NDLI: The effects of top–down versus bottom–up control on benthic coral reef community structure

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Smith, Jennifer E. Hunter, Cynthia L. Smith, Celia M.
Copyright Year	2010
Abstract	While climate change and associated increases in sea surface temperature and ocean acidification, are among the most important global stressors to coral reefs, overfishing and nutrient pollution are among the most significant local threats. Here we examined the independent and interactive effects of reduced grazing pressure and nutrient enrichment using settlement tiles on a coral-dominated reef via long-term manipulative experimentation. We found that unique assemblages developed in each treatment combination confirming that both nutrients and herbivores are important drivers of reef community structure. When herbivores were removed, fleshy algae dominated, while crustose coralline algae (CCA) and coral were more abundant when herbivores were present. The effects of fertilization varied depending on herbivore treatment; without herbivores fleshy algae increased in abundance and with herbivores, CCA increased. Coral recruits only persisted in treatments exposed to grazers. Herbivore removal resulted in rapid changes in community structure while there was a lag in response to fertilization. Lastly, re-exposure of communities to natural herbivore populations caused reversals in benthic community trajectories but the effects of fertilization remained for at least 2 months. These results suggest that increasing herbivore populations on degraded reefs may be an effective strategy for restoring ecosystem structure and function and in reversing coral–algal phase-shifts but that this strategy may be most effective in the absence of other confounding disturbances such as nutrient pollution.
Starting Page	497
Ending Page	507
Page Count	11
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00298549
Journal	Oecologia
Volume Number	163
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	14321939
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2010-01-08
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Algae Nutrients Herbivory Phase-shifts Restoration Plant Sciences Ecology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Effects of herbivory, nutrients, and reef protection on algal proliferation and coral growth on a tropical reef

Abiotic stress mediates top-down and bottom-up control in a Southwestern Atlantic salt marsh

Bottom-Up Factors for Algal Productivity Outweigh No-Fishing Marine Protected Area Effects in a Marginal Coral Reef System

A test of trophic cascade theory: fish and benthic assemblages across a predator density gradient on coral reefs

Top-down and bottom-up consequences of unchecked ungulate browsing on plant and animal diversity in temperate forests: lessons from a deer introduction

Why is the world green? The interactions of top–down and bottom–up processes in terrestrial vegetation ecology

Inter-hemispheric comparison of bottom-up effects on community structure: Insights revealed using the comparative-experimental approach

Harmful algae on tropical coral reefs: Bottom-up eutrophication and top-down herbivory

Eiders, nutrients and eagles: Bottom-up and top-down population dynamics in a marine bird_dataset

The effects of top–down versus bottom–up control on benthic coral reef community structure

Similar Documents

Effects of herbivory, nutrients, and reef protection on algal proliferation and coral growth on a tropical reef

Abiotic stress mediates top-down and bottom-up control in a Southwestern Atlantic salt marsh

Bottom-Up Factors for Algal Productivity Outweigh No-Fishing Marine Protected Area Effects in a Marginal Coral Reef System

A test of trophic cascade theory: fish and benthic assemblages across a predator density gradient on coral reefs

Top-down and bottom-up consequences of unchecked ungulate browsing on plant and animal diversity in temperate forests: lessons from a deer introduction

Why is the world green? The interactions of top–down and bottom–up processes in terrestrial vegetation ecology

Inter-hemispheric comparison of bottom-up effects on community structure: Insights revealed using the comparative-experimental approach

Harmful algae on tropical coral reefs: Bottom-up eutrophication and top-down herbivory

Eiders, nutrients and eagles: Bottom-up and top-down population dynamics in a marine bird_dataset

The effects of top–down versus bottom–up control on benthic coral reef community structure