These data describe the percent cover of benthic space holders (primarily algae), the biomass of algae and sediment, and the number of corals recruiting on 15 cm X 15 cm terra cota tiles experimentally manipulated on the forereef on the north shore of Moorea. The experiment was established to test whether and how different levels of grazing influence benthic community development. Five treatments were initially established to create a gradient in grazing pressure with a sixth treatment established shortly thereafter. Each treatment was replicated ten times using a randomized block design.

These data describe bite rates of two abundant species of roving herbivorous fishes found on the forereef, Chlorurus sordidus (Scaridae), and Ctenochaetus striatus (Acanthuridae). During several days in July and August 2010, a SCUBA diver followed individual focal fish for a period of up to 5 minutes and recorded the number of bites taken as well the types of substrates bitten. Upon randomly locating a focal individual, divers estimated the total length of that individual as well as their depth at the initiation (and termination) of the observation. Data are organized in two data tables.

These reference data document the maximum length, length to weight conversion parameters, trophic status, and items consumed for fish species observed in the Annual Fish Survey Time-series core data set (knb-lter-mcr.6). With knb-lter-mcr.6, these data enable the investigation of temporal trends in the biomass of taxa as well as the abundance and biomass of different trophic groups. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE 16-37396 (and earlier awards) as well as a generous gift from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

This data package contains a dataset generated using image AI-assisted image segmentation of live and dead corals within ortho-photomosaics of benthic reef habitat on the North shore fore reef of Moorea, French Polynesia. The orthophotomosaics were produced through a rigorous method of underwater photogrammetry that allowed for spatial and temporal co-registration of ortho-photomosaics of the same location over time (for full photogrammetric methods, see Nocerino et al. 2020: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12183036). Using the image segmentation software, TagLab (see Pavoni et al.

These data were generated in support of the manuscript: Srednick G, Davis K, and Edmunds P, Nature To evaluate whether spatial insurance effects are important on coral reefs, we explored variation over 2006–2019 in coral community structure and environmental conditions in Moorea, French Polynesia. We studied coral community structure at a single site with fringing, back reef, and fore reef habitats, and used this system to explore associations among community asynchrony, asynchrony of environmental conditions, and community stability.

These data were generated in support of the manuscript: Adam TC, Holbrook SJ, Burkepile DE, Speare KE, Brooks AJ, Ladd MC, Shantz AA, Thurber RLV, and Schmitt RJ, Ecology The outcomes of species interactions can vary greatly in time and space with the outcomes of some interactions determined by priority effects. On coral reefs, benthic algae rapidly colonize the disturbed substrate. In the absence of top-down control from herbivorous fishes, these algae can inhibit the recruitment of reef-building corals, leading to a persistent phase shift to a macroalgae-dominated state.

Species loss threatens ecosystems worldwide, but the ecological processes and thresholds that underpin positive biodiversity effects among critically important foundation species, such as corals on tropical reefs, remain inadequately understood. In field experiments, we manipulated coral species richness and intraspecific density to test whether, and how, biodiversity affects coral productivity and survival. Corals performed better in mixed species assemblages.

These data, looking at coral recruitment were collected in Moorea, French Polynesia, measured over 13 years, and tested for associations with environmental conditions. Recruitment of spawning pocilloporid corals was recorded using settlement tiles immersed for ~ 6 months at 10 m and 17 m depth, biannually, and the environment was quantified through seawater clarity (Kd490), surface and bottom flow speeds, coral cover, and temperature. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No.

Growth was measured every two to four months following collection of genotypes of the coral Porites lobata and P. lutea from the back reef of Mo'orea, French Polynesia, in 2018. Measurements include size, bouyant weight, biomass and environment conditions. These data support a manuscript submitted by P. Edmunds and H. Putnam in 2020 to Royal Society Biology Letters titled 'Science-based approach to using growth rate to assess coral performance and restoration outcomes'. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No.

This dataset contains allometry measurements on corals in tanks conditioned to simulate varied carbon dioxide partial pressure to test how coral colony size modulates PCO2 and temperature sensitivity in a branching acroporid. Data for Figure 1 in a manuscript submitted by P. Edmunds and S. Burgess to J of Experimental Biology in 2020 titled 'Emergent properties of branching morphologies modulate the sensitivity of coral calcification to high PCO2' This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No.

This archive contains natural coral reef topography data from the northern coast of Mo’orea, French Polynesia. These data were used to compute reef roughness density using obstacle- and surface-based estimates and models, and to compare the two approaches for representing reef topography. Primary support for this product came from the National Science Foundation Physical Oceanography program (OCE-1435530 and OCE-1435133), and as well as Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S.

This dataset contains data in support of Edmunds, P.J., S.S. Doo, R.C. Carpenter, 'Changes in coral reef community structure in response to year-long incubations under contrasting pCO2 regimes', Marine Biology, 2019, doi:10.1007/s00227-019-3540-2. Here, the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on back reef communities from Mo'orea, French Polynesia (17.492S, 149.826W), were tested from 12 November 2015 to 16 November 2016 in outdoor flumes maintained at various mean pCO2 levels.

Ecological theory predicts that ecosystems with multiple basins of attraction can get locked in an undesired state, which has profound ecological and management implications. Despite their significance, alternative attractors have proven to be challenging to detect and characterize in natural communities. On coral reefs, it has been hypothesized that persistent coral-to-macroalgae ‘phase shifts’ that can result from overfishing of herbivores and/or nutrient enrichment may reflect a regime shift to an alternate attractor, but to date the evidence has been equivocal.

Stable between-group differences in collective behavior have been documented in a variety of social taxa. Here we evaluate the effects of such variation, often termed collective or colony-level personality, on coral recovery in a tropical marine farmerfish system. Groups of the farmerfish Stegastes nigricans cultivate and defend gardens of palatable algae on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific. These gardens can promote the recruitment, growth, and survival of corals by providing a refuge from coral predation.

These data report the number of Pocilloporid, Acroporid and Poritiid corals recruiting annually to permanent 5 m X 5 m plots established at a depth of approximately 10 m on the forereef of Moorea, French Polynesia. Plots were established following an outbreak (2007-2010) of the corallivorous crown-of-thorns seastars (Acanthaster planci) and the close passage of Cyclone Oli to Moorea in February, 2010.