Data from: The war of corals: patterns, drivers, and implications of changing coral competitive performances across reef environments

Amidst global environmental changes, predicting species responses to
future environments is a critical challenge for preserving biodiversity
and associated human benefits. We explored the original idea that coral
competitive performances, the ability of corals to preempt ecological
space on the reef through territorial warfare, serve as indicators of
species’ ecological niches and environmental windows, and therefore,
responses to future environments. Our surveys indicated that coral
performances varied with taxonomic-identity, size, and position along
environmental gradients, highlighting complex interplays between
life-history, warfare-strategy, and niche segregation. Our results
forewarn that growing alterations of coastal environments may trigger
shifts in coral dominance, with decline of major reef-building taxa like
acroporids, and underscore the importance of restraining human impacts for
coastal resilience. Our empirical approach untangles the complexity of
species’ battle-like interactions and can help identify winners and losers
in various communities caught in the interplay between ecological niches,
environmental windows, and global changes.