{"594472":{"#nid":"594472","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Cody Clements","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDoctor of Philosophy\u0026nbsp;in Biology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Ein the\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECody Clements\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Ewill\u0026nbsp;defend his thesis\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPredation, competition, and facilitation on tropical reefs: implications for corals as reefs degrade\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWednesday, August 30, 2017\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E12:30 PM\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEngineered Biosystems Building (EEB)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EChildren\u0026#39;s Healthcare of Atlanta Seminar Room\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThesis Advisor\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDr. Mark Hay\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDr. Julia Kubanek (School of Biological Sciences \u0026amp; School of Chemistry and Biochemistry)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDr. Todd Streelman (School of Biological Sciences)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDr. Lin Jiang (School of Biological Sciences)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDr. Emmett Duffy (Smithsonian Institution)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EABSTRACT\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETropical coral reefs are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth, but reefs worldwide have experienced dramatic declines in coral and often transitioned from coral- to macrolagal dominance. As local and global threats to corals increase in severity and frequency, there is an urgent need to understand how reef degradation, as well as efforts to manage and restore corals, are reshaping ecological interactions that are critical to the function of coral reef ecosystems. Here, I utilize a range of experimental approaches to investigate how interactions between corals, competing macroalgae, and coral predators (i.e. corallivores) are being altered within mosaics of coral reef habitat characterized by different levels of degradation and local protection in the tropical Pacific. I first demonstrate, via a series of field observations and experiments, the direct negative effects of competition for corals competing with macroalgae that commonly dominate degraded reefs, including the spatial and temporal constraints of these competitive interactions, as well as the indirect positive effects that can arise due to the presence of a common coral predator, the crown-of-thorns sea star (\u003Cem\u003EAcanthaster \u003C\/em\u003Ecf.\u003Cem\u003E planci\u003C\/em\u003E). I also provide observational and experimental evidence that protected reefs can help alleviate predation by corallivorous snails (\u003Cem\u003ECoralliophila violacea\u003C\/em\u003E) for some stress-tolerant corals (\u003Cem\u003EPorites cylindrica\u003C\/em\u003E), but that stark habitat contrasts between coral-dominated protected reefs and macroalgal-dominated fished reefs can simultaneously attract and concentrate feeding by other corallivores (\u003Cem\u003EAcanthaster\u003C\/em\u003E cf. \u003Cem\u003Eplanci\u003C\/em\u003E) \u0026ndash; potentially contributing to coral demise and compromising the conservation value of small Marine Protected Areas. Lastly, I use a field-based manipulative experiment to explore the implications of coral species loss for ecosystem function on degraded reefs; demonstrating that greater coral species richness can enhance coral growth and survivorship, and reduced colonization by competing macroalgae. Together, these studies highlight the need to better understand the novel and context-dependent role of ecological interactions \u0026ndash; both for fundamental ecology and effective management \u0026ndash; in rapidly changing ecosystems subject to increasing disturbances.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Predation, competition, and facilitation on tropical reefs: implications for corals as reefs degrade "}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2017-08-16 12:28:34","changed_gmt":"2017-08-16 12:28:34","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2017-08-30T13:30:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2017-08-30T15:30:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2017-08-30T15:30:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2017-08-30 17:30:00","gmt_time_end":"2017-08-30 19:30:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2017-08-30 19:30:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}