The objective of this study was to test the effect of light (sand and CCA) and dark (macroalgae) substrata on the photosynthetic efficiency of coral tissues adjacent to these surfaces. The study was motivated by the conspicuous effects of macroalgae in “darkening” the submarine light fields of reefs, an effect we demonstrated through spectral analysis of the light microenvironment using an underwater spectrophotometer.

In the face of a changing global climate, being able to predict the response of organisms and to assess their vulnerability is essential for the development of successful management and conservations strategies. We hope to study the impacts of ocean acidification on two important members of the Moorea coral reef ecosystem: the sea urchin Echinometra mathaei and the coral Pocillopora damicornis.

Zooplankton were 3 to 8 times more abundant near the surface than elsewhere in the water column during the day over a 1 to 2.4 m deep back reef in Moorea, French Polynesia. Zooplankton were also significantly more abundant near the surface at night although gradients were most pronounced under moonlight.

Species diversity is expected to promote stability in ecosystem functions such as productivity. One mechanism that may contribute to stability is compensatory dynamics. Compensatory dynamics, which occur when an increase in density (biomass) of one species is associated with a decrease in another, are indicated by negative species covariances. These may be driven by competition or negatively correlated species responses to environmental drivers.

Climate warming is predicted to have pronounced effects on biodiversity, particularly the biogeography of organisms, such that species’ range distributions should contract at warmer and expand at cooler range margins, via influences on population-demographic processes, resulting in overall higher latitudinal or elevational displacement of individuals.

Palmer LTER has as its focus the marine continental shelf and marginal sea ice zone ecosystems off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is a marine pelagic and coastal site strongly influenced by the formation, extent, duration and retreat of sea ice. Over the past several decades sea ice duration has declined by 90 days and no longer persists into the summer period in our study region. At the same time, the mean wintertime (DJF) surface air temperature has increased by 6°C.

Oaks are a dominant component of many North American forests, yet in many areas oak seedling production is declining. Oaks are generally thought to be highly dispersal limited, which could hamper reaching scarce recruitment sites and limit oaks’ ability to respond to climate change via migration or local adaptation. In this study, we apply a Bayesian parentage model developed for monoecious plants to two populations of red oak (Q. rubra) in North Carolina: in the Piedmont (12 ha) and the Coweeta LTER in the southern Appalachians (7.5 ha).

The dominant paradigm for explaining vegetation pattern in salt marshes is that there is a tradeoff between competitive ability and stress tolerance, leading to vegetation zones along a single gradient of increasing flooding and salinity from high to low marsh. This single-gradient paradigm breaks down, however, when the salinity gradient is decoupled from the flooding gradient, as happens following disturbance or at low latitudes.