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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Evaluating life-history strategies of reef corals from species traits
Ecology Letters, Volume 15, No. 12, Year 2012
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Description
Classifying the biological traits of organisms can test conceptual frameworks of life-history strategies and allow for predictions of how different species may respond to environmental disturbances. We apply a trait-based classification approach to a complex and threatened group of species, scleractinian corals. Using hierarchical clustering and random forests analyses, we identify up to four life-history strategies that appear globally consistent across 143 species of reef corals: competitive, weedy, stress-tolerant and generalist taxa, which are primarily separated by colony morphology, growth rate and reproductive mode. Documented shifts towards stress-tolerant, generalist and weedy species in coral reef communities are consistent with the expected responses of these life-history strategies. Our quantitative trait-based approach to classifying life-history strategies is objective, applicable to any taxa and a powerful tool that can be used to evaluate theories of community ecology and predict the impact of environmental and anthropogenic stressors on species assemblages. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.
Authors & Co-Authors
Darling, Emily S.
Canada, Burnaby
Simon Fraser University
Álvarez-Filip, Lorenzo
Canada, Burnaby
Simon Fraser University
Oliver, Thomas A.
United States, Honolulu
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
McClanahan, Tim R.
United States, New York
Wildlife Conservation Society
Côté, Isabelle M.
Canada, Burnaby
Simon Fraser University
Statistics
Citations: 542
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01861.x
ISSN:
1461023X
Research Areas
Sexual And Reproductive Health
Study Approach
Quantitative