Greater biomass and value of target coral-reef fishes in two small Caribbean marine reserves

Polunin, Nvc; Roberts, C.M

doi:10.3354/meps100167

Cited by 342 publications

(257 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Polunin & Roberts 1993, Wantiez et al 1997, Chapman & Kramer 1999, Mumby et al 2006. A major challenge for community-wide studies is extracting meaningful patterns in species' responses amid high background levels of variation inherent to diverse assemblages of species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic restructuring of coral reef fish communities in a large marine reserve

Lamb¹,

Johnson²

2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Marine reserves can directly replenish heavily fished species. However, communitywide effects of reserves are less clear. Marine reserves directly reduce fishing mortality rates, but through the restoration of apex predators, reserves may have strong indirect effects on non-target species. We explored the effects of a large, fully protected marine reserve in the Bahamas on the community of coral-reef fishes. We examined the effect of the reserve on fish biomass by comparing the density and size of all fishes on similar reefs located inside and outside the reserve. Total biomass of fishes was approximately 7× higher in reserve sites, where biomass was strongly concentrated in species of higher trophic levels. Analysis based on the relative magnitude of individual species' responses indicated that, on average, the largest species increased in biomass within the reserve, intermediate-sized species decreased, and the smallest species exhibited variable responses. Species' responses to the reserve were also examined by pooling species into 9 trophic categories using consumptive relationships, which provided corroborating results. Large piscivores (e.g. sharks, large groupers) were on average larger and more abundant inside the reserve. Mid-trophic-level groups (e.g. small piscivores) had higher average biomass outside of the reserve, where the number of species and biomass of large predators was lower. Finally, some low-trophic-level groups (e.g. planktivores) had higher biomass within the reserve, while others (e.g. small herbivores) did not respond strongly. Overall, these results suggest that marine reserves can substantially alter the composition and structure of reef fish communities. KEY WORDS:Top-down effects · Indirect effects · Food web · Community structure · Coral reef fishes · Fish biomass · Reef-fish communities · Marine reserve Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic restructuring of coral reef fish communities in a large marine reserve

Lamb¹,

Johnson²

2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Rugosity was estimated visually on a scale from 0 (virtually flat) to 4 (highly rugose) based on the amount of vertical substrate, hideouts, and caves (Polunin and Roberts 1993). As a proxy of turbidity, horizontal visibility was quantified using a Secchi disk and a measuring tape deployed by two snorkelers at a depth of 1 m.…”

Section: Quantifying Environmental Moderators Of Predation Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of predation risk on the sheltering behaviour of the coral-dwelling damselfish, Pomacentrus moluccensis

et al. 2018

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Predation is a key ecosystem function, especially in high diversity systems such as coral reefs. Not only is predation one of the strongest top-down controls of prey population density, but it also is a strong driver of prey behaviour and function through non-lethal effects. We ask whether predation risk influences sheltering behaviour of damselfish living in mutualism with branching corals. Host corals gain multiple advantages from the mutualistic relationship which are determined by the strength of damselfish sheltering. Distance travelled by the Lemon Damselfish Pomacentrus moluccensis away from their host colony was measured here as a proxy for sheltering strength and was expected to be shortest under highest predation risk. Predation risk, defined as a function of predator abundance and activity, turbidity and habitat complexity, was quantified at four reef slope sites in Kepulauan Seribu, Indonesia. Damselfish sheltering strength was measured using stationary unmanned video cameras. Small damselfish (< 2 cm) increased their sheltering strength under high turbidity. Predator feeding activity, but not abundance, influenced damselfish sheltering strength. Contrary to our expectations, sheltering behaviour of adult damselfish decreased under high predator activity. While these observations are in line with riskaverse behaviour by juvenile P. moluccensis, they may indicate the presence of sentinel behaviour in the adults of this species. Habitat complexity seemed to be less important as a driver of damselfish behaviour. These counterintuitive results may indicate complex social behaviour and age-specific strategies for predator avoidance.

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“…data), although we saw no active traps during our work. As our study area is ~20 km from the nearest town or village, there is little unselective commercial and subsistence fishing such as that which targets surgeonfishes elsewhere in Belize (Polunin & Roberts 1993).…”

Section: Sampling Locationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Belize Polunin & Roberts (1993) compared abundances, average sizes and biomass of fished reef-fishes in 1 reserve site vs. 4 nearby non-reserve sites on a section of the main barrier reef with intense commercial fishing plus heavy subsistence fishing that involved traps. They found more and larger individuals of ~25% of 40 species (including 2 Acanthurus spp, but not Acanthurus bahianus) inside the reserve, but no differences in the abundance and biomass of surgeonfishes (all species combined) in and out of the reserve.…”

Section: Barbadosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ocean surgeonfish Acanthurus bahianus. II. Fishing effects on longevity, size and abundance?

Robertson¹,

Choat²,

Posada³

et al. 2005

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The ocean surgeonfish Acanthurus bahianus, an abundant small herbivore on reefs throughout the tropical west and central Atlantic, is a significant component of Caribbean trapfishery catches. To assess effects of fishing on this species we compared its longevity, survivorship, size and abundance at localities throughout its range that have differing intensities and targets of fishing. Temperature explains nearly all of the geographic variation in maximum longevity of A. bahianus, and most of the variation in adult survivorship, with no indications of consistent fishing effects on either. Variation in maximum and median length (1.6-fold) and in abundance (16-fold) also are not consistently related to fishing. A. bahianus has similar demographic characteristics at 2 neighbouring (50 km apart) offshore Venezuelan reefs, one a well protected reserve, the other with intense fishing for predators. At Panamá, the abundance of adult A. bahianus showed no trend of change from 1979 to 1997, as the local density of subsistence fishers increased by ~70%. The lack of consistent fishing-effects on this species found in this and some other studies may reflect a combination of (1) resilience to fishing mortality arising from rapid growth to asymptotic size, early maturity, small size and abundance, and (2) strong, natural, large-and small-scale spatial variation in demography and abundance obscuring any such effects. Effects of non-catastrophic fishing on sedentary reeffishes with similar demographic characteristics probably will be revealed only through comparisons of subpopulations in adjacent fished and no-take areas involving careful consideration of small-scale habitat effects.

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Greater biomass and value of target coral-reef fishes in two small Caribbean marine reserves

Cited by 342 publications

References 11 publications

Trophic restructuring of coral reef fish communities in a large marine reserve

Trophic restructuring of coral reef fish communities in a large marine reserve

Influence of predation risk on the sheltering behaviour of the coral-dwelling damselfish, Pomacentrus moluccensis

Ocean surgeonfish Acanthurus bahianus. II. Fishing effects on longevity, size and abundance?

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