Natural coral recovery despite negative population growth

Demographic processes that ensure the recovery and resilience of marine populations are critical as climate change sends an increasing proportion on a trajectory of decline. Yet for some populations, recovery potential remains high. We conducted annual monitoring over 9-years (2012–2020) to assess the recovery of coral populations belonging to genus Pocillopora. These populations experienced a catastrophic collapse following a severe typhoon in 2009. From the start of the monitoring period, high initial recruitment led to the establishment of a juvenile population that rapidly transitioned to sexually mature adults, which dominated the population within six years after the disturbance. As a result, coral cover increased from 1.1% to 20.2% during this time. To identify key demographic drivers of recovery and population growth rates (λ), we applied kernel resampled Integral Projection Models (IPMs), constructing eight successive models to examine annual change. IPMs were able to capture r..., Data collection
Orchid Island (22°03′N, 121°32′E) is a 45 km2 volcanic, tropical island 64 km off the coast of Taiwan, encircled by a narrow fringing reef (5–10 m depth), leading to a dramatic drop-off. Such reef topography is sensitive to typhoons that are both frequent and intense in the region (Ribas-Deulofeu et al., 2021). In 2009, the island was severely affected by Typhoon Morakot (Hall et al., 2013), the deadliest typhoon to hit Taiwan in recorded history, which caused a ~66% decline in mean live coral cover (~60% to ~20%) along reefs in southern Taiwan (Kuo et al., 2011).          Three years after this major disturbance in 2012, three parallel 20 m transects were established at ~8 m depth spaced ~2.5 m apart at a site to the southwest of the island (named Green Grassland; 22°00'N 121°34'E). Usually, this reef site is relatively sheltered from both the waves generated by the winter north-easterly monsoon and summer south-westerly winds. However, on this occasion was proven susc..., , # Data from: Natural coral recovery despite negative population growth

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This Mullaetal_2024_dataset_README.txt file was generated on 2023-11-09 by AJM ([[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])).

DOI: 10.5061/dryad.msbcc2g5n

Abstract

Demographic processes that ensure the recovery and resilience of marine populations are critical as climate change sends an increasing proportion on a trajectory of decline. Yet for some populations, recovery potential remains high. We conducted annual monitoring over 9-years (2012–2020) to assess the recovery of coral populations belonging to genus Pocillopora. These populations experienced a catastrophic collapse following a severe typhoon in 2009. From the start of the monitoring period, high initial recruitment led to the establishment of a juvenile population that rapidly transitioned to sexually mature adults, which dominated the population within six years after the disturbance. As a result, coral cover increased from 1.1% to 20.2% during...