Impacts of contaminant sources on marine fish abundance and species richness: a review and meta-analysis of evidence from the field

McKinley, Andrew C.; Johnston, Emma L.

doi:10.3354/meps08856

Cited by 45 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 106 publications

(145 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Negative effects of pollutants on biogenic habitat such as the larger canopy-forming kelps present in these regions may well result in a reduction in the number of species and individuals observed on rocky reefs, as has been noted in studies of other pollutants and habitat types (Deegan et al, 2002;McKinley and Johnston, 2010) or related to other causes for loss of some of the same kelp species (Ling, 2008). However, it is also possible that observed patterns may partially reflect outcomes of direct impacts on the growth, fecundity Distance from the Hobart port (km) and performance of some species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…modes or life-history characteristics (Reish, 1955;Heck, 1976;Pearson and Rosenberg, 1978;Warwick, 1986;Schaaf et al, 1987;Claudet and Fraschetti, 2010;Edgar et al, 2010). Few studies have assessed pollution impacts on marine fishes at the community level, but from those included in the meta-analysis of McKinley and Johnston (2010), positive responses in overall abundance and species richness to organic enrichment were the only relatively consistent trends identified. The clearest message apparent from previous research is that community-level responses to urbanisation may be complex and unpredictable, affected by varying tolerances of different species to numerous contaminants and sources of disturbance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Loss of native rocky reef biodiversity in Australian metropolitan embayments

Stuart‐Smith

Edgar

Stuart-Smith

et al. 2015

Marine Pollution Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Loss of native rocky reef biodiversity in Australian metropolitan embayments

Stuart‐Smith

Edgar

Stuart-Smith

et al. 2015

Marine Pollution Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…A recent metaanalysis of contaminants, such as nitrogen enrichment, found that point sources (e.g. fish farms and sewage treatment plants) had a positive effect on fish abundances, while diffuse sources such as run-off produced negative effects (McKinley & Johnston 2010). It is possible that pollutants other than nutrients that are present in run-off, the main source of enrichment in this study, have negative effects on higher trophic levels, such as fish, that are not apparent in studies from point source enrichment (van der Oost et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic responses to nutrient enrichment in a temperate seagrass food chain

York¹,

Kelaher²,

Booth³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Simple ecological models that predict trophic responses to bottom-up forcing are valuable tools for ecosystem managers. Traditionally, theoretical ecologists have used resource-dependent functional responses to explain the modification of food chains exposed to bottom-up perturbations. These models predict alternating positive, negative and zero responses at each trophic level. More recently, ratio-dependent functional response models that predict proportional increases at each level have challenged this paradigm. The present study tested the predictions of the 2 hypotheses empirically by comparing the relative biomasses of 4 trophic levels of an estuarine seagrass food chain in relatively undisturbed, low-nutrient catchments and 'developed' catchments subjected to a prolonged period of nutrient enrichment. We found that nutrient-enriched sites had significantly greater biomass of both epiphytic algae and grazing invertebrates; however, the bottom-up forcing of nutrients was attenuated at higher trophic levels (occupied by juvenile and piscivorous fish), with no significant effect of catchment development. This disconnect in the upward cascade of energy may be due to a number of possible reasons including high levels of diversity and omnivory, trophic subsidy within the system or the strength or nature of perturbations. Although the predictions of both hypotheses failed to hold across all trophic groups, ratio dependence was prevalent at the lower levels of the food chain, which has implications for catchment management.

show abstract

“…Marine fishes have been affected by many anthropogenic stressors such as overfishing and pollution (Pauly et al, 2002;Pereira et al, 2014) which can cause a decline on species richness and abundance (e.g., McKinley and Johnston, 2010). Overfishing is generally regarded as the major human activity impacting fish assemblages.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spongivory by Fishes on Southwestern Atlantic Coral Reefs: No Evidence of Top-Down Control on Sponge Assemblages

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Predator-prey dynamics can affect assemblage structure and ecosystem processes representing a central theory in ecology. In coral reef ecosystems, recent evidences have suggested that sponge assemblages in regions with high diversity, like the Caribbean, are controlled by reef fishes (i.e., top-down control); however, this has been poorly studied in low diversity coral reefs. This study investigated the influence of fish predators on sponge assemblage structure in South Atlantic coral reefs, systems with high endemism and relatively low hermatypic coral diversity. We investigates (i) whether sponge cover is negatively correlated to spongivorous fish density, (ii) potential spongivory effects on competitive interactions between sponges and hermatypic corals, and (iii) foraging preferences of spongivorous fishes. Benthic cover and spongivorous fish density were assessed by photo sampling and visual census, respectively. We did not observe a negative correlation of the total density of spongivorous fish with total sponge cover. However, a significant negative correlation between density of fish species Pomacanthus arcuatus and cover of sponge species Scopalina ruetzleri was found. Spongivorous fish consumed preferentially the sponges Desmapsamma anchorata, Niphates erecta, Aplysina cauliformis, and S. ruetzleri, the first two species considered palatable and the second two with chemically defense mechanism. An increase to angelfish density was not related with the number of coral-sponge encounters. Thus, the effects of spongivorous fishes on sponges cover and competitive interactions with hermatypic corals is weaker in Southwestern Atlantic than previously reported in Caribbean coral reefs. We discuss how local human impacts (e.g., fishing and nutrients input) can influence the observed patterns.

show abstract

Impacts of contaminant sources on marine fish abundance and species richness: a review and meta-analysis of evidence from the field

Cited by 45 publications

References 106 publications

Loss of native rocky reef biodiversity in Australian metropolitan embayments

Loss of native rocky reef biodiversity in Australian metropolitan embayments

Trophic responses to nutrient enrichment in a temperate seagrass food chain

Spongivory by Fishes on Southwestern Atlantic Coral Reefs: No Evidence of Top-Down Control on Sponge Assemblages

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About