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Colonies of the fire coral Millepora platyphylla constitute scleractinian survival oases during Acanthaster outbreaks in French Polynesia

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Abstract

Outbreaks of the predator crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci cause widespread coral mortality throughout the Indo-Pacific. Identifying mediating processes that promote coral survival during Acanthaster outbreaks can help support reef resilience. During surveys in French Polynesia, large colonies of the calcifying hydrozoan Millepora platyphylla appeared to be avoided by the starfish, providing predator-free sanctuaries to scleractinian corals in their proximity during an intense Acanthaster outbreak. Such refuges particularly benefited susceptible taxa such as Acropora and Pocillopora, whose populations were normally targeted by the starfish. These biological sanctuaries provided by Millepora to scleractinians are newly identified forms of associational refuges that can increase coral resistance to predation by Acanthaster. Our observations thus identify a key ecological role in reef resilience for Millepora, which is a ubiquitous component of tropical reefs usually seen as a strong competitor of scleractinians.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Hannah Lewis and three anonymous reviewers for improvements on the manuscript. MK was supported by a grant from the Walter-Zellidja Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-5131, USA

    Mohsen Kayal

  2. Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20560, USA

    Ehsan Kayal

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  1. Mohsen Kayal
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  2. Ehsan Kayal
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Correspondence to Mohsen Kayal.

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Communicated by B. W. Hoeksema

This article is registered in ZooBank under urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub443B4F42-FB13-42A6-B92B-1B0F835698A9

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Kayal, M., Kayal, E. Colonies of the fire coral Millepora platyphylla constitute scleractinian survival oases during Acanthaster outbreaks in French Polynesia. Mar Biodiv 47, 255–258 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-016-0465-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-016-0465-6

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