species_params dataframe for a simple, generic Caribbean reef with 3 species groups

This data frame contains species-level parameters for three functional groups: predators, herbivores, and invertebrates. Parameters include biomasses from empirical data collected in Bonaire (FORCE dataset, see: Dryden, C. (2017), "Habitat structural complexity of Caribbean coral reefs and its relationships with fish community structure", Newcastle University), as well as growth rates, maturation ages, and other life-history traits derived from FishBase (www.fishbase.org) and published literature. See thesis for further details on parameter sources and derivation.

Usage

caribbean_3_species

Format

data frame

Source

PhD Thesis, FORCE dataset

Details

For details on parameter derivation and model calibration, see Chapter 3 of the PhD Thesis: Beese, C. (2025). "Modelling Coral Reef Futures: Exploring the role of structural complexity in sustaining ecosystem services." Victoria University of Wellington.

Two herbivore parameters were revised in 2026 during recalibration against a corrected senescence-mortality formula (see caribbean_3_model's documentation and inst/scripts/Caribbean_3_model-calibration.R's design note): satiation (FALSE -> TRUE) and age_mat (4 -> 1.6, the age at median sexual maturity reported for the stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride, by Rivera Hernandez & Shervette (2025), replacing a value that appears to have conflated it with that species' age at sexual transition).

References

FORCE dataset. From: Dryden, C. (2017). Habitat structural complexity of Caribbean coral reefs and its relationships with fish community structure. PhD Thesis, Newcastle University. http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/3574

Rivera Hernandez, J.M. & Shervette, V.R. (2025). Addressing life history information gaps for Caribbean parrotfishes: queen parrotfish Scarus vetula and stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 108, 179-198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-024-01651-x

Beese, C. (2025). PhD Thesis. "Modelling Coral Reef Futures: Exploring the role of structural complexity in sustaining ecosystem services." Victoria University of Wellington. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.26421523