Cross and long-shore variations in reef fish assemblage structure and implications for biodiversity management

Bach, Lydia Luise; Saunders, Benjamin J.; Newman, Stephen J.; Holmes, Thomas H.; Harvey, Euan S.

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2018.12.023

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…The authors investigated fish assemblage compositions along an inshore-to-offshore gradient (3-23 m depth) and in two marine reserves in Western Australia, 70 km apart. Their findings revealed that the depth and distance from the shore had a substantial effect on the richness and quantity of fish species in the two studied locations [61]. Similar results were reported by McLean et al (2016) in the Pilbara bioregion in north-western Australia [62].…”

Section: Pioneering Countries With a Hard Sustainability Approach In ...supporting

confidence: 65%

“…According to Bach et al (2019), there are still insufficient benthic habitat maps in Australia, making it challenging to establish reserved areas for biodiversity in MSP with a habitat-based management approach. The authors investigated fish assemblage compositions along an inshore-to-offshore gradient (3-23 m depth) and in two marine reserves in Western Australia, 70 km apart.…”

Section: Pioneering Countries With a Hard Sustainability Approach In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was suggested that while developing regional marine reserves, reserved area boundaries should include the entire depth gradient as well as the entire distance from the shore to offshore in order to fully account for fish migration patterns. Stratified sample methods are also beneficial for understanding the effect of the depth and distance from the shore within a habitat type in monitoring the outcomes of MSP when selecting reserved areas for biodiversity [61,62]. Table 6 shows the adaption of MSP in Australia to the four main stages of the MSP process.…”

Section: Pioneering Countries With a Hard Sustainability Approach In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soft vs. Hard Sustainability Approach in Marine Spatial Planning: Challenges and Solutions

Rezaei,

Contestabile,

Vicinanza

et al. 2024

Water

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Hitherto, over 50% of countries with marine waters have established MSPs or launched related legal actions. However, there are still conceptual and practical challenges to be overcome in the development of MSP. In this study, we investigate two main approaches in MSP (hard vs. soft sustainability) through reports, published manuscripts and meeting proceedings in seven pioneering countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada). We highlight the gaps, challenges, and solutions in each of these approaches. From our findings, there are four common challenges in both soft and hard sustainability approaches as follows: (i) the political framework and inconsistent support of MSP efforts, (ii) insufficient knowledge on social dimensions, (iii) insufficient stakeholder engagement in the diversity of stakeholder’s groups or in their contribution to the planning process from the initial steps, and (iv) finding a balance between environmental conservation and economic growth. We recommend that future studies should investigate how MSP can become more adaptive to long-term environmental and economic targets, how effective involving socioeconomic strata is in MSP, and how decision-making tools could help to cover the gaps in MSP. Furthermore, public forums are suggested to be developed to facilitate the systematic sharing of MSP experiences worldwide.

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Section: Pioneering Countries With a Hard Sustainability Approach In ...supporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Pioneering Countries With a Hard Sustainability Approach In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pioneering Countries With a Hard Sustainability Approach In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soft vs. Hard Sustainability Approach in Marine Spatial Planning: Challenges and Solutions

Rezaei,

Contestabile,

Vicinanza

et al. 2024

Water

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“…), or were oblique to the camera with neither the head nor tail visible, we allocated that fish a mean length which was based on that specific species from within the same habitat (similar to Ref. 55 ). Classification of feeding guilds for fish were sourced from FishBase based on the ecology and/or diet descriptions 54 (See Supplementary Table S1 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish associations with shallow water subsea pipelines compared to surrounding reef and soft sediment habitats

Schramm

Marnane

Elsdon

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Offshore decommissioning activities are expected to increase as oil and gas subsea infrastructure becomes obsolete. Decisions on decommissioning alternatives will benefit from quantifying and understanding the marine communities associated with these structures. As a case study, fish assemblages associated with an inshore network of subsea pipelines located on the North West shelf of Western Australia were compared to those in surrounding natural reef and soft sediment habitats using remotely operated vehicles fitted with a stereo-video system (stereo-ROVs). The number of species, the abundance, biomass, feeding guild composition and the economic value of fishes were compared among habitats. The community composition of fish associated with pipelines was distinct from those associated with natural habitats, and was characterised by a greater abundance and/or biomass of fish from higher trophic levels (e.g. piscivores, generalist carnivores and invertivores), including many species considered to be of value to commercial and recreational fishers. Biomass of fish on pipelines was, on average, 20 times greater than soft sediments, and was similar to natural reefs. However, the biomass of species considered important to fisheries recorded on the pipelines was, on average 3.5 times greater than reef and 44.5 times greater than soft sediment habitats. This study demonstrates that fish assemblages on the pipeline infrastructure exhibit high ecological and socioeconomic values.

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“…sponges) also compete with corals and point to the need to consider the effects of other benthic foragers on coral settlement and survival (Elliott et al 2016;Madduppa et al 2017) Foraging impacts vary with species traits, therefore impacts delivered collectively by a fish assemblage also vary according to the distribution and composition of these traits (Cheal et al 2010). The species and trait composition of fish assemblages vary widely across space in coral reefs, depending on structural complexity of the habitat and environmental gradients (Cheal et al 2012;Darling et al 2017;Richardson et al 2017;Bach et al 2019). The trait variation within an assemblage results in highly differentiated strategies between species (trait complementarity) or similar overlapping strategies (trait redundancy).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coral settlement and recruitment are negatively related to reef fish trait diversity

et al. 2023

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The process of coral recruitment is crucial to the healthy functioning of coral reef ecosystems, as well as recovery following disturbances. Fishes are key modulators of this process by feeding on algae and other benthic taxa that compete with corals for benthic space. However, foraging strategies within reef fish assemblages are highly diverse and the effect of foraging diversity on coral recruitment success remains poorly understood. Here, we test how the foraging traits of reef fishes affect coral settlement and juvenile success at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. Using a multi-model inference approach incorporating six metrics of fish assemblage foraging diversity (foraging rates, trait richness, trait evenness, trait divergence, herbivore abundance, and benthic invertivore abundance), we found that herbivore abundance had positive effects on both coral settlement and recruitment success. However, foraging trait diversity had a negative effect on coral settlement but not on recruitment. Coral settlement was higher at sites with less trait diverse fish assemblages, specifically in trait divergence and richness. Moreover, these two trait diversity metrics were stronger predictors of coral settlement success compared to herbivore abundance. Our findings provide evidence that impacts mediated by fish foraging on coral juveniles can potentially be harmful during settlement, but the space-clearing effect overall remains advantageous. We show here that the variation of fish biodiversity across reefs can be a partial driver to spatially uneven patterns of coral recruitment and reef recovery.

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Cross and long-shore variations in reef fish assemblage structure and implications for biodiversity management

Cited by 10 publications

References 90 publications

Soft vs. Hard Sustainability Approach in Marine Spatial Planning: Challenges and Solutions

Soft vs. Hard Sustainability Approach in Marine Spatial Planning: Challenges and Solutions

Fish associations with shallow water subsea pipelines compared to surrounding reef and soft sediment habitats

Coral settlement and recruitment are negatively related to reef fish trait diversity

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