Competition drives the dispersal dynamics of two cup coral morphs in populations on the Powell Basin slopes, Weddell Sea, Antarctica
Abstract Coexistence of ecologically similar taxa can contribute considerably to local biodiversity patterns. Deep water Southern Ocean benthic communities provide a unique setting to investigate coexistence mechanisms due to the relatively pristine nature of Antarctic ecosystems and a lack of distu...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02282-7 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849326007123705856 |
|---|---|
| author | Tasnuva Ming Khan Huw J. Griffiths Nile P. Stephenson Rowan J. Whittle Autun Purser Andrea Manica Emily G. Mitchell |
| author_facet | Tasnuva Ming Khan Huw J. Griffiths Nile P. Stephenson Rowan J. Whittle Autun Purser Andrea Manica Emily G. Mitchell |
| author_sort | Tasnuva Ming Khan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Coexistence of ecologically similar taxa can contribute considerably to local biodiversity patterns. Deep water Southern Ocean benthic communities provide a unique setting to investigate coexistence mechanisms due to the relatively pristine nature of Antarctic ecosystems and a lack of disturbances like ice scour or top-down predator control. Here, we examine cup coral populations on the deep (~ 2000 m) rocky slopes of Powell Basin, Weddell Sea—an ecosystem with dense and speciose epibenthic communities. We investigate the spatial ecology of two coral morphotypes—“orange” and “pink” cup corals (likely Caryophyllia or Flabellum) using high-resolution seabed images from the RV Polarstern cruise PS118. Across 36 sites, we recorded 3431 pink and 1545 orange corals, which formed both mixed and single-population dominant (where either morph was near absent) communities. Spatial point process analysis revealed that reproductive processes drive their spatial patterns, with orange corals showing consistent dispersal behaviour regardless of community type. In contrast, pink corals exhibited greater dispersal plasticity in mixed populations, significantly increasing dispersal distances, suggesting that they are the weaker competitors. Our results suggest that in these deep water hard substrate Antarctic communities, dispersal plasticity has the ability to enable coexistence of ecologically similar morphs, thereby increasing alpha diversity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e07c3e4bb1434b73b8db58df687537ed |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-e07c3e4bb1434b73b8db58df687537ed2025-08-20T03:48:15ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-0115111210.1038/s41598-025-02282-7Competition drives the dispersal dynamics of two cup coral morphs in populations on the Powell Basin slopes, Weddell Sea, AntarcticaTasnuva Ming Khan0Huw J. Griffiths1Nile P. Stephenson2Rowan J. Whittle3Autun Purser4Andrea Manica5Emily G. Mitchell6Department of Zoology, University of CambridgeBritish Antarctic SurveyDepartment of Zoology, University of CambridgeBritish Antarctic SurveyAlfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Marine and Polar ResearchDepartment of Zoology, University of CambridgeDepartment of Zoology, University of CambridgeAbstract Coexistence of ecologically similar taxa can contribute considerably to local biodiversity patterns. Deep water Southern Ocean benthic communities provide a unique setting to investigate coexistence mechanisms due to the relatively pristine nature of Antarctic ecosystems and a lack of disturbances like ice scour or top-down predator control. Here, we examine cup coral populations on the deep (~ 2000 m) rocky slopes of Powell Basin, Weddell Sea—an ecosystem with dense and speciose epibenthic communities. We investigate the spatial ecology of two coral morphotypes—“orange” and “pink” cup corals (likely Caryophyllia or Flabellum) using high-resolution seabed images from the RV Polarstern cruise PS118. Across 36 sites, we recorded 3431 pink and 1545 orange corals, which formed both mixed and single-population dominant (where either morph was near absent) communities. Spatial point process analysis revealed that reproductive processes drive their spatial patterns, with orange corals showing consistent dispersal behaviour regardless of community type. In contrast, pink corals exhibited greater dispersal plasticity in mixed populations, significantly increasing dispersal distances, suggesting that they are the weaker competitors. Our results suggest that in these deep water hard substrate Antarctic communities, dispersal plasticity has the ability to enable coexistence of ecologically similar morphs, thereby increasing alpha diversity.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02282-7Competitive coexistenceDispersal dynamicsSpatial analysesAntarcticaCup coralsAlpha diversity |
| spellingShingle | Tasnuva Ming Khan Huw J. Griffiths Nile P. Stephenson Rowan J. Whittle Autun Purser Andrea Manica Emily G. Mitchell Competition drives the dispersal dynamics of two cup coral morphs in populations on the Powell Basin slopes, Weddell Sea, Antarctica Scientific Reports Competitive coexistence Dispersal dynamics Spatial analyses Antarctica Cup corals Alpha diversity |
| title | Competition drives the dispersal dynamics of two cup coral morphs in populations on the Powell Basin slopes, Weddell Sea, Antarctica |
| title_full | Competition drives the dispersal dynamics of two cup coral morphs in populations on the Powell Basin slopes, Weddell Sea, Antarctica |
| title_fullStr | Competition drives the dispersal dynamics of two cup coral morphs in populations on the Powell Basin slopes, Weddell Sea, Antarctica |
| title_full_unstemmed | Competition drives the dispersal dynamics of two cup coral morphs in populations on the Powell Basin slopes, Weddell Sea, Antarctica |
| title_short | Competition drives the dispersal dynamics of two cup coral morphs in populations on the Powell Basin slopes, Weddell Sea, Antarctica |
| title_sort | competition drives the dispersal dynamics of two cup coral morphs in populations on the powell basin slopes weddell sea antarctica |
| topic | Competitive coexistence Dispersal dynamics Spatial analyses Antarctica Cup corals Alpha diversity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02282-7 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tasnuvamingkhan competitiondrivesthedispersaldynamicsoftwocupcoralmorphsinpopulationsonthepowellbasinslopesweddellseaantarctica AT huwjgriffiths competitiondrivesthedispersaldynamicsoftwocupcoralmorphsinpopulationsonthepowellbasinslopesweddellseaantarctica AT nilepstephenson competitiondrivesthedispersaldynamicsoftwocupcoralmorphsinpopulationsonthepowellbasinslopesweddellseaantarctica AT rowanjwhittle competitiondrivesthedispersaldynamicsoftwocupcoralmorphsinpopulationsonthepowellbasinslopesweddellseaantarctica AT autunpurser competitiondrivesthedispersaldynamicsoftwocupcoralmorphsinpopulationsonthepowellbasinslopesweddellseaantarctica AT andreamanica competitiondrivesthedispersaldynamicsoftwocupcoralmorphsinpopulationsonthepowellbasinslopesweddellseaantarctica AT emilygmitchell competitiondrivesthedispersaldynamicsoftwocupcoralmorphsinpopulationsonthepowellbasinslopesweddellseaantarctica |