Larger disturbances produce fewer surviving coral fragments than smaller ones

Evidence

Although several sorts of disturbances produce fragments, the survival of these propagules depends upon the intensity of the disturbance. Very severe storms break fragments into smaller pieces and abrade off the living tissue to a much greater extent than do smaller storms. In addition, when the area of coral surviving a disturbance is quite small, the surviving predator population may concentrate its attacks more intensely. Thus, larger disturbances probably result in few surviving fragment propagules (Knowlton et al, 1981). — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 911

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Post-storm predation pressure intensifies on surviving coral fragments — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 888; Small clearings reoccupy faster than large ones when bordered by vegetative colonies. — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 946; Unrelated sessile communities obey the same disturbance-diversity rule — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural…, 300

Broader Connections

• Small clearings reoccupy faster than large ones when bordered by vegetative colonies. #expands (0.82) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 946
• Unrelated sessile communities obey the same disturbance-diversity rule #expands (0.78) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss, 300