Population decline and recovery in coral populations
Terry Hughes
Department of Marine Biology
James Cook University, Townsville, Qld. 4811, Australia
Population decline, local extinction and recovery of coral populations are profoundly influenced by variation in their demography and life-history traits (e.g. growth, mortality). Changes in patterns of larval recruitment will also have a major influence on the size of local populations, particularly for short-lived species. I will present an overview of our current knowledge of the role of life histories in determining differing susceptibilities of corals to natural and human impacts. Furthermore, I will argue that understanding the consequences of large scale impacts (e.g. Major bleaching events) requires a better understanding of regional-scale processes. For example, the resilience of coral reefs to global climate change will depend on the scale of larval dispersal, and on the impact of large-scale mortality of adults on stock-recruitment relationships. There is an urgent need to “scale-up” research to address these larger-scale phenomena. I will present new findings on regional-scale (＞1000km) patterns of diversity and abundance, recruitment and reproduction in corals, and discuss their implications for managing reefs into the 21st century.
