11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

Oral Mini-Symposium 10: Ecological Processes on Today's Reef Ecosystems
10-61
Sediment Removal By Crabs Maintains Health Of Young Corals
Hannah L. STEWART* 1 , Nichole N. PRICE 2 , Sally J. HOLBROOK 2 , Russell J.
SCHMITT 2 , Andrew J. BROOKS 3
1 Friday Harbor Labs, University of Washington, Friday Harbor, WA, 2 Ecology,
Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara,
CA, 3 Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa
Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
Increasing threats to tropical reefs from long-term climate change and human land use
render it critical to understand how stony corals, the foundational species of reef
ecosystems, respond to such perturbations. Corals form habitat for other species, so it is
necessary to understand the influence of associated organisms in mediating responses to
perturbation. We show the importance of an association with trapeziid crabs (genus
Tetralia) in reducing adverse effects of sediments deposited on coral for small (