3 Reef community transitions during rapid sea-level rise: establishing the thresholds of tolerance Author’s Note: his chapter is based on a published manuscript 1 co-authored with J. Webster, J. C. Braga, K. Sugihara, C. Wallace, Y. Iryu, D. Potts, T. Done, G. Camoin and C. Seard. he co-authors jointly agreed upon the research objectives and approach of the study. he candidate was responsible for developing methodologies and undertaking data collection related to the core logging, with the exception of the following: isolated instances of Acropora and Montipora were provided by Dr. Wallace, Favid identiications were provided by Dr. Sugihara, and all thin section algal identiications were provided by Dr. Braga. he candidate was responsible for all of the presented radiocarbon ages, including all stages of sample preparation, from pre-treatment to graphitisation, at the ANSTO facilities (under the advisement of Geraldine Jacobsen). X-ray difraction powders were prepared by the candidate and calcium carbonate mineralogy was calculated by the candidate under the advisement of Dr. Gordon horogood (ANSTO). he candidate wrote all sections of the chapter, with the exception of the coralline algae assemblage descriptions in the results and the interpretation of the coralline algae diversity. he assemblage characterisations and interpretations are the candidate’s, though palaeo-water depths are a combination of the candidate’s coral assemblage interpretation and Prof. Braga’s coralline algae assemblage interpretation. All igures are the candidate’s. 1 Abbey, E., Webster, J.M., Braga, J.C., Sugihara, K., Wallace, C., Iryu, Y., Potts, D., Done, T., Camoin, G., Seard, C., 2011. Variation in deglacial coralgal assemblages and their paleoenvironmental signiicance: IODP Expedition 310, “Tahiti Sea Level”. Global and Planetary Change 76, 1-15.