CRB: Patterns of Recruitment, Early Growth and Survivorshipof two Opportunistic Corals, Pocillopora verrucosa and P. eydouxi, on a Disturbed Coral Reef.

在充分了解群落动态和结构之前，必须阐明有利于无根植物和动物在新地区成功殖民的条件。本研究调查了可能影响两种机会珊瑚——疣状囊孢和P. eydouxi——在受干扰的珊瑚礁环境中重新定居的人口统计模式、早期生长和生存的生境特异性因素。通过实地调查和操纵实验，评估与丝状和肉质藻类的竞争以及保护珊瑚免受食草动物的侵害对珊瑚和幼珊瑚分布和生存的重要性。将为礁后和礁前生境的三种斑块类型（丝状藻类高覆盖的地区、肉质藻类高密度的地区、大量放牧和甲壳藻类高覆盖的地区）确定生境特定的人口统计参数。珊瑚礁是世界海洋中极其重要的栖息地。这是第一次研究受干扰的珊瑚礁的重新定殖，以强调景观的马赛克性质对年轻珊瑚的建立和生长的作用。在受到干扰或退化的珊瑚礁上，藻类覆盖是一个重要的变量，它可能影响硬珊瑚群落的恢复。了解这种相互作用和群落恢复的潜在过程对珊瑚礁系统的管理和保护至关重要。

The conditions that favor successful colonization of new areas by sessile plants and animals must be elucidated before community dynamics and structure can be fully understood. This study investigates habitat-specific factors that potentially affect the demographic patterns of recruitment, early growth, and survivorship of two species of opportunistic corals, Pocillopora verrucosa and P. eydouxi, that are recolonizing a disturbed coral reef environment. The importance of competition with filamentous and fleshy algae and protection from grazers on the distribution and survivorship of coral spat and young corals will be assessed with field surveys and manipulative experiments. Habitat- specific demographic parameters will be determined for three patch types (areas of high cover of filamentous algae, areas with high density of fleshy algae, and areas of heavy grazing and high cover of crustose algae) in both back-reef and fore-reef habitats. Coral reefs are extremely important habitats in the world's oceans. This is the first study of recolonization of a disturbed reef to emphasize the role of the mosaic nature of the landscape on establishment and growth of young corals. Algal cover is an important variable on disturbed or degraded reefs that may affect recovery of the hard coral community. Understanding this interaction and the underlying processes in community recovery is essential for management and conservation of coral reef systems.