Community structure of corals and reef fishes at multiple scales
Connolly, S.R.; Hughes, T.P.; Bellwood, D.R.; Karlson, R.H. (2005). Community structure of corals and reef fishes at multiple scales. Science (Wash.) 309(5739): 1363-1365
In: Science (Washington). American Association for the Advancement of Science: New York, N.Y. ISSN 0036-8075; e-ISSN 1095-9203, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Connolly, S.R.
- Hughes, T.P.
- Bellwood, D.R.
- Karlson, R.H.
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| Abstract |
Distributions of numerical abundance and resource use among species are fundamental aspects of community structure. Here we characterize these patterns for tropical reef fishes and corals across a 10,000-kilometer biodiversity gradient. Numerical abundance and resource-use distributions have similar shapes, but they emerge at markedly different scales. These results are consistent with a controversial null hypothesis regarding community structure, according to which abundance distributions arise from the interplay of multiple stochastic environmental and demographic factors. Our findings underscore the importance of robust conservation strategies that are appropriately scaled to the broad suite of environmental processes that help sustain biodiversity. |
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