Computer modeling aims to inform restoration, conservation of coral reefs
A UBCO researcher has created a modeling program that can help scientists plan for the restoration and conservation of coral reefs affected by climate change. Credit: Jean-Philippe Maréchal.
The UBC Okanagan research team has created a computer modeling program to help scientists predict the impact of climate damage and eventual restoration plans on coral reefs around the world.
This is an important goal, said Dr. Bruno Carturan, because climate change kills many coral species and can cause the collapse of entire coral reef ecosystems. However, being so complex, it is logistically difficult to study the impacts of coral reef destruction and regeneration.
Real-world experiments are impractical, as researchers need to manipulate and disrupt large areas of reef, along with coral colonies and herbivorous populations, and then monitor changes in structure and diversity over the years.
“Needless to say, conducting experiments that would disrupt natural coral reefs is unethical and should be avoided, while using large aquariums is simply not feasible,” said Dr. Carturan, who recently completed his doctoral studies at the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science. “For this reason, no such experiment has ever been conducted, which has hampered our ability to predict coral diversity and reef-related resilience.”
For his latest research, published recently in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Dr. Carturan used the model to create 245 coral communities, each with a unique assemblage of nine species and each occupying a surface area of 25 square meters. The model represents colonies of different corals and algae species that grow, compete, and reproduce together while also being influenced by climate.
Most importantly, he noted, all key components of the model, including species traits such as competitiveness and growth rates, were informed by pre-existing real-world data from 800 species.
The research team simulated a variety of scenarios—including strong waves, hurricanes, or intense heat—and then measured the resilience of each reef model by recording damage, recovery time, and habitat quality 10 years after the disturbance.
By running multiple scenarios with computer modelling, the team found that the more diverse communities—those whose species had very different traits—were the most resilient. They are better at recovering from damage and have better habitat quality 10 years after disturbance.
“More diverse communities tend to have specific species that are critical for resilience,” explains Dr. Carturan. “These species have special characteristics—they are morphologically complex, competitive and with good capacity to recover. When present in a community, these species maintain or even improve habitat quality after disturbance. In contrast, communities without these species are often dominated by harmful algae in the end.”
Coral diversity determines the future strength and health of coral reefs, he added. Coral species are the foundation of coral reef ecosystems because their colonies form the physical habitat in which thousands of fish and crustaceans live. Among them are herbivores, such as parrotfish and surgeonfish, which maintain coral habitats by feeding on algae. Without herbivores, algae would kill many coral colonies, causing coral habitat to collapse, destroying large populations.
“What’s unique about our study is that our results apply to most of the world’s coral communities. By measuring the effects of diversity on resilience in more than 245 different coral communities, the ranges of diversity likely overlap with the actual coral diversity found on most reefs. .”
At the same time, this research provides a framework for successfully managing these ecosystems and aiding coral reef restoration by revealing how the resilience of coral communities can be managed by establishing colonies of species with complementary traits.
Going forward, there are other questions that the model can answer. For example, coral species vital to resilience are also most affected by climate change and may not be able to recover if strong climatic heatwaves become too frequent.
“It is a very real and sad conclusion that one day we may lose this important species,” said Dr. Carturan. “Our model can be used to experiment and perhaps determine whether the loss of this species could be compensated for by some other, more resilient species, which would prevent the eventual collapse of the reef.”
Researchers use computer modeling to predict coral reef health
Bruno S. Carturan et al, Functional Wealth and Resilience in Coral Reef Communities, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (2022). DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.780406
Provided by the University of British Columbia
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