MCR LTER: Coral Reef: Asynchrony in coral community structure contributes to reef‑scale community stability, data for Srednick et al., Nature 2023|珊瑚礁生态数据集|生态稳定性数据集

These data were generated in support of the manuscript: Srednick G, Davis K, and Edmunds P, Nature To evaluate whether spatial insurance effects are important on coral reefs, we explored variation over 2006–2019 in
coral community structure and environmental conditions in Moorea, French Polynesia. We studied coral community structure
at a single site with fringing, back reef, and fore reef habitats, and used this system to explore associations among
community asynchrony, asynchrony of environmental conditions, and community stability. The daily range in seawater
temperature among habitats suggests it could be a factor contributing to the variation in coral community structure.
Wave-forced seawater flow facilitated larval exchange among connected habitats, differing in strength among years, and
accentuated periodic connectivity among habitats at 1-7 year intervals. At this site, connected habitats harboring
taxonomically similar coral assemblages and exhibiting asynchronous population dynamics can provide insurance against
extirpation and may promote community stability. If these effects apply at larger spatial scale, then among-habitat
community asynchrony is likely to play an important role in determining reef-wide coral community resilience. This manuscript uses data collected by the U.S. National Science Foundation's (NSF) Moorea Coral Reef Long Term
Ecological Research (MCR LTER) site under Grant No. OCE 2224354 (and earlier awards). Additional financial support to
the MCR LTER site was provided through a generous gift from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Research was completed
under permits issued by the French Polynesian Government (Délégation à la Recherche) and the Haut-commissariat de
la République en Polynésie Francaise (DTRT) (Protocole d'Accueil 2005-2023).