Aggregation patterns of two corallivorous snails and consequences for coral dynamics

Hamman, Elizabeth

doi:10.1007/s00338-018-1712-z

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…was found feeding only on scleractinian corals which is in accordance with its ecology as an obligate corallivore (Morton et al, 2002;Rotjan & Lewis, 2008). Few individuals were found on dead corals and coral rubble, probably moving in search for corals following scars or conspecific cues (Morton et al, 2002;Hamman, 2018).…”

Section: Feeding Behavioursupporting

confidence: 66%

“…Sites were randomly selected according to accessibility and surveyed by snorkelling between 0 and 5 m, in accordance with other studies that found Drupella spp. mainly in the shallower reefs (Taylor, 1978;Turner, 1994a;Cumming, 2009a, b;Hoeksema et al, 2013;Bruckner et al, 2017;Koido et al, 2017;Scott et al, 2017a, b;Hamman, 2018;Marimuthu & Tripathy, 2018). To evaluate density variation within and among sites, belt transects of 200 m 2 (50 9 4 m each) were conducted both on the reef flat (6 transects at 0-2 m) and along the reef crest (6 transects at 2-5 m) in each site.…”

Section: Biological and Environmental Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The reduction in live corals caused by the bleaching event in 2016 may have influenced population dynamics of the snail which uses coral colonies as food and shelter (e.g. Ayling & Ayling, 1987;Hamman, 2018). On the other hand, there is evidence that coral predators showing dietary plasticity, like other gastropods and fishes, may prey more heavily on remaining corals (see Pratchett et al, 2004;Cole et al, 2009;Hoeksema et al, 2013;Tsang & Ang, 2014;Zambre & Arthur, 2018).…”

Section: Spatial Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing population collapse of Drupella spp. (Mollusca: Gastropoda) 2 years after a coral bleaching event in the Republic of Maldives

et al. 2021

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Corallivory causes considerable damage to coral reefs and can exacerbate other disturbances. Among coral predators, Drupella spp. are considered as delayer of coral recovery in the Republic of Maldives, although little information is available on their ecology. Thus, we aimed to assess their population structure, feeding behaviour and spatial distribution around 2 years after a coral bleaching event in 2016. Biological and environmental data were collected using belt and line intercept transects in six shallow reefs in Maldives. The snails occurred in aggregations with a maximum of 62 individuals and exhibited a preference for branching corals. Yet, the gastropods showed a high plasticity in adapting feeding preferences to prey availability. Drupella spp. were homogenously distributed in the study area with an average of 9.04 ± 19.72 ind/200 m2. However, their occurrence was significantly different at the reef scale with the highest densities found in locations with higher coral cover. The impact of Drupella spp. appeared to be minimal with the population suffering from the loss of coral cover. We suggest that monitoring programs collect temporal- and spatial-scale data on non-outbreaking populations or non-aggregating populations to understand the dynamics of predation related to the co-occurrence of anthropogenic and natural impacts.

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Section: Feeding Behavioursupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Biological and Environmental Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Spatial Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing population collapse of Drupella spp. (Mollusca: Gastropoda) 2 years after a coral bleaching event in the Republic of Maldives

et al. 2021

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“…Cameron and Edmunds (2014) observed that massive Porites and Pocillopora meandrina growth rates declined with more damaging modes of simulated fish corallivory (growth rates: browsed > scraped > excavated). Yet protection from corallivores with various foraging strategies can increase coral growth (Cox, 1986;Lenihan et al, 2011;Shantz et al, 2011), suggesting that even browsing corallivory has observable effects on coral growth (Shaver et al, 2017;Clements and Hay, 2018;Hamman, 2018). In fact, the gastropod Coralliophila violacea creates energy sinks as neighboring polyps translocate carbon products to the site of injury, allowing these snails to feed for extended periods of time (Oren et al, 1998).…”

Section: Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, the gastropod Coralliophila violacea creates energy sinks as neighboring polyps translocate carbon products to the site of injury, allowing these snails to feed for extended periods of time (Oren et al, 1998). These energy sinks decrease coral growth rates as C. violacea size (Clements and Hay, 2018) and density increases (Hamman, 2018). Furthermore, mucus and tissue feeding Trapezia ectosymbionts can reduce coral calcification (Doo et al, 2018), potentially decreasing coral growth.…”

Section: Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corallivory in the Anthropocene: Interactive Effects of Anthropogenic Stressors and Corallivory on Coral Reefs

2019

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Corallivory is the predation of coral mucus, tissue, and skeleton by fishes and invertebrates, and a source of chronic stress for many reef-building coral species. Corallivores often prey on corals repeatedly, and this predation induces wounds that require extensive cellular resources to heal. The effects of corallivory on coral growth, reproduction, and community dynamics are well-documented, and often result in reduced growth rates and fitness. Given the degree of anthropogenic pressures that threaten coral reefs, it is now imperative to focus on understanding how corallivory interacts with anthropogenic forces to alter coral health and community dynamics. For example, coral bleaching events that stem from global climate change often reduce preferred corals species for many corallivorous fishes. These reductions in preferred prey may result in declines in populations of more specialized corallivores while more generalist corallivores may increase. Corallivory may also make corals more susceptible to thermal stress and exacerbate bleaching. At local scales, overfishing depletes corallivorous fish stocks, reducing fish corallivory and bioerosion, whilst removing invertivorous fishes and allowing population increases in invertebrate corallivores (e.g., urchins, Drupella spp.). Interactive effects of local stressors, such as overfishing and nutrient pollution, can alter the effect of corallivory by increasing coral-algal competition and destabilizing the coral microbiome, subsequently leading to coral disease and mortality. Here, we synthesize recent literature of how global climate change and local stressors affect corallivore populations and shape the patterns and effect of corallivory. Our review indicates that the combined effects of corallivory and anthropogenic pressures may be underappreciated and that these interactions often drive changes in coral reefs on scales from ecosystems to microbes. Understanding the ecology of coral reefs in the Anthropocene will require an increased focus on how anthropogenic forcing alters biotic interactions, such as corallivory, and the resulting cascading effects on corals and reef ecosystems.

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Corallivory varies with water depth to influence the growth of Acropora hyacinthus, a reef‐forming coral

et al. 2021

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A long‐held paradigm is that water depth has a strong influence on coral performance mainly due to the rapid attenuation of light. Yet, many factors influence coral performance across reefscapes, including corallivory. How coral demographic performance changes with water depth and the intensity of corallivory has not been tested but is intriguing because fish abundance and community composition change substantially with water depth. We tested the independent and interactive effects of water depth and corallivory on the growth rates of a reef‐building coral, Acropora hyacinthus common throughout the Indo‐Pacific. Our study was conducted on the fore reef of Mo’orea, French Polynesia, where shallower coral populations have recovered more quickly than deeper populations after a major disturbance that culminated in 2010. Contrary to predictions of the light‐attenuation paradigm, water depth (5 vs. 10 vs. 17 m) did not influence coral growth, regardless from what depth corals were collected. However, the effects of corallivory varied by depth as coral predators significantly reduced the growth rates of A. hyacinthus at 5 and 10 m depth, where the abundance of corallivores and rates of corallivory were greatest. There were no effects of predation on coral growth rates at 17 m, where the intensity of corallivory was lowest. Our results imply that corallivory is not a dominant factor establishing the distribution of A. hyacinthus corals across water depth. Instead, we found that partial predation may limit the potential for recovery of A. hyacinthus in relatively shallow water, where this coral is most abundant. As the frequency and intensity of disturbances impacting coral reef ecosystems increase with climate change and other anthropogenic factors, chronic predation on corals by corallivorous fish may play an increasingly important role in coral community recovery.

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Aggregation patterns of two corallivorous snails and consequences for coral dynamics

Cited by 17 publications

References 39 publications

Assessing population collapse of Drupella spp. (Mollusca: Gastropoda) 2 years after a coral bleaching event in the Republic of Maldives

Assessing population collapse of Drupella spp. (Mollusca: Gastropoda) 2 years after a coral bleaching event in the Republic of Maldives

Corallivory in the Anthropocene: Interactive Effects of Anthropogenic Stressors and Corallivory on Coral Reefs

Corallivory varies with water depth to influence the growth of Acropora hyacinthus, a reef‐forming coral

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