Data from: The role of the reef flat in coral reef trophodynamics: past, present and future

This dataset consists of one MS Excel (.xlsx) file. This file contains the total abundance, biomass, biomass growth and productivity consumed data for surgeonfishes, rabbitfishes and parrotfishes used in the analysis.  All data is based on an area of 100 m-2. The data is based on 10-minute timed swim counts (transect length was approximately 117 m long) in the slope (at 12 m depth), crest (at 2-5 m), flat (2-5 m; approximately 20 m in from the crest) and back reef (along the reef margin) habitats on four mid-, and four outer-shelf reefs on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Full site descriptions may be found in Wismer et al. (2009).

The data set also contains the width of each reef habitat (back, flat, crest and slope; in meters) used to standardize abundance, biomass, biomass growth and productivity consumed data between reef habitats. The relative widths of the reef zones were measured on satellite photographs (Google Earth) of ten haphazardly selected mid- and outer-shelf reefs from the central/northern Great Barrier Reef.

The dataset also contains estimates of mean net flow velocity (cm per second) for the four different reef habitats (back, flat, crest, slope) across both mid- and outer-shelf reefs. Estimates were based on Fulton and Bellwood (2005) and Fulton et al. (2013).   

Literature cited:

Fulton, C.J. & Bellwood, D.R. (2005) Wave-induced water motion and the functional implications for coral reef fish assemblages. Limnology and Oceanography, 50, 255–264.

Fulton, C.J., Binning, S.A., Wainwright, P.C., Bellwood, D.R., (2013) Wave-induced abiotic stress shapes phenotypic diversity in a coral reef fish across a geographical cline. Coral Reefs, 32, 685–689.

Wismer, S., Hoey, A.S. & Bellwood, D.R. (2009) Cross-shelf benthic community structure on the Great Barrier Reef: relationships between macroalgal cover and herbivore biomass. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 376, 45–54.

    Data Record Details
    Data record related to this publication Data from: The role of the reef flat in coral reef trophodynamics: past, present and future
    Data Publication title Data from: The role of the reef flat in coral reef trophodynamics: past, present and future
  • Description

    This dataset consists of one MS Excel (.xlsx) file. This file contains the total abundance, biomass, biomass growth and productivity consumed data for surgeonfishes, rabbitfishes and parrotfishes used in the analysis.  All data is based on an area of 100 m-2. The data is based on 10-minute timed swim counts (transect length was approximately 117 m long) in the slope (at 12 m depth), crest (at 2-5 m), flat (2-5 m; approximately 20 m in from the crest) and back reef (along the reef margin) habitats on four mid-, and four outer-shelf reefs on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Full site descriptions may be found in Wismer et al. (2009).

    The data set also contains the width of each reef habitat (back, flat, crest and slope; in meters) used to standardize abundance, biomass, biomass growth and productivity consumed data between reef habitats. The relative widths of the reef zones were measured on satellite photographs (Google Earth) of ten haphazardly selected mid- and outer-shelf reefs from the central/northern Great Barrier Reef.

    The dataset also contains estimates of mean net flow velocity (cm per second) for the four different reef habitats (back, flat, crest, slope) across both mid- and outer-shelf reefs. Estimates were based on Fulton and Bellwood (2005) and Fulton et al. (2013).   

    Literature cited:

    Fulton, C.J. & Bellwood, D.R. (2005) Wave-induced water motion and the functional implications for coral reef fish assemblages. Limnology and Oceanography, 50, 255–264.

    Fulton, C.J., Binning, S.A., Wainwright, P.C., Bellwood, D.R., (2013) Wave-induced abiotic stress shapes phenotypic diversity in a coral reef fish across a geographical cline. Coral Reefs, 32, 685–689.

    Wismer, S., Hoey, A.S. & Bellwood, D.R. (2009) Cross-shelf benthic community structure on the Great Barrier Reef: relationships between macroalgal cover and herbivore biomass. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 376, 45–54.

  • Other Descriptors
    • Descriptor

      This dataset is available as a spreadsheet in MS Excel (.xlsx) and Open Document formats (.ods)

    • Descriptor type Note
  • Data type dataset
  • Keywords
    • evolution
    • herbivory
    • hydrodynamics
    • productivity
    • reef fish
    • sediment
    • ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
  • Funding source
  • Research grant(s)/Scheme name(s)
  • Research themes
    Tropical Ecosystems, Conservation and Climate Change
    People and Societies in the Tropics
    FoR Codes (*)
    SEO Codes
    Specify spatial or temporal setting of the data
    Temporal (time) coverage
  • Start Date
  • End Date
  • Time Period 21st Century
    Spatial (location) coverage
  • Locations
    • Great Barrier Reef
  • Related publications
      Name Bellwood, David R., Tebbett, Sterling B., Bellwood, Orpha, Mihalitsis, Michalis, Morais, Renato A., Streit, Robert P., and Fulton, Christopher J. (2018) The role of the reef flat in coral reef trophodynamics: Past, present, and future. Ecology and Evolution, 8 (8). pp. 4108-4119.
    • URL https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3967
    • Notes Open Access
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    • Notes
    Citation Bellwood, David (2018): Data from: The role of the reef flat in coral reef trophodynamics: past, present and future. James Cook University. https://doi.org/10.4225/28/5a827b8b73b03