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Data and code from: Taxon- and size-specific variation in coral growth between tropical and subtropical-temperate reefs of the western Pacific

Lin, Yuting Vicky1; Munasik, Munasik2; Roeroe, Kakaskasen Andreas3; Arakaki, Seiji4; Mezaki, Takuma5; Kawai, Takashi6; Tanangonan, Jean J.B.7; Wijayanti, Diah Permata2; Nozawa, Yoko18

Research facility: University of the Ryukyus
Published Sep 30, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.v15dv429r

Data files

Sep 30, 2026 version files 214.80 KB

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Abstract

Aim: Growth is a key demographic process shaping population dynamics by regulating reproduction and mortality, with important consequences for the latitudinal structuring of coral assemblages. Although growth in reef-building corals generally declines with increasing latitude, it remains unclear whether this pattern is consistent across taxa and colony sizes. Here, we test the hypothesis that coral growth responses differ between tropical and subtropical-temperate regions, and these differences are both size-dependent and taxon-specific, reflecting differential environmental constraints and life-history strategies.

Location: Western Pacific

Taxon: Scleractinian corals

Methods: We quantified annual growth rates for 941 colonies spanning a wide size range (planar tissue area, 0.2–1,904 cm²) from five common coral genera (Acropora, Pocillopora, Porites, Dipsastraea, and Favites) across tropical (7 sites, 5°S–9°N) and subtropical–temperate (7 sites, 26–32°N) regions in the western Pacific from 2012 to 2014. For each genus, we applied linear mixed-effects models to evaluate whether growth differed between latitudinal regions and how it varied with colony size.

Results: We found pronounced genus- and size-specific growth patterns across latitudinal regions. Pocillopora and Porites grew faster in the tropical region, with differences decreasing as colony size increased. Acropora showed similar trends, but high individual variability obscured significant differences. In contrast, Dipsastraea and Favites exhibited faster growth in the tropical region primarily in juvenile size classes.

Main conclusions: Our findings challenge the assumption of uniform latitudinal declines in coral growth and demonstrate that growth responses across latitudinal regions depend strongly on both taxon and colony size. Incorporating such variability into demographic models will improve predictions of trajectories and tropicalization in coral assemblages under ongoing climate warming.