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Exploring patterns of coral ecological niche construction in coral reef ecosystems

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Thesis-Viviana-Brambilla-complete-version.pdf (8.553Mb)
Date
30/11/2021
Author
Brambilla, Viviana
Supervisor
Dornelas, Maria
Funder
Templeton Foundation
Ian Potter Doctoral Fellowship
Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS)
Grant ID
60501
SG396
Metadata
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Abstract
Ecological niche construction is the process through which (i) organisms modify environmental states and (ii) their modifications favour the organisms’ fitness in return. Ecosystem engineers are an obvious class of putative niche constructors since they produce environmental change modulating resource flow within their ecosystems. Corals, a well-established group of autogenic ecosystem engineers, are a prime example of this class since through their own skeletal structures, they create the reef habitats they inhabit. This thesis aims at investigating coral ecological niche construction patterns in coral reef ecosystems. To understand how corals modify the reef environment (i), I show that reef quantitative surface descriptors that measure coral reef engineering affect patterns of light availability among reef habitats (chapter 2). Furthermore, I performed a coral reciprocal transplant experiment to assess to what extent coral could provide diverse habitats through plasticity. I detected that high plasticity in niche-constructing traits results in a higher ability to provide diverse habitats, under different environmental conditions (chapter 3). To understand if coral engineering activity was favourable to their own fitness (ii), I have studied patterns of coral recruitment across differently engineered habitats. I showed an increase in settler presence on artificial tiles deployed in the field along a gradient of coralbuilt structural complexity, measured as surface rugosity (chapter 4). I also showed an increase of juvenile abundance across reefs characterized by small-scale high fractal dimension and large-scale high surface rugosity, both being measures of coral engineering activity (chapter 5). With this thesis I aimed at clarifying the role of corals as ecological niche constructors, enabling a future description of coral niche construction as evolutionary agent.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/383
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Rights
Embargo Date: 2023-06-17
Embargo Reason: Thesis restricted in accordance with University regulations. Restricted until 17th June 2023
Collections
  • Biology Theses
Description of related resources
Coral recruitment patterns at Lizard Island (thesis data) Brambilla, V., University of St Andrews, 15 June 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17630/79cda830-f3f9-4753-96f8-d3b489d1c844
Related resources
https://doi.org/10.17630/79cda830-f3f9-4753-96f8-d3b489d1c844
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/27355

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