John Rulmal

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NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Nichole Price

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Curtin University

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Papers by John Rulmal

Corallimorph and Montipora Reefs in Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia: documenting unusual reefs

Here we report the presence of two unusual reef types at Ulithi Atoll, Yap State, Federated State... more Here we report the presence of two unusual reef types at Ulithi Atoll, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia: 1. a corallimorph-dominated reef off the island of Mogmog is found within an otherwise coral-dominated area, and 2. a general spread of Montipora reefs that were found to dominate the reef landscapes near inhabited islands. The Montipora reefs primarily occur near villages and in disturbed areas such as near boat-launch ramps. Indigenous people in the area say these reefs are fairly recent (ca. late 1960s) and that Montipora has been spreading rapidly.

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Genomic islands of divergence in the Yellow Tang and the Brushtail Tang Surgeonfishes

Ecology and Evolution, Aug 2, 2018

Defining species has important theoretical and practical implications, yet no unified concept and... more Defining species has important theoretical and practical implications, yet no unified concept and approach have emerged (De Queiroz, 1998, 2007; Hausdorf, 2011). With the advent of genetic markers, debates over species concepts resurfaced (Noor & Feder, 2006). However, for a long time, only few markers (first strictly mitochondrial, then nuclear) were used, and the tenets of phylogenetic species concepts, where a congruence of multiple molecular markers is central for species delimitations (Cracraft, 1983; Moritz, 1994), could still be easily tested and achieved (e.g., Bernardi, Sordino, & Powers, 1993). The use of few markers to reconstruct phylogenetic

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Atoll-scale patterns in coral reef community structure: Human signatures on Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia

PLOS ONE, May 10, 2017

The dynamic relationship between reefs and the people who utilize them at a subsistence level is ... more The dynamic relationship between reefs and the people who utilize them at a subsistence level is poorly understood. This paper characterizes atoll-scale patterns in shallow coral reef habitat and fish community structure, and correlates these with environmental characteristics and anthropogenic factors, critical to conservation efforts for the reefs and the people who depend on them. Hierarchical clustering analyses by site for benthic composition and fish community resulted in the same 3 major clusters: cluster 1-oceanic (close proximity to deep water) and uninhabited (low human impact); cluster 2-oceanic and inhabited (high human impact); and cluster 3-lagoonal (facing the inside of the lagoon) and inhabited (highest human impact). Distance from village, reef exposure to deep water and human population size had the greatest effect in predicting the fish and benthic community structure. Our study demonstrates a strong association between benthic and fish community structure and human use across the Ulithi Atoll (Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia) and confirms a pattern observed by local people that an 'opportunistic' scleractinian coral (Montipora sp.) is associated with more highly impacted reefs. Our findings suggest that small human populations (subsistence fishing) can nevertheless have considerable ecological impacts on reefs due, in part, to changes in fishing practices rather than overfishing per se, as well as larger global trends. Findings from this work can assist in building local capacity to manage reef resources across an atoll-wide scale, and illustrates the importance of anthropogenic impact even in small communities.

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Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs

Global Change Biology, Apr 5, 2023

Scientists and managers rely on indicator taxa such as coral and macroalgal cover to evaluate the... more Scientists and managers rely on indicator taxa such as coral and macroalgal cover to evaluate the effects of human disturbance on coral reefs, often assuming a universally positive relationship between local human disturbance and macroalgae. Despite evidence that macroalgae respond to local stressors in diverse ways, there have been few efforts to evaluate relationships between specific macroalgae taxa and local human‐driven disturbance. Using genus‐level monitoring data from 1205 sites in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, we assess whether macroalgae percent cover correlates with local human disturbance while accounting for factors that could obscure or confound relationships. Assessing macroalgae at genus level revealed that no genera were positively correlated with all human disturbance metrics. Instead, we found relationships between the division or genera of algae and specific human disturbances that were not detectable when pooling taxa into a single functional category, which is common to many analyses. The convention to use percent cover of macroalgae as an indication of local human disturbance therefore likely obscures signatures of local anthropogenic threats to reefs. Our limited understanding of relationships between human disturbance, macroalgae taxa, and their responses to human disturbances impedes the ability to diagnose and respond appropriately to these threats.

Collaborating with indigenous citizen scientists towards sustainable coral reef management in a changing world

Routledge eBooks, Oct 31, 2017

Transformation for inclusive conservation: evidence on values, decisions, and impacts in protected areas

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs

Global Change Biology

Scientists and managers rely on indicator taxa such as coral and macroalgal cover to evaluate the... more Scientists and managers rely on indicator taxa such as coral and macroalgal cover to evaluate the effects of human disturbance on coral reefs, often assuming a universally positive relationship between local human disturbance and macroalgae. Despite evidence that macroalgae respond to local stressors in diverse ways, there have been few efforts to evaluate relationships between specific macroalgae taxa and local human-driven disturbance. Using genus-level monitoring data from 1205 sites in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, we assess whether macroalgae percent cover correlates with local human disturbance while accounting for factors that could obscure or confound relationships. Assessing macroalgae at genus level revealed that no genera were positively correlated with all human disturbance metrics. Instead, we found relationships between the division or genera of algae and specific human disturbances that were not detectable when pooling taxa into a single functional category, which is common to many analyses. The convention to use percent cover of macroalgae as an indication of local human disturbance therefore likely obscures signatures of local anthropogenic threats to reefs. Our limited understanding of relationships between human disturbance, macroalgae taxa, and their responses to human disturbances impedes the ability to diagnose and respond appropriately to these threats.

Benthic cover composition and fish community structure

PERMANOVA results from the model fish ~ Acro_thicket + Acro_table + Mound1 + Mo... more PERMANOVA results from the model fish ~ Acro_thicket + Acro_table + Mound1 + Mound2 + Branch1 + Branch2 + Encrust + Foliose + Sheet + Solitary + Columnar + Montipora + Coral-Monti + Soft + Fleshy + Macroalg + Turf + CCA, terms added sequentially (first to last). Note that Coral-Monti refers to all stony corals not including the outbreak species of Montipora. Df = degree(s) of freedom, SS = Sums of Squares, MS = Mean Squares, F = F statistic obtained from the model, R2 = coefficient of determination, and p = probability of the obtained (model) F exceeding the predicted F statistic by chance. See <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0177083#pone.0177083.s002" target="_blank">S2 Table</a> for a description of the benthic cover codes.</p

Environmental effects and benthic cover composition

PERMANOVA results from the model benthic ~ exposure + distance * population<... more PERMANOVA results from the model benthic ~ exposure + distance * population, stratified by year and terms added sequentially (first to last). Df = degree(s) of freedom, SS = Sums of Squares, MS = Mean Squares, F = F statistic obtained from the model, R2 = coefficient of determination, and p = probability of the obtained (model) F exceeding the predicted F statistic by chance.</p

Benthic cover (% cover) compared across sites from cluster 1 (uninhabited, oceanic), cluster 2 (inhabited, oceanic), and cluster 3 (inhabited & uninhabited, lagoonal) (a-f)

The relative abundance of hard coral morphotypes is shown for the 3 site clusters in e1-... more The relative abundance of hard coral morphotypes is shown for the 3 site clusters in e1-e3. Note that the opportunistic Montipora sp. is considered separately from all other stony corals for both cover and morphotype. The box-and-whisker plots show the median value (dark horizontal bar); the box length is the interquartile range, the upper whisker marks the smaller of the maximum value and quartile 3+1.5 interquartile range (IQR), and the lower whisker marks the larger of the smallest value and quartile 1–1.5 IQR. Outliers are not shown. Plots produced using the R package graphics, version 3.3.1.</p

Fish biomass, abundance and size on Ulithi Atoll

Fish trophic categories (Piscivores, Carnivores, Corallivores, Planktivores, and Herbivo... more Fish trophic categories (Piscivores, Carnivores, Corallivores, Planktivores, and Herbivores) are compared among site groups (cluster 1: uninhabited, oceanic; cluster 2: inhabited, oceanic; cluster 3: inhabited & uninhabited, lagoonal) for biomass (a-e), numerical abundance (g-k) and average length (TL, m-q). The stacked bar plots (f & l) show the mean values from sites within each of the 3 clusters, and the dot chart (r) compares the mean TL for fishes from trophic categories found within sites from the 3 clusters. The box-and-whisker plots show the median value (dark horizontal bar); the box length is the interquartile range, the upper whisker marks the smaller of the maximum value and quartile 3+1.5 interquartile range (IQR), and the lower whisker marks the larger of the smallest value and quartile 1–1.5 IQR. Outliers are not shown. Plots produced using the R package graphics, version 3.3.1.</p

Environmental effects and fish community structure

PERMANOVA results from the model fish ~ exposure + distance + population</i&... more PERMANOVA results from the model fish ~ exposure + distance + population, stratified by year and terms added sequentially (first to last). Df = degree(s) of freedom, SS = Sums of Squares, MS = Mean Squares, F = F statistic obtained from the model, R2 = coefficient of determination, and p = probability of the obtained (model) F exceeding the predicted F statistic by chance.</p

Diversity in marine protected area regulations: Protection approaches for locally appropriate marine management

Frontiers in Marine Science

Globally, marine protected area (MPA) objectives have increasingly shifted from a primary focus o... more Globally, marine protected area (MPA) objectives have increasingly shifted from a primary focus on maintaining ecosystems through prohibiting extractive activities, to more equitable approaches that address the needs of both people and nature. This has led to MPAs with a diverse array of fisheries restrictions and recent debate on the type of restrictions that contribute to achieving biodiversity goals. Here we use a global dataset of 172 MPAs (representing 31 nations) alongside nine detailed case study MPAs (from Australia, Belize, Cambodia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Madagascar, Solomon Islands, and United States of America), including partially protected areas that allow regulated fishing, to illustrate the many diverse pathways that some MPAs have adopted to protect biodiversity and safeguard the rights and well-being of resource-dependent coastal communities. We group MPAs based on their restrictions and explore four key insights emerging from these groupi...

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Dendrograms (Ward’s minimum variance method) of Ulithi Atoll sites based on benthic functional groups (2013 and 2014; bray-curtis dissimilarity index; left panel), and fish communities (2012, 2013 and 2014; cao dissimilarity index; right panel)

The sites, ‘Mogp13a’ and ‘Mogp13b’, are, like all of the MogMog sites, ‘lagoonal’, but e... more

List of study sites on Ulithi Atoll, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia

Columns from left to right correspond to: the site code as it appears on <a href=&quo... more

How does indigenous storytelling communicate best practices for coral reef management on Ulithi Atoll

FISH_TRANSECTS_2012_13_14

Benthic Composition Summary Data

Data from: Atoll-scale patterns in coral reef community structure: Human signatures on Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia

Genomic islands of divergence in the Yellow Tang and the Brushtail Tang Surgeonfishes

Ecology and evolution, 2018

The current ease of obtaining thousands of molecular markers challenges the notion that full phyl... more The current ease of obtaining thousands of molecular markers challenges the notion that full phylogenetic concordance, as proposed by phylogenetic species concepts, is a requirement for defining species delimitations. Indeed, the presence of genomic islands of divergence, which may be the cause, or in some cases the consequence, of speciation, precludes concordance. Here, we explore this issue using thousands of RAD markers on two sister species of surgeonfishes (Teleostei: Acanthuridae), and and several populations within each species. Species are readily distinguished based on their colors (solid yellow and solid brown, respectively), yet populations and species are neither distinguishable using mitochondrial markers (cytochrome c oxidase 1), nor using 5193 SNPs (pairwise Φst = 0.034). In contrast, when using outlier loci, some of them presumably under selection, species delimitations, and strong population structure follow recognized taxonomic positions (pairwise Φst = 0.326). Sp...

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Corallimorph and Montipora Reefs in Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia: documenting unusual reefs

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Genomic islands of divergence in the Yellow Tang and the Brushtail Tang Surgeonfishes

Ecology and Evolution, Aug 2, 2018

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Atoll-scale patterns in coral reef community structure: Human signatures on Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia

PLOS ONE, May 10, 2017

Download

Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs

Global Change Biology, Apr 5, 2023

Collaborating with indigenous citizen scientists towards sustainable coral reef management in a changing world

Routledge eBooks, Oct 31, 2017

Transformation for inclusive conservation: evidence on values, decisions, and impacts in protected areas

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs

Global Change Biology

Scientists and managers rely on indicator taxa such as coral and macroalgal cover to evaluate the... more Scientists and managers rely on indicator taxa such as coral and macroalgal cover to evaluate the effects of human disturbance on coral reefs, often assuming a universally positive relationship between local human disturbance and macroalgae. Despite evidence that macroalgae respond to local stressors in diverse ways, there have been few efforts to evaluate relationships between specific macroalgae taxa and local human-driven disturbance. Using genus-level monitoring data from 1205 sites in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, we assess whether macroalgae percent cover correlates with local human disturbance while accounting for factors that could obscure or confound relationships. Assessing macroalgae at genus level revealed that no genera were positively correlated with all human disturbance metrics. Instead, we found relationships between the division or genera of algae and specific human disturbances that were not detectable when pooling taxa into a single functional category, which is common to many analyses. The convention to use percent cover of macroalgae as an indication of local human disturbance therefore likely obscures signatures of local anthropogenic threats to reefs. Our limited understanding of relationships between human disturbance, macroalgae taxa, and their responses to human disturbances impedes the ability to diagnose and respond appropriately to these threats.

Benthic cover composition and fish community structure

Environmental effects and benthic cover composition

Benthic cover (% cover) compared across sites from cluster 1 (uninhabited, oceanic), cluster 2 (inhabited, oceanic), and cluster 3 (inhabited & uninhabited, lagoonal) (a-f)

Fish biomass, abundance and size on Ulithi Atoll

Environmental effects and fish community structure

Diversity in marine protected area regulations: Protection approaches for locally appropriate marine management

Frontiers in Marine Science

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The sites, ‘Mogp13a’ and ‘Mogp13b’, are, like all of the MogMog sites, ‘lagoonal’, but e... more

List of study sites on Ulithi Atoll, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia

Columns from left to right correspond to: the site code as it appears on <a href=&quo... more

How does indigenous storytelling communicate best practices for coral reef management on Ulithi Atoll

FISH_TRANSECTS_2012_13_14

Benthic Composition Summary Data

Data from: Atoll-scale patterns in coral reef community structure: Human signatures on Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia

Genomic islands of divergence in the Yellow Tang and the Brushtail Tang Surgeonfishes

Ecology and evolution, 2018

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