Combining agent-based, trait-based and demographic approaches to model coral-community dynamics

The complexity of coral-reef ecosystems makes it challenging to predict their dynamics and resilience under future disturbance regimes. Models for coral-reef dynamics do not adequately account for the high functional diversity exhibited by corals. Models that are ecologically and mechanistically det...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	eLife Vol. 9
Main Authors:	Carturan, Bruno Sylvain, Pither, Jason, Maréchal, Jean-Philippe, Bradshaw, Corey Ja, Parrott, Lael
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England eLife Science Publications, Ltd 23-07-2020 eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
Subjects:	agent-based model Analysis Animals Anthozoa Biodiversity Caribbean Region Computational and Systems Biology coral Coral Reefs Corals Ecology ecosystem functioning Ecosystems functional traits Models, Theoretical Population biology Population Dynamics resilience Tools and Resources Caribbean Region computational biology systems biology ecology agent-based model biodiversity ecosystem functioning coral functional traits resilience
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Summary:	The complexity of coral-reef ecosystems makes it challenging to predict their dynamics and resilience under future disturbance regimes. Models for coral-reef dynamics do not adequately account for the high functional diversity exhibited by corals. Models that are ecologically and mechanistically detailed are therefore required to simulate the ecological processes driving coral reef dynamics. Here, we describe a novel model that includes processes at different spatial scales, and the contribution of species' functional diversity to benthic-community dynamics. We calibrated and validated the model to reproduce observed dynamics using empirical data from Caribbean reefs. The model exhibits realistic community dynamics, and individual population dynamics are ecologically plausible. A global sensitivity analysis revealed that the number of larvae produced locally, and interaction-induced reductions in growth rate are the parameters with the largest influence on community dynamics. The model provides a platform for virtual experiments to explore diversity-functioning relationships in coral reefs.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 These authors contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:	2050-084X 2050-084X
DOI:	10.7554/eLife.55993