[en] Climatic and anthropogenic disturbances alter coral reefs by reconfiguring existing coral assemblages. Surviving species are selected by the new environment based on particular traits that they may exhibit, with the plasticity in traits defining ecological strategies associated with contrasting degrees of tolerance to changes. In this process, specialists are expected to tolerate few changes to the environmental conditions and are restricted to specific habitat, while generalists can cope with a wider range of environmental conditions by readjusting traits according to the habitat’s features. Ecological strategies in corals have been exclusively defined according to species’ trait averages, irrespective of individual variations. Challenges representing the acquisition and use of energy have also tended to be oversimplified, specifically by the choice of easy traits in the absence of strong scientific evidence. In this study, we propose a re-examination of strategies in scleractinian corals by focusing on the intraspecific variation of traits. We will investigate how the characteristics of a given species niche can help coral species to tolerate changes. Our multidisciplinary approach will focus on three major characteristics of the coral holobiont (its physiology, trophic ecology, and associated microbiome) which together can define the ecological plasticity of species. This work is of tremendous importance for enhancing the understanding of coral response to environmental changes and for ensuring functions as well as the services of this ecosystem to future generations.
