DOI: 10.5061/dryad.d7wm37q43
title: Transient amplification enhances the persistence of tropicalising coral assemblages in marginal high latitude environments

description: Predicting the viability of species exposed to increasing climatic stress
 requires an appreciation for the mechanisms underpinning the success or
 failure of marginal populations. Rather than traditional metrics of
 long-term population performance, here we illustrate that short-term
 (i.e., transient) demographic characteristics, including measures of
 resistance, recovery, and compensation, are fundamental in the poleward
 range expansion of hard corals, facilitating the establishment of coral
 populations at higher latitudes. Through the annual census of tropical and
 subtropical Acropora spp. colonies in Japan between 2017-2019, we show how
 enhanced transient amplification (i.e., short-term increases in population
 growth following disturbance) supports the persistence of coral
 assemblages within more variable high-latitude environments. The transient
 dynamics of both the tropical and subtropical assemblages were strongly
 influenced by their corresponding recruitment patterns. However, we
 demonstrate that variation in colony survival and fragmentation patterns
 between the two assemblages determines their relative capacities for
 transient amplification. This latitudinal variation in the transient
 dynamics of Acropora spp. assemblages emphasises that coral populations
 can possess the demographic plasticity necessary for exploiting more
 variable, marginal conditions.
description: This dataset was collected through the repeated annual survey of
 tagged <em>Acropora</em> colonies within tropical (Okinawa)
 and subtropical regions (Kochi) of southern Japan, between 2017 and 2019.
 Across these surveys we documented colony survival, growth, fragmentation,
 and the size of newly appearing recruits. The dataset
 is comprised of tagged colony metadata, specifically location (Country,
 Ecoregion, Site), Colony ID, timing of initial tagging, Species identity
 (Genus, species, etc.), and life-history classification. Next the datafile
 contains successive size estimates obtained for tagged colonies, however
 the data is not longitudinal, and so yearly entries for the same
 individual are entered on seperate rows. Therefore, each row contains each
 colonies size in the previous year (time.t), its bleaching state, and
 whether it was a product of fragmentation, the colonies size in the
 following year (time.t+1), its new bleaching state, and whether it had
 undergone fragmentation is then recorded. The row also details whether
 each entry corresponds with a new fragement or recruit colony (in which
 case colony size for the previous year is entered as NA). If a colony
 entry has a size entry for time.t but no entry for time.t+1 then the
 colony is considered dead.
description: This demographic data was used to parameterise demographic models
 describing the transient (i.e., short-term) dynamics of tropical and
 subtropical <em>Acropora</em> assemblage. The functions used
 to construct these models can be accessed through the PADRINO database, a
 respository for demographic models. All data analysis and model
 parameterisation was carried out using Rstudio.
 Finally, data describing patterns in Acropora recruitment (e.g.
 fecundity and settlement) were also used in the construction of our
 demographic models. These data are not deposisted here as they are part of
 existing publications. Details on the data used to quantify Acropora
 settlement are outlined in Nakamura et al. (2015) (https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11525)
 (contact M. Nakamura for further details). Meanwhile data on
 Acropora fecundity were sourced from the Coral Trait Database (https://coraltraits.org/), and relate to orginal work by Hall & Hughes 1996 (https://doi.org/10.2307/2265514).