Tebbett, Sterling B., Emslie, Michael J., Jonker, Michelle J., Ling, Scott D., Pratchett, Morgan S., Siqueira Correa, Alexandre C., Thompson, Angus A., Yan, Helen F., and Bellwood, David R. (2025) Epilithic algal composition and the functioning of Anthropocene coral reefs. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 210. 117322.

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Abstract

Epilithic algae dominate cover on coral reefs globally, forming a critical ecological interface between the benthos and reef organisms. Yet, the drivers of epilithic algal composition, and how composition relates to the distribution of key taxa, remain unclear. We develop a novel metric, the Epilithic Algal Ratio, based on turf cover relative to total epilithic algae cover, and use this metric to assess cross-scale patterns. We reveal water quality and hydrodynamics as the key environmental drivers of the Epilithic Algal Ratio across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), and reefs globally. On the GBR, the abundance of herbivorous fishes and juvenile corals were also related to the Epilithic Algal Ratio, suggesting that reefs with long-dense turfs support fewer herbivores and corals. Ultimately, epilithic algae represent the interface through which the effects of declining water quality, which impacts a third of reefs globally, can reverberate up through coral reefs, compromising their functioning.

Item ID:	86655
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1879-3363
Keywords:	Algal turfs, Coral recruitment, Crustose coralline algae, Herbivorous fishes, Hydrodynamics, Turbidity
Copyright Information:	© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Funders:	Australian Research Council (ARC)
Projects and Grants:	ARC FL190100062, ARC FT200100949
Date Deposited:	14 Aug 2025 00:13
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