Computational Ecology Group
![Coral reef disturbance
Reef corals build physical structures that provide essential ecosystem functions for reef communities, including substrate for recruiting animals, protection from predators, and shelter from disturbances. Growing most successfully in shallow tropical waters, corals are continually exposed to hydrodynamic forces produced by surface waves and intermittently bombarded by severe tropical storms. Tropical storms are projected to become more intense according to some climate models. Furthermore, reef carbonate materials (skeleton; substrate) are expected to become weaker due to ocean acidification. The ecological consequences for coral assemblage structure are likely to be considerable. Although many processes determine the ecological distribution of corals (e.g., competition and recruitment), they operate within physical constraints determined by engineering principles. The group’s coral reef disturbance program focuses on investigating the various relationships between these physical constraints and the physical and biological structure of the reef community. Through our research we aim to provide a solid basis upon which scientists and managers can forecast effects of severe disturbances on coral reef communities (e.g., cyclones and tsunamis), including those which are driven or exacerbated by global climate change.
CE Group Publications
J. S. Madin and S. R. Connolly. 2006. Ecological consequences of major hydrodynamic disturbances on coral reefs. Nature 444:477-480. [link]
We developed and tested a theory to quantitatively predict the damage to reef coral assemblages during hydrodynamic disturbances. This work provides a mechanistic basis for projecting how effects of hydrodynamic disturbances vary with disturbance magnitude, as well as with the size and shape of coral colonies, providing essential information for the management of tropical reef systems.
J. S. Madin, K. P. Black and S. R. Connolly. 2006. Scaling water motion on coral reefs: from regional to organismal scales. Coral Reefs 25:635-644. [link]
We used an historic record of hourly wind conditions and two field-calibrated models to hindcast 37 years of hourly wave-driven water motion spatially on a coral reef platform. The resulting field-validated model of spatiotemporal variation in water motion provides a framework for quantitatively mapping, for the first time, the physiological and biomechanical tolerances of organisms onto real reefscapes.
J. S. Madin. 2005. Mechanical limitations of reef corals during hydrodynamic disturbances. Coral Reefs 24:630-635. [link]
I used a classical engineering approach combined with field and laboratory measurements of coral skeleton and reef substrate strength to demonstrate likely consequences for coral colonies when pushed to their mechanical limits by water motion.](research_coral_reef_files/shapeimage_1.png)
