Coral-dwelling fishes resistant to bleaching but not to mortality of host corals

Bonin, Mary C.; Munday, Philip L.; McCormick, Mark I.; Srinivasan, Maya; Jones, Geoffrey P.

doi:10.3354/meps08294

Cited by 31 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Habitat degradation had a large, density independent, negative effect on the survival of juveniles of both damselfish species. This is consistent with previous studies, where habitat degradation has led to a loss of coral reef associated fishes, both mensuratively (Jones et al 2004, Munday 2004, Bonin et al 2009b) and through manipulative experiments , Coker et al 2009, Bonin et al 2011. In our study, loss of habitat quality caused both species to be less associated with shelter and introduced strong density dependence in both agonistic interactions and distance to shelter.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…However, given that many coral reef fish species rely on live corals for recruitment habitat (Jones et al 2004), the effects of habitat degradation on the settlement and post-settlement survival of reef fishes may be particularly important in driving communitywide changes in abundance. Declining coral cover can reduce the abundance and diversity of fishes that settle in coral reef habitats (Booth andBeretta 2002, Feary et al 2007) and increase post-settlement mortality rates (Osenberg et al 2006, Bonin et al 2009b. Agonistic interactions can make it difficult for individuals living in degraded habitat patches to relocate to healthy habitats (Coker et al 2012) and may increase predator-induced mortality (McCormick 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Habitat degradation modifies the strength of interspecific competition in coral dwelling damselfishes

Boström‐Einarsson

Bonin

Munday

et al. 2014

Ecology

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Habitat degradation is predicted to exacerbate competition for critical resources; however, the relationship between habitat quality and competition is poorly understood. In this study, we used a manipulative experiment to test the effects of habitat degradation on competition between two planktivorous, coral‐dwelling damselfishes, Chrysiptera parasema and Dascyllus melanurus. Experimental reefs were constructed with either healthy (100% live) or degraded (10% live) Acropora longicyathus coral, stocked with varying densities of these two fish species, and monitored for two months. On healthy habitat, the mortality of C. parasema was density dependent, and increased substantially in the presence of the dominant interspecific competitor D. melanurus. In contrast, on reefs where habitat was degraded, C. parasema mortality was highly variable, density independent, and was no longer influenced by the presence of dominant competitor D. melanurus. Behavioral observations revealed that agonistic interactions for both species increased with density on degraded habitat, but not on healthy habitat. In addition, on degraded reefs, both species displayed a reduced association with reef habitat and ventured further away from shelter with increasing densities of the dominant competitor D. melanurus. These results suggest that reduced habitat quality can have such a profound effect on reef fishes, that it eliminates density‐dependent mortality and competitive dominance hierarchies, thereby substantially altering the mechanisms that structure reef fish communities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat degradation modifies the strength of interspecific competition in coral dwelling damselfishes

Boström‐Einarsson

Bonin

Munday

et al. 2014

Ecology

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“…Indeed, during an ongoing bleaching event Bonin et al . 47 did not record any difference in P . moluccensis recruitment or persistence on bleached and live colonies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…In a study conducted during a natural degradation event, Bonin et al . 47 found that fish on bleached corals did not suffer higher mortality than their counterparts on live corals. Similarly fish on live and bleached corals show the same level of fidelity to their coral habitat while individuals on dead corals are inclined to migrate in search for higher quality habitat 41 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Ultimately, reefs may be reduced to rubble in a process expedited by invertebrate borers and storms over an estimated time-span of 4–10 years 45 , 46 . The loss of shelter and other resources are likely to account for a gradual decline in some coral-dwelling fishes, because refuges from predators are lost as the structural complexity of the coral habitat is lost 21 , 47 , 48 . Given that many studies fail to capture the time-period immediately following a disturbance event, this study offers a unique insight into mechanisms occurring prior to this loss of structural integrity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Loss of live coral compromises predator-avoidance behaviour in coral reef damselfish

Boström‐Einarsson

Bonin

Munday

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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Tropical reefs have experienced an unprecedented loss of live coral in the past few decades and the biodiversity of coral-dependent species is under threat. Many reef fish species decline in abundance as coral cover is lost, yet the mechanisms responsible for these losses are largely unknown. A commonly hypothesised cause of fish decline is the loss of shelter space between branches as dead corals become overgrown by algae. Here we tested this hypothesis by quantifying changes in predator-avoidance behaviour of a common damselfish, Pomacentrus moluccensis, before and after the death of their coral colony. Groups of P. moluccensis were placed on either healthy or degraded coral colonies, startled using a visual stimulus and their sheltering responses compared over a 7-week period. P. moluccensis stopped sheltering amongst the coral branches immediately following the death of the coral, despite the presence of ample shelter space. Instead, most individuals swam away from the dead coral, potentially increasing their exposure to predators. It appears that the presence of live coral rather than shelter per se is the necessary cue that elicits the appropriate behavioural response to potential predators. The disruption of this link poses an immediate threat to coral-associated fishes on degrading reefs.

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Delayed recovery and host specialization may spell disaster for coral‐fish mutualism

Froehlich

Klanten

Hing

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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In the face of climate change, multiple consecutive disturbances are becoming increasingly prevalent globally, and ecosystem stability is being threatened as a result (Hughes et al., 2018;Turner, 2010).Relationships between organisms are important for maintaining ecosystem balance and diversity during these challenging times, especially when one of these organisms is a habitat-forming foundation species, for example, conifers, kelps, and corals (Angelini et al., 2011;Denton & Gokhale, 2019). Mutually beneficial symbioses (here termed "mutualisms") often promote the survival of foundation and partner species, but anthropogenic disturbances are adding extreme pressures on these relationships

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Coral-dwelling fishes resistant to bleaching but not to mortality of host corals

Cited by 31 publications

References 43 publications

Habitat degradation modifies the strength of interspecific competition in coral dwelling damselfishes

Habitat degradation modifies the strength of interspecific competition in coral dwelling damselfishes

Loss of live coral compromises predator-avoidance behaviour in coral reef damselfish

Delayed recovery and host specialization may spell disaster for coral‐fish mutualism

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