Coarser taxonomic resolutions are informative in revealing fish community abundance trends for the world’s warmest coral reefs

Coral Reefs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Jia Lin ◽  
Ruben H. Roa-Ureta ◽  
Abdullajid Usama Basali ◽  
Joselito Francis Albaran Alcaria ◽  
Reynaldo Lindo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Abundance Trends

Does rapid scavenging hide non-predation mortality in coral-reef communities?

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Rassweiler ◽  
Thomas Rassweiler
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Juvenile Fish ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Fish Mortality ◽  
Adult Fish ◽  
Predation Mortality ◽  
Reef Fish Community ◽  
Main Pathway

Predation is assumed to be a principal cause of adult fish mortality on coral reefs, and therefore a main pathway by which biomass is passed to higher trophic levels. However, the strength of predation has mostly been demonstrated on juvenile fish, and even with juveniles, when predators are excluded, substantial mortality still occurs. Mortality from causes other than predation is rarely considered, because carrion is not common on coral reefs, but the strength of this inference depends crucially on the rate of scavenging. We tested the hypothesis that removal of carrion through scavenging may be very rapid by placing undamaged fish carcasses of a range of species and sizes on reefs in Curaçao, monitoring their rate of disappearance. All carrion was consumed within 24 h and at such rapid rates that, if non-predation mortality were occurring, it would leave little evidence on the reef. Carcasses were consumed almost exclusively by fish, mainly reef-associated piscivores, indicating that scavenged biomass is tightly recycled within the reef fish community. The results of this study suggest that more attention should be paid to quantifying the role of non-predation sources of fish mortality in reef ecosystems.

Habitat biodiversity as a determinant of fish community structure on coral reefs

Ecology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 92 (12) ◽  
pp. 2285-2298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Messmer ◽  
Geoffrey P. Jones ◽  
Philip L. Munday ◽  
Sally J. Holbrook ◽  
Russell J. Schmitt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Fish Community Structure

scholarly journals The importance of sponges and mangroves in supporting fish communities in degraded coral reefs in Caribbean Panama

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina Seemann ◽  
Alexandra Yingst ◽  
Rick D Stuart-Smith ◽  
Graham J Edgar ◽  
Andrew H Altieri
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Trophic Structure ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Fish Biomass ◽  
Total Fish

Fish communities associated with coral reefs worldwide are threatened by overexploitation and other human impacts such as bleaching events that cause habitat degradation. We assessed the fish community on coral reefs on the Caribbean coast of Panama, as well as those associated with mangrove and seagrass habitats, to explore the influences of habitat cover, connectivity and environmental characteristics in sustaining biomass, richness and trophic structure in a degraded tropical ecosystem. Overall, 94 % of all fishes across all habitat types were of small body size (≤11 cm), with communities dominated by fishes that usually live in habitats of low complexity, such as Pomacentridae (damselfishes) and Gobiidae (gobies). Moreover, total fish biomass was very low, small fishes from low trophic levels were over-represented, and top predators were under-represented relative to other Caribbean reefs. For example, herbivorous/omnivorous/detrivorous fishes (trophic level 2-2.7) comprised 37 % of total fish biomass, with the diminutive parrotfish Scarus iseri comprising 72 % of the parrotfish biomass. However, the abundance of sponges and proximity of mangroves were found to be important positive drivers of reef fish richness, biomass and trophic structure on a given reef, presumably by promoting functional processes of ecosystems. The masked goby (Coryphopterus personata) was a strong indicator of reef degradation, apparently benefiting from the reduced density of large predators on local reefs. The damselfish Abudefduf saxatilis was more common on reefs with high sponge cover, and also to proximity to mangroves. Our study suggests that a diverse fish community can persist on degraded coral reefs, and that the availability of habitat forming organisms other than corals, including sponges and mangroves, and their arrangement on the landscape, is critical to the maintenance of functional processes in these ecosystems.

scholarly journals The importance of sponges and mangroves in supporting fish communities in degraded coral reefs in Caribbean Panama

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina Seemann ◽  
Alexandra Yingst ◽  
Rick D Stuart-Smith ◽  
Graham J Edgar ◽  
Andrew H Altieri
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Trophic Structure ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Fish Biomass ◽  
Total Fish

Fish communities associated with coral reefs worldwide are threatened by overexploitation and other human impacts such as bleaching events that cause habitat degradation. We assessed the fish community on coral reefs on the Caribbean coast of Panama, as well as those associated with mangrove and seagrass habitats, to explore the influences of habitat cover, connectivity and environmental characteristics in sustaining biomass, richness and trophic structure in a degraded tropical ecosystem. Overall, 94 % of all fishes across all habitat types were of small body size (≤11 cm), with communities dominated by fishes that usually live in habitats of low complexity, such as Pomacentridae (damselfishes) and Gobiidae (gobies). Moreover, total fish biomass was very low, small fishes from low trophic levels were over-represented, and top predators were under-represented relative to other Caribbean reefs. For example, herbivorous/omnivorous/detrivorous fishes (trophic level 2-2.7) comprised 37 % of total fish biomass, with the diminutive parrotfish Scarus iseri comprising 72 % of the parrotfish biomass. However, the abundance of sponges and proximity of mangroves were found to be important positive drivers of reef fish richness, biomass and trophic structure on a given reef, presumably by promoting functional processes of ecosystems. The masked goby (Coryphopterus personata) was a strong indicator of reef degradation, apparently benefiting from the reduced density of large predators on local reefs. The damselfish Abudefduf saxatilis was more common on reefs with high sponge cover, and also to proximity to mangroves. Our study suggests that a diverse fish community can persist on degraded coral reefs, and that the availability of habitat forming organisms other than corals, including sponges and mangroves, and their arrangement on the landscape, is critical to the maintenance of functional processes in these ecosystems.

scholarly journals Acoustic enrichment can enhance fish community development on degraded coral reef habitat

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy A. C. Gordon ◽  
Andrew N. Radford ◽  
Isla K. Davidson ◽  
Kasey Barnes ◽  
Kieran McCloskey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Ecosystem Recovery ◽  
Coral Rubble ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Reef Degradation

AbstractCoral reefs worldwide are increasingly damaged by anthropogenic stressors, necessitating novel approaches for their management. Maintaining healthy fish communities counteracts reef degradation, but degraded reefs smell and sound less attractive to settlement-stage fishes than their healthy states. Here, using a six-week field experiment, we demonstrate that playback of healthy reef sound can increase fish settlement and retention to degraded habitat. We compare fish community development on acoustically enriched coral-rubble patch reefs with acoustically unmanipulated controls. Acoustic enrichment enhances fish community development across all major trophic guilds, with a doubling in overall abundance and 50% greater species richness. If combined with active habitat restoration and effective conservation measures, rebuilding fish communities in this manner might accelerate ecosystem recovery at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Acoustic enrichment shows promise as a novel tool for the active management of degraded coral reefs.

Coral bleaching, reef fish community phase shifts and the resilience of coral reefs

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1587-1594 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID R. BELLWOOD ◽  
ANDREW S. HOEY ◽  
JOHN L. ACKERMAN ◽  
MARTIAL DEPCZYNSKI
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Reef Fish ◽  
Coral Bleaching ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Phase Shifts ◽  
Reef Fish Community

scholarly journals Cambios en la comunidad de peces por efecto del desarrollo costero en el Parque Nacional Huatulco (México)

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Gibran Juárez Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Coastal Development ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Fish Samples ◽  
Average Abundance ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
Inverse Pattern

Coastal development and urbanization have increased the sediments that are washed from the land surface, producing adverse effects on the structure and functioning of coral reefs. The objective of this study was to identify the degree to which excessive sediments have disturbed the fish community in the coral reefs in the Maguey and Violin bays, located in the Huatulco National Park (Mexico). Fish samples were collected before and after disturbances produced by sediments associated with coastal development projects. Indicators of changes in the fish communities included the number and diversity of species as well as equity and dominance before and after the disturbances. The analysis was performed through means comparison tests, similarity analysis (ANOSIM) and similarity percentage analysis (SIMPER). In both locations, it was observed that the diversity, evenness, abundance and number of species were higher prior to the disturbance, but not for dominance, which shows an inverse pattern. In Maguey, significant differences in evenness and dominance were observed (U = 28, p = 0.0401; U = 24, p = 0.0472), as well as in species composition and abundance (ANOSIM = 0.35, p = 0.009). The similarity percentage analysis (SIMPER) indicated that after the disturbance, more than 46 % of the species showed decreases in average abundance, highlighting the absence of Prionurus laticlavius, as well as the decrease in abundance of: P. punctatus, Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus, Microspathodon dorsalis, Lutjanus novemfaciatus and Stegates acapulcoensis. Inadequate planning and implementation of coastal development projects that contribute to the discharge of excessive sediments into the sea were determinants of negative changes in the coral communities in Maguey and Violin, whose effects could be seen in the composition of the species and the abundance, equity, and dominance of the fish community in Maguey.

Greedy rats take a bite out of coral reefs

Nature ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs
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