Remote video bioassays reveal the potential feeding impact of the rabbitfish Siganus canaliculatus (f: Siganidae) on an inner-shelf reef of the Great Barrier Reef

Fox, Rebecca J.; Bellwood, David R.

doi:10.1007/s00338-008-0359-6

Cited by 110 publications

(128 citation statements)

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“…In particular, the large seasonal build-ups of macroalgal biomass on the reef crest and reef flat remain largely unexploited. This is consistent with other studies (McClanahan et al 1999;Bellwood et al 2006;Ledlie et al 2007;Mantyka and Bellwood 2007;Fox and Bellwood 2008) that have reported the limited impact of scarids on well-established mature macroalgal stands.…”

Section: Seasonal Aspects Of Food Choicesupporting

confidence: 93%

Limited flexibility in resource use in a coral reef grazer foraging on seasonally changing algal communities

2010

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Feeding ecology of three life phases of the parrotfish Scarus ferrugineus was studied on a southern Red Sea fringing reef by comparing availability and consumption of benthic algae during the monsoon hot and cool seasons. Dominant biota covering dead carbonate substrates were in decreasing order of importance: turfs on endoliths, turfs on crustose corallines, and crustose corallines. On the reef crest and shallow fore reef, composition of the biota changed seasonally. Cover of turfs on endoliths and turfs on crustose corallines was higher during the hot season, while crustose corallines and macroalgae (only on reef crest) increased during the cool season. Biota in the deep fore reef did not show seasonal variation. All life phases used similar resources and showed selective feeding in all zones. Turfs on endoliths, followed by turfs on crustose corallines, was the primary feeding substrate. These two sources represented over 92% of bites during both seasons. Crustose corallines, macroalgae, and living corals were negligible components being strongly avoided at all zones and seasons. Resource use varied seasonally on the reef crest and shallow fore reef, while it remained unchanged on the deep fore reef. Turfs on endoliths were consistently preferred in both seasons but their contribution increased from 45% in the cool to 70% of bites in the hot season. Electivity for turfs on crustose corallines shifted from random feeding in the hot (27% of bites) to selection in the cool season (47% of bites). Feeding pattern changed diurnally with more bites taken from crustose corallines and turfs on crustose corallines during morning. During the rest of the day, bites from turfs on endoliths predominate. S. ferrugineus shows limited capacity to exploit seasonal increases in the biomass of foliose and canopy forming macroalgae, despite indications of energetic limitation during the cool season.

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Section: Seasonal Aspects Of Food Choicesupporting

confidence: 93%

Limited flexibility in resource use in a coral reef grazer foraging on seasonally changing algal communities

2010

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“…If Pioneer Bay is suffering from such extreme reductions in grazing and browsing, why have we not seen a shift to macroalgal dominance? Previous studies conducted in this location have revealed that reduced herbivory by fishes is the primary driver of phase-shifts to macroalgal dominance (Hughes et al 2007), and that browsing reef fishes are critical for recovery following macroalgal development (Bellwood et al 2006a, Fox and Bellwood 2008, Hoey and Bellwood 2011. The changes in grazing and browsing rates documented in this study seem to represent the ideal conditions for development of macroalgae in a system that has a history of this outcome.…”

Section: Subtle Signs Of Ecosystem Degradation: Browsers and Macroalgaementioning

confidence: 48%

“…This is particularly worrying when combined with severely reduced grazing, which offers less control over the development of macroalgae. In most previous studies, individual thalli of Sargassum have been grazed within a day of deployment (this study, Mantyka and Bellwood 2007, Fox and Bellwood 2008, Cvitanovic and Bellwood 2009, Lefèvre and Bellwood 2011, Hoey and Bellwood 2011 and even large deployments of the macroalga, which simulate phase-shifts, have largely been removed in four to five days (Bellwood et al 2006a, Hoey and. Although browsing has not faced the declines seen in grazing, even slight changes may affect the ability of the reef to prevent, and recover from, increasing macroalgal abundance Bellwood 2011, Graham et al 2013).…”

Section: Subtle Signs Of Ecosystem Degradation: Browsers and Macroalgaementioning

confidence: 98%

Sediments and herbivory as sensitive indicators of coral reef degradation

Goatley¹,

Bonaldo²,

Fox³

et al. 2016

E&S

112

142

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ABSTRACT. Around the world, the decreasing health of coral reef ecosystems has highlighted the need to better understand the processes of reef degradation. The development of more sensitive tools, which complement traditional methods of monitoring coral reefs, may reveal earlier signs of degradation and provide an opportunity for pre-emptive responses. We identify new, sensitive metrics of ecosystem processes and benthic composition that allow us to quantify subtle, yet destabilizing, changes in the ecosystem state of an inshore coral reef on the Great Barrier Reef. Following severe climatic disturbances over the period 2011-2012, the herbivorous reef fish community of the reef did not change in terms of biomass or functional groups present. However, fish-based ecosystem processes showed marked changes, with grazing by herbivorous fishes declining by over 90%. On the benthos, algal turf lengths in the epilithic algal matrix increased more than 50% while benthic sediment loads increased 37-fold. The profound changes in processes, despite no visible change in ecosystem state, i.e., no shift to macroalgal dominance, suggest that although the reef has not undergone a visible regime-shift, the ecosystem is highly unstable, and may sit on an ecological knife-edge. Sensitive, process-based metrics of ecosystem state, such as grazing or browsing rates thus appear to be effective in detecting subtle signs of degradation and may be critical in identifying ecosystems at risk for the future.

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“…The monitoring by underwater video has been demonstrated as an effi cient and non-destructive tool for studying fi sh abundance and behaviour (Fox and Bellwood 2008, Layton and Fulton 2014, Noble et al 2014, Pink and Fulton 2015. Different video systems exist such as baited remote underwater video (BRUV) (Watson et al 2005, Cappo et al 2007, Lowry et al 2012, diver operated video (DOV) (Hall andHanlon 2002, Langlois et al 2010), cabled video observatories , and unbaited, remote underwater video (RUV) (Pelletier et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal partitioning of diurnal behavioural patterns of Coris julis and Diplodus vulgaris (Actinopterygii: Perciformes) in Mediterranean coralligenous habitats

Witkowski¹,

Vion²,

Bouchoucha³

2016

Acta Ichthyol. Piscat.

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Background. There is need for more information on behavioural rhythms of fi shes in relation to their habitat use in few or not previously monitored areas, such as coralligenous habitats. Some studies have compiled inventories of observable fi sh species in this habitat, but no studies have been performed on the temporal patterning of fi sh behaviour, especially at the scale of the day. The presently reported study aims at providing knowledge on fi nescale fl uctuations of abundances and behaviour of two fi sh species in coralligenous habitats throughout the diurnal period. Materials and methods. Fish fauna was fi lmed hourly, for several days, from dusk to dawn, with autonomous, programmable, and rotating video systems. Diurnal variations in abundances per count, considering size classes and behaviour, were studied for two diurnal fi sh species-the Mediterranean rainbow wrasse, Coris julis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Labridae), and the common two-banded seabream, Diplodus vulgaris (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817) (Sparidae) in two study areas of coralligenous habitats on the French Riviera.Results. Signifi cant temporal variability at the scale of the hour was revealed for abundances of C. julis in one of the two study areas, with few individuals in crepuscular periods and highest abundances in the morning and in the afternoon. These differences were mainly due to signifi cant diurnal variations in abundances of small and medium C. julis, which were low in crepuscular periods, whereas large-sized individuals were equally abundant during the day. On the other hand, no discernible diurnal rhythmicity of mean abundances of D. vulgaris was observed, regardless of the study area. Crepuscular periods were associated with sudden changes of abundances and behaviour for both species, with a greater percentage of mobile and solitary individuals, and few feeding individuals compared to the rest of the day. Feeding occurred mainly in the morning for C. julis. In contrast, no dial-time preference for feeding was revealed for D. vulgaris. Conclusions. The study provided preliminary insights into fi ne-scale diurnal variations of abundances of different life stages and of fi sh behaviour. Variability in abundances of life stages and of fi sh behaviours at different times of day should be taken into account for population assessments and spatial comparisons. Moreover, our study confi rmed the use of video-imaging as an effi cient non-destructive tool for the study of fi sh fauna in structurally complex, highly valuable habitats.

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Remote video bioassays reveal the potential feeding impact of the rabbitfish Siganus canaliculatus (f: Siganidae) on an inner-shelf reef of the Great Barrier Reef

Cited by 110 publications

References 50 publications

Limited flexibility in resource use in a coral reef grazer foraging on seasonally changing algal communities

Limited flexibility in resource use in a coral reef grazer foraging on seasonally changing algal communities

Sediments and herbivory as sensitive indicators of coral reef degradation

Temporal partitioning of diurnal behavioural patterns of Coris julis and Diplodus vulgaris (Actinopterygii: Perciformes) in Mediterranean coralligenous habitats

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