A Busse Balloon in the Lagoon: Herbivore Behaviour Generates Spatial Patterns in Coral Reef Ecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Spatial processes, particularly scale-dependent feedbacks, may play important and underappreciated roles in the dynamics of bistable ecosystems. For example, self-organised spatial patterns can allow for stable coexistence of alternative states outside regions of bistability, a phenomenon known as a Busse balloon. We used partial differential equations to explore the potential for such dynamics in coral reefs, focusing on how herbivore behaviour and mobility affect the stability of coral- and macroalgal-dominated states. Herbivore attraction to coral resulted in a Busse balloon that enhanced macroalgal resilience, with patterns persisting in regions of parameter space where nonspatial models predict uniform coral dominance. Thus, our work suggests herbivore association with coral (e.g., fo

SUBMITTER: Detmer AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11912107 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature