anemonefish species, Premnas biaculeatus and Amphiprion melanopus, among the 2

is usually occupied by a single pair of P. biaculeatus and a colonial morph which is usually occupied by

large social groups of A. melanopus. The possibility that interspecific competition, and/or preference of

adults of each species of fish for the anemone morph it usually occupies, determines this distribution

was tested using aquarium based expenments. Adults of one species. A. melanopus, displayed a preference for the anemone morph it usually occupies in the field, but P. biaculeatus did not. Instead, P.

biaculeatus pairs tended to associate closely, always occupying the Same anemone regardless of the

morph chosen. While interspecific competition lirnited fish abundance within anemones, competitive

interactions could not explain the distribution of fish species among anernone morphs. That is, neither

fish species displaced the other more often on the anemone morph it usuaily occupies in the field. While

juvenile P. biaculeatus exhibit some preference for solitary morphs and A. melanopus appear to prefer

colonial morphs, juvenile distributions cannot fully explain the distnbution of adults.
Sulman, B. N., et al. (2012), Impact of hydrological variations on modeling of peatland CO2 fluxes: Results

from the North American Carbon Program site synthesis. J. Geophys. Res., 117.

the long-term accumulation of organic matter in peat soils [Gorham, 1991; Turunen et al., 2002]. These carbon pools

are vulnerable to changes in hydrology, which could cause climate feedbacks. Because ecosystem respiration and productivity can have opposite responses to hydrological change, the direction of the net carbon flux response can be unclear.
Swan, H.B., Jones, G.B., Deschaseaux, E. (2012). Dimethylsulfide, Climate and Coral Reef Ecosystems. Proceedings of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia, 9-13, 4A.
Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is the major biogenic source of atmospheric sulfur and is mainly derived from dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) produced by oceanic phytoplankton, marine algae and endosymbiont

zooxanthellae in reef-building corals. Although coral reefs occupy <1% of the global oceans, the potential

source strength of DMS from these areas was found to be significant in comparison to other oceanic areas. In

this study, healthy nubbins of Acropora valida and Acropora pulchra collected at Heron Island were examined

to assess the source strength of DMS from these common coral species. Total DMS (free DMS and DMSPderived

DMS) measured in these corals was on average 3.6 μmol cm-2 surface area. Sediment from the coral reef flat was found to release ~1000 times less DMS than the Acropora corals when compared by weight. Megatonnes of DMS are released from the oceans to the atmosphere annually, where it is oxidised to contribute to new nanoparticles that can lead to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). These affect cloud microphysical properties and consequently the Earth’s radiation budget and climate. The results suggest emissions of DMS from coral reefs are significant and may affect regional climate. Notably strong DMS plumes of up to 13 nmol m-3 of air were detected above the coral reef flat during low tide when it was exposed at the end of the day under calm conditions. A seasonal comparison of atmospheric DMS concentrations determined at Heron Island with a temperate marine location showed the reef to be a greater source of DMS.

While coral reefs in many parts of the world are in decline as a direct consequence of human pressures, Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is unusual in that direct human pressures are low and the entire system of 2,900 reefs has been managed as a marine park since the 1980s. In spite of these advantages, standard annual surveys of a large number of reefs showed that from 1986 to 2004, average live coral cover across the GBR declined from 28 to 22%. This overall decline was mainly due to large losses in six (21%) of 29 subregions. Declines in live coral cover on reefs in two inshore subregions coincided with thermal bleaching in 1998, while declines in four mid-self subregions were due to outbreaks of predatory starfish. Otherwise, living coral cover increased in one subregion (3%) and 22 subregions (76%) showed no substantial change. Reefs in the great majority of subregions showed cycles of decline and recovery over the survey period, but with little synchrony among subregions. Two previous studies examined long-term changes in live coral cover on GBR reefs using meta-analyses including historical data from before the mid-1980s. Both found greater rates of loss of coral and recorded a marked decrease in living coral cover on the GBR in 1986, coinciding exactly with the start of large-scale monitoring. We argue that much of the apparent long-term decrease results from combining data from selective, sparse, small-scale studies before 1986 with data from both small-scale studies and large-scale monitoring surveys after that date. The GBR has clearly been changed by human activities and live coral cover has declined overall, but losses of coral in the past 40–50 years have probably been overestimated.

A study was conducted of the recruitment of reef fishes isolated to standard-sized coral colonies supporting residents of four planktivorous fishes.

T.R.McClanahan, N.A.J.Grahm, J.M.Calnan, & M.A.MacNeil (2007). Toward pristine biomass: reef fish recovery in coral reef marine protected areas in Kenya. Ecological Applications, 17.

Takamoto, G., Seki, S., Nakashima, Y., Karino, K., & Kuwamura, T. (2003). Protogynous sex change in the haremic triggerfish Sufflamen chrysopterus (Tetraodontiformes). Ichthyological Research, 50, 281-283.

Male removal experiments were performed on haremic triggerfish on the coral reefs of Sesoko Island, Okinawa.

Talbot, F. H., Russell, B. C., & Anderson, G. R. V. (1978). Coral reef fish communities, unstable, high diversity systems. Ecological Monographs, 48, 425-440.

Looe Key, Florida. Proceedings of the Seventh International Coral Reef Symposium, Guam, 2.

cycles. Systematic observations of 206 divers revealed that the average diver touched or finned living coral 10 times per dive trip. Comparisons of frequency and area of coral tissue touched to the amount of live coral cover in high

use areas indicate that 4-6% of the corals are touched each week by the dive population.
Taviani, M., M. pez Correa, H. Zibrowius, P. Montagna, M. McCulloch, and M. Ligi. 2007. Last glacial deep-water corals from the Red Sea. Bulletin of Marine Science 81(3): 361-370.

The present Red Sea deep-sea benthos appears impoverished with respect to the adjacent Indian mother-ocean as a result of severe filters, represented by an extremely shallow sill, high salinity, and high temperature. Today, the Red Sea basin hosts a still poorly known deep-water coral fauna of Indian Ocean affinity. During the Pleistocene, conditions were at times suitable as proven by the findings of last glacial corals (Javania insignis Duncan, 1876, and Trochocyathus virgatus sensu Marenzeller, 1907 (not Alcock, 1902), and, possibly, Guynia annulata Duncan, 1872) from seamounts in the north-central part of the basin. A subfossil J. insignis from the Coral Sea peak has been U-series-dated at 26,590 ± 120 yrs. This represents the first documentation regarding the presence of deep-water corals in the Red Sea during the late Pleistocene and predates the postulated basin-wide extinction of normal marine biota that took place at the Last Glacial Maximum.

We provide a detailed description of growth zone counts at two locations in the skeletal structure of four bamboo coral colonies (Family Isididae, sub-family Keratoisidinae, genera Lepidisis spp. and Keratoisis sp. from New Zealand). Zone counts were made microscopically on skeletal cross-sections of calcareous internodes

Thayer, G. W., Murphey, P. L., & LaCroix, M. W. (1994). Responses of plant communities in western Florida Bay to the die-off of seagrasses. Bulletin of Marine Science, 54.

Thiel, H. 2007. Science Priority Areas on the high seas. Bulletin of Marine Science 81(Supplement 1): 31-38.

The establishment of Science Priority Areas (SPAs) on the high seas is proposed to avoid any disturbance particularly of long-term research activities. Such areas should become management units independent from Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). SPAs are consistent with the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention and should not be subordinated within the framework of The World Conservation Union's (IUCN) categories for MPAs. Scientists need to become stakeholders in their own interest and states should establish SPAs through international cooperation.

We describe a new technique for transgenerational marking of embryonic otoliths that promises significant advancements in the study of larval dispersal and population connectivity in marine fishes. The approach is based on maternal transmission of ¹³⁷Ba from spawning females to egg material that is ultimately incorporated into the otoliths of embryos produced by an individual after exposure to the isotope. We injected females of a benthic-spawning clownfish (Amphiprion melanopus) and a pelagic-spawning serranid (Centropristis striata) with enriched ¹³⁷BaCl₂ and then reared the resulting progeny through to settlement. Barium isotope ratios in the cores of larval otoliths were quantified using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Larval otoliths from both species contained unequivocal Ba isotope signatures over a wide range of doses (0.8–23 µg ¹³⁷Ba·g female^–1). Female A. melanopus continued to produce marked larvae over multiple clutches and for at least 90 days after a single injection. The ability to administer different combinations of stable Ba isotopes provides a new means of mass-marking larvae of benthic- and pelagic-spawning fishes from multiple populations over extended spawning periods.

New research that combines ocean circulation and genetic models to predict population structure of corals will help conservation efforts in tropical reef ecosystems. Copyright 2006 Elsevier Copyright of Current Biology is the property of Cell Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts) New research that combines ocean circulation and genetic models to predict population structure of corals will help conservation efforts in tropical reef ecosystems.

Thresher, R. E., C. M. MacRae, N. C. Wilson, and R. Gurney. 2007. Environmental effects on the skeletal composition of deep-water gorgonians (Keratoisis Spp.; Isididae). Bulletin of Marine Science 81(3):

409-422.

We test for environmental effects on the elemental composition of the calcite skeleton of Keratoisis spp. by first assessing the reliability and reproducibility of ontogenetic variability as measured using electron probe microanalysis, and then by comparing this variability between specimens collected from the same and different sites off Australia and New Zealand. The data indicate good, but not perfect reproducibility of gross patterning at whole-of-life (centuries) and annual to decadal scales in Keratoisis (and an allied genus Lepidisis) for magnesium, strontium, and calcium, but also high levels of small-scale variability and correlation coefficients that were generally low. Poor reproducability even within specimens could reflect vital effects that vary around the perimeter of the coral, but could also reflect artifacts due to specimen preparation, uneven radial growth rates, and instrumental measurement error. Gross patterning of magnesium and, to a lesser extent, calcium is similar in specimens from the same site, but differs between those from different sites, which is consistent with an environmental effect on composition. Use of strontium as an environmental marker appears to be more problematical. Within specimens, ontogenetic variability of magnesium, strontium, and calcium correlate weakly, which probably reflects a common sensitivity to growth rates and temperatures.

photosynthate translocation in a coral–dinoflagellates symbiosis. Biogeosciences Discuss., 10, 83–109.

coral species and is therefore an important process that may determine their survival under climate change scenarios. Nubbins of S. pistillata were maintained for six months under two pHs (8.1 and 7.2). Rates of photosynthesis and respiration of the symbiotic association and of isolated symbionts were assessed at each pH. The fate

10 of 13C-photosynthates was then followed in the symbionts and the coral host for 48 h. Nubbins maintained at pH 7.2 presented a lower areal symbiont concentration, lower areal rates of gross photosynthesis, and lower carbon incorporation rates compared to nubbins maintained at pH 8.1, therefore suggesting that the total carbon acquisition

was lower in this first set of nubbins. However, the total percentage of carbon translo15 cated to the host, as well as the amount of carbon translocated per symbiont cell was significantly higher under pH 7.2 than under pH 8.1 (70% at pH 7.2 versus 60% at pH 8.1), so that the total amount of photosynthetic carbon received by the coral host

was equivalent under both pHs (5.5 to 6.1 μgCcm−2 h−1). Although the carbon budget of the host was unchanged, symbionts acquired less carbon for their own needs (0.6 20 against 1.8 μgCcm−2 h−1), explaining the overall decrease in symbiont concentration at low pH. In the long-term, this decrease might have important consequences for the survival of corals under an acidification stress.

van Hooidonk, R., Maynard,J.A., Planes, S. (2013). Temporary refugia for coral reefs in a warming world. Nature Climate Change.1-4.

later than the median. Some of these temporary refugia include the western Indian Ocean, Thailand, the southern

Great Barrier Reef and central French Polynesia. A reduction in the growth of greenhouse-gas emissions corresponding to the difference between RCP 8.5 and 6.0 delays annual bleaching in _23% of reef cells more than two decades, which might conceivably increase the potential for these reefs to cope with these changes.
van Hooidonk, R., Maynard,J.A., Planes, S. (2013). Temporary refugia for coral reefs in a warming world, Supplementary Table S1-S3, Figures and Legends S1–S4. Nature Climate Change, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1829
This file contains three supplementary tables (S1-3) and four supplementary figures (S1-4). Table S1 contains the names of all of the GCMs used per RCP experiment. Table S2 contains the median year per model for the onset of annual bleaching conditions. Table S3 contains the median year per model for the onset of 2x per decade bleaching conditions. Figure S1 shows the percentage of reef cells projected to experience bleaching conditions at least 2x per decade (S1) for corrected (annual cycle and mean) and uncorrected (mean only) models, it also shows the

CO2 concentrations for each RCP. Figure S2 contains a histogram for each RCP of the onset of 2x per decade bleaching conditions. Figure S3 shows a map and zonal means of the year in which reef locations are projected to start experiencing bleaching conditions 2x per decade. Figure S4 shows a map of the standard deviation per location of the years when the model ensembles project bleaching to start occurring annually.

on coral reef bleaching predictions. Coral Reefs DOI 10.1007/s00338-011-0825-4

Such weaknesses most likely reduce the accuracy of predicting coral bleaching, but little attention has been paid to the important issue of understanding potential errors and biases, the interaction of these biases with trends, and their propagation in predictions. To analyze the relative importance of various types of model errors and biases in predicting coral bleaching, various intra- and inter-annual frequency bands of observed SSTs were replaced with those frequencies from 24 GCMs 20th century simulations included in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4th assessment report. Subsequent thermal stress was calculated and predictions of bleaching were made. These predictions were compared with observations of coral bleaching in the period 1982–2007 to calculate accuracy using an objective measure of forecast quality, the Peirce skill score (PSS). Major findings are that: (1) predictions are most sensitive to the seasonal cycle and inter-annual variability in the ENSO 24–60 months frequency band and (2) because models tend to understate the seasonal cycle at reef locations, they systematically underestimate future bleaching. The methodology we describe can be used to improve the accuracy of bleaching predictions by characterizing the errors and uncertainties involved in the predictions.

A study of initiation of coral skeleton formation made on sequential growth stages of newly settled larva

A review of 100 years of calcification in reef building corals.

Knowledge of the occurrence and distribution of deep-water coral reefs from India is