin SA (2019) The influence of habitat and adults on the spatial distribution of juvenile corals. Ecography 42(10):1703–1713

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrovic V, Vanoni DJ, Richter AM, Levy TE, Kuester F (2014) Visualizing high resolution three-dimensional and two-dimensional data of cultural heritage sites. MAA 14:93–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinzón JH, LaJeunesse TC (2011) Species delimitation of common reef corals in the genus Pocillopora using nucleotide sequence phylogenies, population genetics and symbiosis ecology. Mol Ecol 20:311–325

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pinzón JH, Sampayo E, Cox E, Chauka LJ, Chen CA, Voolstra CR, LaJeunesse TC (2013) Blind to morphology: genetics identifies several widespread ecologically common species and few endemics among Indo-Pacific cauliflower corals (Pocillopora, Scleractinia). J Biogeogr 40:1595–1608

    Google Scholar 

  • Pratchett MS, Anderson KD, Hoogenboom MO, Widman E, Baird AH, Pandolfi JM, Edmunds PJ, Lough JM (2015) Spatial, temporal and taxonomic variation in coral growth—implications for the structure and function of coral reef ecosystems. Oceanogr Mar Biol 53:215–295

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2017) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria

    Google Scholar 

  • Rinkevich B, Loya Y (1986) Senescence and dying signals in a reef building coral. Experientia 42(3):320–322

    Google Scholar 

  • Rinkevich B (1996) Do reproduction and regeneration in damaged corals compete for energy allocation? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 143:297–302

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez-Villalobos JC, Work TM, Calderon-Aguilera LE (2016) Wound repair in Pocillopora. J Invertebr Pathol 139:1–5

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roff G, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Fine M (2006) Intra-colonial response to Acroporid “white syndrome” lesions in tabular Acropora spp. (Scleractinia). Coral Reefs 25(2):255

    Google Scholar 

  • Roff G, Bejarano S, Bozec YM, Nugues M, Steneck RS, Mumby PJ (2014) Porites and the Phoenix effect: unprecedented recovery after a mass coral bleaching event at Rangiroa Atoll, French Polynesia. Mar Biol 161(6):1385–1393

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers JS, Monismith SG, Fringer OB, Koweek DA, Dunbar RB (2017) A coupled wave-hydrodynamic model of an atoll with high friction: mechanisms for flow, connectivity, and ecological implications. Ocean Model (Oxf) 110:66–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandin SA, Smith JE, DeMartini EE, Dinsdale EA, Donner SD, Friedlander AM, Konotchick T, Malay M, Maragos JE, Obura D, Pantos O (2008) Baselines and degradation of coral reefs in the Northern Line Islands. PloS one 3:e1548

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith LD, Gilmour JP, Heyward AJ (2008) Resilience of coral communities on an isolated system of reefs following catastrophic mass-bleaching. Coral Reefs 27(1):197–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Stearns SC (1989) Trade-offs in life-history evolution. Funct Ecol 3:259–268

    Google Scholar 

  • Todd PA (2008) Morphological plasticity in scleractinian corals. Biol Rev 83:315–337

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Traylor-Knowles N (2016) Distinctive wound-healing characteristics in the corals Pocillopora damicornis and Acropora hyacinthus found in two different temperature regimes. Mar Biol 163:231

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vardi T, Williams DE, Sandin SA (2012) Population dynamics of threatened elkhorn coral in the northern Florida Keys, USA. Endanger Species Res 19:157–169

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams GJ, Sandin SA, Zgliczynski BJ, Fox MD, Gove JM, Rogers JS, Furby KA, Hartmann AC, Caldwell ZR, Price NN, Smith JE (2018) Biophysical drivers of coral trophic depth zonation. Mar Biol 165:60

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was made possible through efforts of the 100 Island Challenge and the various organizations that have supported this project. We would like to acknowledge the contributions of Brian Zgliczynski for his assistance in fieldwork. We would also like to thank Calvin Tsang, Kyle Connor, Estefani G Zepeda, and other volunteers for their assistance with image digitization. This is Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium contribution ## PARC-XXXX. Thank-you to The Nature Conservancy and the Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium for logistical support and the United States Fish Wildlife Service for special use permit # 12533-13025 and access to the refuge.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Sho M. Kodera, Clinton B. Edwards, Nicole E. Pedersen, Yoan Eynaud & Stuart A. Sandin

  2. California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Vid Petrovic

Authors
  1. Sho M. Kodera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Clinton B. Edwards
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Vid Petrovic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nicole E. Pedersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yoan Eynaud
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Stuart A. Sandin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sho M. Kodera or Stuart A. Sandin.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Topic Editor Anastazia Banaszak

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 265 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kodera, S.M., Edwards, C.B., Petrovic, V. et al. Quantifying life history demographics of the scleractinian coral genus Pocillopora at Palmyra Atoll. Coral Reefs 39, 1091–1105 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-020-01940-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-020-01940-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation