Changing Oceans Group, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Department of Marine Sciences, Tjärnö Marine Laboratory, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Proc Biol Sci. 2021 Aug 11;288(1956):20211260. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1260.
The occurrence and proliferation of reef-forming corals is of vast importance in terms of the biodiversity they support and the ecosystem services they provide. The complex three-dimensional structures engineered by corals are comprised of both live and dead coral, and the function, growth and stability of these systems will depend on the ratio of both. To model how the ratio of live : dead coral may change, the 'Goldilocks Principle' can be used, where organisms will only flourish if conditions are 'just right'. With data from particle imaging velocimetry and numerical smooth particle hydrodynamic modelling with two simple rules, we demonstrate how this principle can be applied to a model reef system, and how corals are effectively optimizing their own local flow requirements through habitat engineering. Building on advances here, these approaches can be used in conjunction with numerical modelling to investigate the growth and mortality of biodiversity supporting framework in present-day and future coral reef structures.
造礁石珊瑚的出现和繁殖对其所支持的生物多样性和提供的生态系统服务具有重要意义。珊瑚建造的复杂三维结构由活珊瑚和死珊瑚组成，这些系统的功能、生长和稳定性将取决于两者的比例。为了模拟活珊瑚与死珊瑚的比例可能发生的变化，可以使用“金发姑娘原则”，即只有在条件“恰到好处”的情况下，生物才能茁壮成长。利用粒子成像测速法和具有两条简单规则的数值光滑粒子流体动力学模型的数据，我们展示了如何将这一原则应用于模型珊瑚礁系统，以及珊瑚如何通过生境工程有效地优化自身的局部流动需求。在此基础上，这些方法可以与数值模型结合使用，以研究在当前和未来的珊瑚礁结构中支持生物多样性的框架的生长和死亡率。
