Dataset: MEPS 2015: field survey

The ecological relevance of interactions between M. aequituberculata and P. lutea lies in the common occurrence of these corals in shallow reef habitats, and the frequency with which they encounter one another, as observed during preliminary field observations. To quantify these effects, we evaluated coral community structure in the back reef of Moorea along the East and West shores that are sampled annually as part of the Moorea Coral Reef LTER (Edmunds 2013). Photoquadrats recorded in the back reef of these shores (at LTER sites 3 and 6) in 2010, and analyzed for coral cover using Coral Point Count [CPCe] software [Kohler & Gill 2006]), were used to quantify the abundance of Montipora and massive Porites. These images were also used for an additional analysis in which colonies of Porites and Montipora were scored for contact with one another. All colonies of Porites and Montipora were evaluated for contact, with contact scored when colonies were < 5 mm from one another, and these points of contact inferred to be sites of interspecific competition. The number of colonies of each taxon involved in interspecific competition was expressed as a percentage of the total number of colonies in each taxon that were present in all the photoquadrats evaluated. It was however not possible to determine the outcome (i.e., which colony was dominant versus subordinate) of most competitive encounters in the planar photographs.

For further details, see Evenson et al (2015)