Spatial patterns in coral reef benthos: multiscale analysis of sites from three oceans

Abstract

Spatial patterns of coral reef benthos from the Great Barrier Reef (Heron reef, 45 spp. scleractinian corals only), the Red Sea (Eilat, 88 spp. scleractinian corals only) and the Caribbean (Florida to Haiti, 126 spp. scleractinian corals, alcyonarians and sponges) were analyzed at the local scale of neighborhood patterns and larger scales of cross reef and regional zonation patterns. Relations between local and larger scale patterns were explored statistically to test for coupling between the scales. Small-scale analysis showed that there were relatively few non-random neighbor patterns. The number of types (i.e., different species pairs) of non-random adjacencies was 6 at Eilat, 5 at Heron and 3 in Caribbean. The distribution of all non-random adjacencies was not coupled with large-scale structure. Some individual species were significantly more abundant in transects where that species was involved in significant non-random adjacencies. Because the 3 data sets were collected each in a different manner, a cautious interpretation of results is warranted. Coupling between small- and large-scale spatial patterns through processes influencing individual neighbors is very weak at the community level but strong for a few individual species (e.g., Pocillopora damicornis).