Seawater chlorophyll concentration offshore from Moorea, French Polynesia from 2008 to 2020

Data Abstract:

Seawater chlorophyll concentration (mg/m3) offshore from Moorea, French Polynesia from 2008 to 2020.

Results paper abstract, Edmunds et al. (2024, doi:10.1007/s00442-024-05517-y):
* [See \"Related Datasets\" section for access to related datasets discussed here]

Understanding population dynamics is a long-standing objective of ecology, but the need for progress in this area has become urgent. For coral reefs, achieving this objective is impeded by a lack of information on settlement versus post-settlement events in determining recruitment and population size. Declines in coral abundance are often inferred to be associated with reduced densities of recruits, which could arise from mechanisms occurring at larval settlement, or throughout post-settlement stages. This study uses annual measurements from 2008 to 2021 of coral cover, the density of coral settlers (S), the density of small corals (SC), and environmental conditions, to evaluate the roles of settlement versus post-settlement events in determining rates of coral recruitment and changes in coral cover at Moorea, French Polynesia. Coral cover, S, SC, and the SC:S ratio (a proxy for post-settlement success), and environmental conditions, were used in generalized additive models (GAMs) to show that: (a) coral cover was more strongly related to SC and SC:S than S, and (b) SC:S was highest when preceded by cool seawater, low concentrations of Chlorophyll a, and low flow speeds, and S showed evidence of declining with elevated temperature. Together, these results suggest that changes in coral cover in Moorea are more strongly influenced by post-settlement events than settlement. The key to understanding coral community resilience may lie in elucidating the factors attenuating the bottleneck between settlers and small corals.

数据摘要：
法属波利尼西亚茉莉雅岛近岸海域2008年至2020年的海水叶绿素浓度（mg/m³）。

相关研究论文摘要（Edmunds等，2024，DOI:10.1007/s00442-024-05517-y）：
* 如需获取本文提及的相关数据集，请参阅「相关数据集」章节

种群动态解析是生态学领域长期以来的核心目标之一，而该领域的研究突破需求已愈发迫切。对于珊瑚礁生态系统而言，明确定居与定居后过程对珊瑚补充量及种群规模的调控作用时存在信息缺失，这一障碍阻碍了上述目标的实现。珊瑚丰度的下降通常被认为与补充个体密度降低相关，而这种密度降低可能源于幼虫定居阶段或整个定居后阶段的多种调控机制。

本研究基于法属波利尼西亚茉莉雅岛2008年至2021年的年度监测数据，包括珊瑚盖度、珊瑚定居个体密度（记为S）、小型珊瑚密度（记为SC）及环境条件，旨在解析定居与定居后过程在调控珊瑚补充速率与珊瑚盖度变化中的作用。本研究通过广义可加模型（Generalized Additive Models, GAMs）分析珊瑚盖度、S、SC、SC:S比值（作为定居后存活率的替代指标）及环境条件的数据，得到以下结论：(a) 珊瑚盖度与SC及SC:S比值的相关性显著强于其与S的相关性；(b) 当海域前期出现低温、低叶绿素a（Chlorophyll a）浓度与低流速时，SC:S比值达到最高；同时S随水温升高呈现下降趋势。

综合上述结果可知，茉莉雅岛的珊瑚盖度变化受定居后过程的调控作用显著强于定居过程。解析调控定居个体与小型珊瑚之间瓶颈效应的关键因素，或是理解珊瑚群落恢复力的核心所在。