Exploring patterns of coral ecological niche construction in coral reef ecosystems
Date
30/11/2021Author
Supervisor
Funder
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.
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
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-d3b489d1c844Related resources
https://doi.org/10.17630/79cda830-f3f9-4753-96f8-d3b489d1c844Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.