Event

A hierarchical approach to understanding species gradients: Insights from Melanesian coral reefs

Synopsis: The reefs of the Indo-Pacific are the most diverse on the planet and represent a global biodiveristy hotspot. This diversity, however is heterogeneously distributed with the epicenter occurring in the so called "coral triangle" My work investigates the radial decline in species richness as one moves away from the center of diversity at multiple scales. At the regional scale I explore patterns of nestedness and the impact of alpha taxonomy on our analysis, at the country scale I compare patterns at the high and low end of diversity by looking at both Papua New Guinea and Fiji, finally at the within country scale I explore the differences between fisheries dependent and fisheries independent sampling along with the intersection of fishers' gender on biodiveristy estimates.  Together these results show that diversity gradients, while ubiquitous in macro ecology are a result of a combination of numerous complex processes.