RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Geometric Analysis of Regime Shifts in Coral Reef Communities
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.01.10.899179
DO 10.1101/2020.01.10.899179
A1 Edward W. Tekwa
A1 Lisa C. McManus
A1 Ariel Greiner
A1 Madhavi A. Colton
A1 Michael S. Webster
A1 Malin L. Pinsky
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/01/11/2020.01.10.899179.abstract
AB Coral reefs are among the many communities believed to exhibit regime shifts between alternative stable states, single-species dominance, and coexistence. Proposed drivers of regime shifts include changes in grazing, spatial clustering, and ocean temperature. Here we distill the dynamic regimes of coral-macroalgal interaction into a three-dimensional geometry, akin to thermodynamic phase diagrams of state transitions, to facilitate analysis. Specific regime-shifting forces can be understood as bifurcation vectors through the cubic regime geometry. This geometric perspective allows us to understand multiple forces simultaneously in terms of the stability and persistence of interacting species. For example, in a coral-macroalgae community, grazing on macroalgae can lead to alternative stable states when there is no spatial clustering (e.g., high habitat connectivity). However, with spatial clustering, grazing can lead to coexistence because of elevated local intraspecific competition. The geometrical analysis of regime shifts is applicable to any two-species communities and can help conservation efforts navigate complexity and abrupt changes.