A Busse Balloon in the Lagoon: Herbivore Behaviour Generates Spatial Patterns in Coral Reef Ecosystems

Abstract

Spatial processes, particularly scale-dependent feedbacks, may play important and underappreciated roles in the dynamics of bistable ecosystems. For example, self-organised spatial patterns can allow for stable coexistence of alternative states outside regions of bistability, a phenomenon known as a Busse balloon. We used partial differential equations to explore the potential for such dynamics in coral reefs, focusing on how herbivore behaviour and mobility affect the stability of coral- and macroalgal-dominated states. Herbivore attraction to coral resulted in a Busse balloon that enhanced macroalgal resilience, with patterns persisting in regions of parameter space where nonspatial models predict uniform coral dominance. Thus, our work suggests herbivore association with coral (e.g., for shelter) can prevent reefs from reaching a fully coral-dominated state. More broadly, this study illustrates how consumer space use can prevent ecosystems from undergoing wholesale state transitions, highlighting the importance of explicitly accounting for space when studying bistable systems.