Biological and physical interactions on a tropical island coral reef: Transport and retention processes on moorea, French Polynesia
Abstract
The Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research project funded by the US National
Science Foundation includes multidisciplinary studies of physical processes driving
ecological dynamics across the fringing reef, back reef, and fore reef habitats of
Moorea, French Polynesia. A network of oceanographic moorings and a variety of other
approaches have been used to investigate the biological and biogeochemical aspects
of water transport and retention processes in this system. There is evidence to support
the hypothesis that a low-frequency counterclockwise flow around the island is superimposed
on the relatively strong alongshore currents on each side of the island. Despite the
rapid flow and flushing of the back reef, waters over the reef display chemical and
biological characteristics distinct from those offshore. The patterns include higher
nutrient and lower dissolved organic carbon concentrations, distinct microbial community
compositions among habitats, and reef assemblages of zooplankton that exhibit migration
behavior, suggesting multigenerational residence on the reef. Zooplankton consumption
by planktivorous fish on the reef reflects both retention of reef-associated taxa
and capture by the reef community of resources originating offshore. Coral recruitment
and population genetics of reef fishes point to retention of larvae within the system
and high recruitment levels from local adult populations. The combined results suggest
that a broad suite of physical and biological processes contribute to high retention
of externally derived and locally produced organic materials within this island coral
reef system. © 2013 by The Oceanography Society. All rights reserved.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10764Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.5670/oceanog.2013.45Publication Info
Leichter, James; Alldredge, Alice; Bernardi, Giacomo; Brooks, Andrew; Carlson, Craig;
Carpenter, Robert; ... Wyatt, Alex (2013). Biological and physical interactions on a tropical island coral reef: Transport and
retention processes on moorea, French Polynesia. Oceanography, 26(3). pp. 52-63. 10.5670/oceanog.2013.45. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10764.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
James Hench
Associate Professor of Oceanography
Research in my lab focuses on fluid dynamics in the coastal ocean and its effects
on transport processes. We use field measurements, computational models, and theoretical
analyses to understand fundamental physical processes in these systems. We also work
extensively on interdisciplinary problems that have a significant physical component
to better understand the effects of water motion on the geochemistry, biology, and
ecology of shallow marine systems. Much of our research is

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