Award: OCE-1026851

Research Focus The Moorea Coral Reef Long-Term Ecological Research site (MCR LTER) is an interdisciplinary, landscape-scale program that seeks to (1) advance understanding of the factors that influence the resilience of coral reef ecosystems and (2) to better forecast how coral reef ecosystems will be affected by slowly-changing environmental drivers. The MCR LTER site consists of a coral reef complex that encircles the 37-mile perimeter of the island of Moorea in French Polynesia. Coral reefs are among the most diverse and productive of all ecosystems and have immense ecological, social and economic value. Unfortunately, the world's coral reefs are disappearing at an alarming rate due to the effects of coastal development, over-fishing and multiple factors associated with global climate change. The Moorea Coral Reef LTER works to explore the effects of these external drivers on the fate of coral reefs and advance understanding to enable forecasts of the behavior of coral reef ecosystems. Research Outcomes Moorea Coral Reef LTER researchers found that rapid body and population growth of herbivorous parrotfishes following a major disturbance that killed most coral on the fore reef of Moorea prevented a massive invasion of seaweeds that would have precluded juvenile corals from recolonizing. Young parrotfish first recruit to a nursery coral found in lagoons before moving offshore to the fore reef, which indicates that in addition to preventing over-fishing of key herbivores, protecting their nursery habitat is essential for maintaining reef resilience. While it has long been known that the amount of coral on a reef influences the number and type of fishes present, studies by MCR LTER researchers show that the reverse often is true - the type of fishes present can markedly enhance the amount of coral on a reef. They found that certain corals (acroporids) are more vulnerable to coral predators than others (pocilloporids), which helps explain why persistence and recovery of staghorn acropora, a major habitat for fishes and invertebrates, is governed by a territorial fish that protects its coral host from coral predators. In addition to corals benefiting by protection by fish, other studies revealed that corals grew substantially better when colonized by fishes due to local fertilization by their nitrogenous waste. MCR LTER studies of fish – coral interactions have revealed critical but previously unknown roles that fishes play in the resilience and dynamics of corals. In another Moorea Coral Reef LTER study, researchers found that the more flexible corals are about their algal residents, the more sensitive they are to environmental changes. The patterns show that coral generalists are some of the most environmentally sensitive. The better scientists understand how corals respond to stress, the better we will be able to forecast and manage reef communities. Similarly, MCR scientists found that the response of organisms on tropical reefs to ocean acidification may be species-specific, with some species of corals and coralline algae affected more than others. They also discovered that more acidic oceans may lead to changes in patterns of biodiversity in a high-carbon dioxide world. In addition, Moorea Coral Reef LTER scientists are developing biological models that help scale from genes to the whole community to describe the conditions under which abrupt community shifts from coral to seaweeds can occur and persist, to describe the response of coral to a warmer more acidic ocean, and to evaluate conditions promoting high coral cover in an increasingly disturbed world. Education & Outreach MCR LTER maintains a website designed to inform students and the public about the ocean, coral reefs and the research it conducts. The site's features include the Marine Life of Moorea Encyclopedia, where visitors can learn about the organisms that make up MooreaÆs coral reef ecosystem. The Lesson Plan Library contain...