Shayna Sura

University of California Los Angeles

Ph.D.

Biology

2021

University of Notre Dame

M.S.

Biological Science

2014

University of Notre Dame

B.S.

Environmental Science

2011

Functional groups of herbivores and algae shape the resilience of coral reef ecosystems

Sura SA, Fong P, & Lloyd-Smith J.

2025-07-03

Ecological communities globally are shifting to degraded states, motivating research into attributes supporting resilience or leading to alternative stable states. Coral reef communities are particularly vulnerable as they are facing myriad anthropogenic impacts that contribute to shifts away from coral dominance, motivating much research on whether these shifts are gradual and reversible transitions versus alternative stable states. Empirical studies demonstrate functionally-diverse herbivorous fish communities support coral reef resilience to anthropogenic impacts. However, few coral reef models incorporate herbivore and algal functional groups and quantify their effects on reef resilience and alternative stable states. We built a coral reef model that includes herbivorous fish functional groups and their algal targets and explored how this expansion affects predictions of resilience and alternative stable states under different scenarios of human impacts. We found evenness across the functional groups of herbivores is increasingly important for reef recovery as fishing pressure increases, and recovery is promoted when algal communities begin with more turf than macroalgae. Our findings also highlight that models omitting functional groups that comprise real communities will miss crucial phenomena, such as loss of alternative stable states for browser-dominated communities, or continued presence of alternative stable states in grazer-dominated communities even when fishing pressure is removed entirely. This work advances our ability to understand and predict coral reef resilience and alternative stable states in the Anthropocene, and provides guidance for conservation policy on fishing practices.

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Opportunity knocks: leveraging offshore wind development as a natural experiment to address the ecological function of artificial reefs

R Czaja Jr. +, SA Sura+, DD Chagaris, WF Patterson III, JF Walter III, SR Sagarese, AB Paxton, WD Heyman, and HE Harris

2025-05-05

+ indicates co-first authors

Abstract:
Artificial structures deployed in marine environments as reefs are often presumed to increase fish production. However, our literature review found a lack of evidence, with only 12 studies empirically quantifying secondary production at artificial reefs, and only three studies using a control site. We propose the forthcoming large-scale construction of offshore wind (OSW) energy structures presents a natural experiment to examine the ecological function of artificial reefs, including their effects on fish production. To provide causal inferences of OSW effects, studies must obtain appropriate ‘before’ data, per before-after-control-impact and related designs. This requirement dictates that society must begin planning and collecting data now, prior to OSW deployment. We also highlight that responses beyond fish biomass measures, including life stage specific survival, site fidelity and trophic dynamics, must occur at appropriate spatial and temporal scales to maximise causal inference. By leveraging a timely opportunity and natural experiment with OSW development, the long-running ‘attraction–production debate’ about artificial reef ecological function may be addressed.

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Science priorities to evaluate the impacts of offshore wind energy development on Gulf of America fish and fisheries

SA Sura, RE Czaja Jr., N Brugnone, SL Gibbs, JR Hendon, W Klajbor, AB Paxton, RR Rindone, SR Sagarese, K Wing, L Bosarge, DD Chagaris, WD Heyman, MA Johnston, JA Morris Jr., WF Patterson III, JM Tolan, JF Walter III, and HE Harris

2025-05-27

Objective: Offshore wind (OSW) farms are slated for development in the Gulf of America (also known as the Gulf of Mexico), presenting a timely need to understand the potential effects of their construction and operation on marine ecosystems.

Methods: To help address this need, we convened a transdisciplinary working group of scientists, managers, and representatives of commercial and recreational fisheries to identify and assess research priorities and recommendations related to the effects of OSW farms on fish and fisheries in the Gulf of America.

Results: Here, we share these research priorities for shrimp, reef fishes, coastal migratory pelagics, forage fishes, oceanic pelagic fishes, coastal elasmobranchs, and invasive species. We then detail OSW research needs that are related to oceanographic and ecological processes, and we provide specific recommendations for fisheries management, marine spatial planning, and detection of social and economic effects. Our synthesis highlights three overarching considerations: (1) targeted data collection is needed to disentangle the effects of OSW from those of concurrent natural and anthropogenic stressors, (2) measuring the effects of OSW will require maintaining the integrity of long- term fisheries- independent surveys and augmenting such surveys with comprehensive before- after- control- impact or before- after- gradient research designs, and (3) there are differences in public participation processes for nascent OSW development versus established fisheries management that should be considered to allow meaningful societal participation.

Conclusions: Scientists and natural resource managers have a unique opportunity to address these priorities and recommendations, shaping the understanding of the effects of OSW.

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