Based on field experiments in Moorea, French Polynesia, researchers report that in certain coral reefs, more intense herbivory was required to remove established seaweed than to prevent seaweed from becoming established, and that seaweed-dominated patch reefs were resilient to moderate disturbances, suggesting that either coral- or seaweed-dominant states can be stable under identical environmental conditions, and that preventing shifts to seaweeds should be a focus of reef management.
Article #18-12412: "Experimental support for alternative attractors on coral reefs," by Russell J. Schmitt, Sally J. Holbrook, Samantha L. Davis, Andrew J. Brooks, and Thomas C. Adam.
MEDIA CONTACT: Russell J. Schmitt, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA; tel: 805-893-2051, 805-637-5871; e-mail: russellschmitt@ucsb.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences