Differences in the behavior and diet between shoaling and solitary surgeonfish (<i>Acanthurus triostegus</i>)

Guerra, A.S.; Wert, Jacey C. Van; Haupt, Alison J.; McCauley, Douglas J.; Eliason, Erika J.; Young, Hillary S.; Lecchini, David; White, Timothy D.; Caselle, Jennifer E.

doi:10.1002/ece3.9686

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 92 publications

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“…Fishing could also affect food chain length in other less visible ways. For instance, changes in fishing pressure could change the foraging ecology of the remaining consumers across multiple trophic levels, including both diet choice and movement, as has been observed in fish communities experiencing other forms of disturbance (Guerra et al, 2020, 2023; Madin, Gaines, & Warner, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shortened food chain length in a fished versus unfished coral reef

Young,

McCauley,

Micheli

et al. 2024

Ecological Applications

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Direct exploitation through fishing is driving dramatic declines of wildlife populations in ocean environments, particularly for predatory and large‐bodied taxa. Despite wide recognition of this pattern and well‐established consequences of such trophic downgrading on ecosystem function, there have been few empirical studies examining the effects of fishing on whole system trophic architecture. Understanding these kinds of structural impacts is especially important in coral reef ecosystems—often heavily fished and facing multiple stressors. Given the often high dietary flexibility and numerous functional redundancies in diverse ecosystems such as coral reefs, it is important to establish whether web architecture is strongly impacted by fishing pressure or whether it might be resilient, at least to moderate‐intensity pressure. To examine this question, we used a combination of bulk and compound‐specific stable isotope analyses measured across a range of predatory and low‐trophic‐level consumers between two coral reef ecosystems that differed with respect to fishing pressure but otherwise remained largely similar. We found that even in a high‐diversity system with relatively modest fishing pressure, there were strong reductions in the trophic position (TP) of the three highest TP consumers examined in the fished system but no effects on the TP of lower‐level consumers. We saw no evidence that this shortening of the affected food webs was being driven by changes in basal resource consumption, for example, through changes in the spatial location of foraging by consumers. Instead, this likely reflected internal changes in food web architecture, suggesting that even in diverse systems and with relatively modest pressure, human harvest causes significant compressions in food chain length. This observed shortening of these food webs may have many important emergent ecological consequences for the functioning of ecosystems impacted by fishing or hunting. Such important structural shifts may be widespread but unnoticed by traditional surveys. This insight may also be useful for applied ecosystem managers grappling with choices about the relative importance of protection for remote and pristine areas and the value of strict no‐take areas to protect not just the raw constituents of systems affected by fishing and hunting but also the health and functionality of whole systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shortened food chain length in a fished versus unfished coral reef

Young,

McCauley,

Micheli

et al. 2024

Ecological Applications

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Diel movement patterns in nominally nocturnal coral reef fishes (Haemulidae and Lutjanidae): Intra vs. Interspecific variation

Collins,

Bellwood,

Morais

et al. 2024

Coral Reefs

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Movement of animals, habitat connectivity, and nutrient transport are key elements in the ecological functioning of coral reef ecosystems. However, most studies have focused on the diurnal component of these aspects; nocturnal patterns are less known. Our study aims to address this knowledge gap by assessing diel movement patterns in ecologically and commercially important nocturnal coral reef fishes. We evaluate 122-days of acoustic telemetry data from 4 nocturnal species in 2 coral reef fish families (Haemulidae and Lutjanidae) on the Great Barrier Reef. For all species, we found a clear division between daytime resting areas on the reef and a move towards off-reef areas at night. This was highlighted in the low number of detections at night and the high average transitions between receivers at twilight. Over our study period, average nocturnal space use area (minimum convex polygon) of Plectorhincus gibbosus was 328,089 m2, Plectorhincus lineatus 28,828 m2, and Lutjanus carponotatus 20,369 m2. However, results from a Principal Component Analysis revealed that space use, and movement, varied substantially within species; for 3 of the 4 species the main axis of variation correlated with individual-level behaviour. These large differences in individual space use patterns highlight the need for caution when using species averages when considering ecosystem functions. Overall, our preliminary observations provide a glimpse into the large spatial extent, potential habitat connectivity, and intra and interspecific variation in activity patterns among large nocturnal Indo-Pacific reef fishes. This highlights their potential importance in maintaining ecosystem links between coral reefs and adjacent habitats.

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