Disturbance, recovery and the depletion of functional diversity on coral reefs

Full description

Data used in a thesis chapter entitled "Disturbance, recovery and the depletion of functional diversity on coral reefs," by Mike McWilliam, co-authored by Morgan Pratchett and Terry Hughes. The study uses time series data of coral assemblages from three biogeographical locations in addition to trait data from the coral traits database.  

Time series data: 

gbr.csv. Abundances of 28 coral taxonomic groups at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. Abundance columns are marked with "flat," "crest," "slope," or "base," followed by year to distinguish the habitat and time where data was collected. 

polynesia.csv. Abundances of 20 coral taxonomic groups at Tiahura Reef, French Polynesia. Abundance columns are marked with "flat" (Outer flat), "crest," "shall" (shallow slope), or "deep" (deep slope), followed by year to distinguish the habitat and time where data was collected. 

jamaica.csv. Abundances of 16 coral taxonomic groups at Rio Bueno, Jamaica. Abundance columns are marked with depth ("7m", "10m", "15m", or "30m") followed by year to distinguish the habitat and time where data was collected. 

Trait data: 

traits.csv. Trait data for 44 taxonomic groups of corals. Trait data was downloaded from the coral traits database and mean values for four traits (max diameter, corallite width, growth rate, and skeletal density) was found. These values are presented alongside the typical growth form (column H) and reproductive mode (column G) of each taxonomic group. Columns J to O indicate seven numerical trait categories used for the analysis, including three additional traits (sa_vol = surface area to volume ratio, spaces = interstitial space size, height = colony height) derived from colony growth form.