Mr Christopher Cooney1, Dr Ezequiel Marzinelli1,2, Dr Will Figueira1, Dr Brigitte Sommer1,2
1School of life and Environmental sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 2School of life sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 3Singapore centre for environmental life sciences engineering, Nanyang Technological University, , Singapore
Competition and facilitation for space on reefs is a well described occurrence amongst marine benthic organisms. As reef forming species ranges-shift under climate change, unique inter-species interactions between resident and vagrant species are expected to increase. But how these interactions influence the success of range expanding species and the novel systems they form is unknown. Here, using photogrammetry tools, we explore the spatial dynamics of the subtropical endemic coral Pocillopora aliciae in relation to resident benthic species to determine the location and spatial organisation of P. aliciae recruitment. Positive. With corals, there are strong intra and inter-species interactions that can determine distributions of species along reef substrata. In the case of Pocillopora aliciae, a subtropical endemic coral species expanding its range along the NSW coastline, initial data indicate strong links between the spatial distribution of sea urchins, cover of crustose coralline algae (CCA), resident kelp Ecklonia radiata and the abundance and spatial distribution of juvenile P. aliciae. and negative associations between key benthic flora and fauna drive the locality of and distribution of the subtropical endemic coral. Identifying the influence of resident taxa on the composition of P. aliciae will provide vital information regarding the future composition of temperate reefs on the NSW coastline.
Presentation Slides – Christopher Cooney
Biography:
PhD student from the integrated marine biology lab at the University of Sydney. Interested in coral physiology and interspecies interactions in extreme environments and under tropicalisation.
