Three-dimensional species distribution modelling reveals the realized spatial niche for coral recruitment on contemporary Caribbean reefs.

The three-dimensional structure of habitats is a critical component of species' niches driving coexistence in species-rich ecosystems. However, its influence on structuring and partitioning recruitment niches has not been widely addressed. We developed a new method to combine species distribution modelling and structure from motion, and characterized three-dimensional recruitment niches of two ecosystem engineers on Caribbean coral reefs, scleractinian corals and gorgonians.

Growing up is hard to do: a demographic model of survival and growth of Caribbean octocoral recruits.

Background: Among species with size structured demography, population structure is determined by size specific survival and growth rates. This interplay is particularly important among recently settled colonial invertebrates for which survival is low and growth is the only way of escaping the high mortality that small colonies are subject to. Gorgonian corals settling on reefs can grow into colonies of millions of polyps and can be meters tall.