title: Are coral reefs victims of their own past success?
abstract: As one of the most prolific and widespread reef builders, the staghorn coral Acropora holds a disproportionately large role in how coral reefs will respond to accelerating anthropogenic change. We show that although Acropora has a diverse history extended over the past 50 million years, it was not a dominant reef builder until the onset of high-amplitude glacioeustatic sea-level fluctuations 1.8 million years ago. High growth rates and propagation by fragmentation have favored staghorn corals since this time. In contrast, staghorn corals are among the most vulnerable corals to anthropogenic stressors, with marked global loss of abundance worldwide. The continued decline in staghorn coral abundance and the mounting challenges from both local stress and climate change will limit the coral reefs' ability to provide ecosystem services.
authors.affiliation: Naturalis Biodiversity Center, PO Box 9517, 2300RA Leiden, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Renema
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland QLD 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pandolfi
authors.affiliation: GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Section Palaeoenvironmental Research, Universität Erlangen, Loewenichstrasse 28, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.; GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Section Palaeoenvironmental Research, Universität Erlangen, Loewenichstrasse 28, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kiessling
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Bosellini
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Miami, 43 Cox Science, Coral Gables, FL 33124-0401, USA.
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Klaus
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland QLD 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Chelsea
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Korpanty
authors.affiliation: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.
authors.forename: Brian R
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8839-1592
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.affiliation: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.
authors.forename: Nadiezhda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Santodomingo
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia.
authors.forename: Carden C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: Geocoastal Research Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Madsen Building F09, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Jody M
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0005-6448
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.affiliation: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.
authors.forename: Kenneth G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000254:growth & development*; D057231:Climate Change; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D006801:Humans
keywords: anthropogenic stress; climate change; coral; ecology; staghorn coral