The Ecosystem Ecology of Coral Reefs Revisited

Early studies in coral reefs showed that simple measurements of ecosystem metabolism (primary production and ecosystem respiration) were useful for understanding complex reef dynamics at an ecosystem scale. These studies also helped establish the field of ecosystem ecology, but contemporary coral re...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of ecology, evolution, and systematics evolution, and systematics, 2024-11, Vol.55 (1), p.251-370
Main Author: Allgeier, Jacob E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropocene
carbon
conservation
net ecosystem production
nitrogen
phosphorus
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Early studies in coral reefs showed that simple measurements of ecosystem metabolism (primary production and ecosystem respiration) were useful for understanding complex reef dynamics at an ecosystem scale. These studies also helped establish the field of ecosystem ecology, but contemporary coral reef ecology has shifted away from these origins. In this manuscript, I describe the historical development of a theory of ecosystem metabolism that was foundational for the discipline of ecosystem ecology, and I update this theory to fully incorporate dynamics on coral reefs (and all ecosystems). I use this updated theory to ( a ) identify important controls on coral reef processes and ( b ) provide a rationale for patterns of coral reef carbon dynamics that allow me to generate hypotheses of coral reef ecosystem production. I then use existing data to broadly evaluate these hypotheses. My findings emphasize the importance of integrating measurements of ecosystem metabolism with current approaches to improve the development of theory and the efficacy of conservation and management of coral reefs.
ISSN:1543-592X
1545-2069
DOI:10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-102722-124549