Density-dependent coral recruitment displays divergent responses during distinct early life-history stages.

ABSTRACT: Population growth involves demographic bottlenecks that regulate recruitment success during various early life-history stages. The success of each early life-history stage can vary in response to population density, interacting with intrinsic (e.g. behavioural) and environmental (e.g. competition, predation) factors. Here, we used the common reef-building coral Acropora millepora to investigate how density-dependence influences larval survival and settlement in laboratory experiments that isolated intrinsic effects, and post-settlement survival in a field experiment that examined interactions with environmental factors. Larval survival was exceptionally high (greater than 80%) and density-independent from 2.5 to 12 days following spawning. By contrast, there was a weak positive effe

SUBMITTER: Doropoulos C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5451816 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature