Responses of Cryptofaunal Species Richness and Trophic Potential to Coral Reef Habitat Degradation

Enochs, Ian C.; Manzello, Derek P.

doi:10.3390/d4010094

Cited by 39 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…This helps explain the common phenomenon of increased herbivore biomass following disturbance 6 . Similarly, dietary resources for mixed-diet carnivores, which target a diverse array of invertebrate prey 25 , may increase on rubble-dominated and degraded reefs, where macroalgae does not dominate space 26 . Conversely, fishing pressure did not decrease over this same time period 27 and is unlikely to have influenced changes in fish biomass.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing role of coral reef marine reserves in a warming climate

et al. 2020

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Coral reef ecosystems are among the first to fundamentally change in structure due to climate change, which leads to questioning of whether decades of knowledge regarding reef management is still applicable. Here we assess ecological responses to no-take marine reserves over two decades, spanning a major climate-driven coral bleaching event. Prebleaching reserve responses were consistent with a large literature, with higher coral cover, more species of fish, and greater fish biomass, particularly of upper trophic levels. However, in the 16 years following coral mortality, reserve effects were absent for the reef benthos, and greatly diminished for fish species richness. Positive fish biomass effects persisted, but the groups of fish benefiting from marine reserves profoundly changed, with low trophic level herbivores dominating the responses. These findings highlight that while marine reserves still have important roles on coral reefs in the face of climate change, the species and functional groups they benefit will be substantially altered.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing role of coral reef marine reserves in a warming climate

et al. 2020

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“…During reef framework degradation following El Niño-induced coral mortality, cryptofaunal community abundances increase and can serve to elevate prey availability for fish consumers (Enochs , and cryptic fishes (e.g. apogonids, grammistids, blenniids, muraenids; Glynn 2006) attain maximum abundances in highly degraded reef frameworks and coral rubble habitats (Enochs & Manzello 2012b). These potential prey are more accessible to excavating macropredators, such as turtles, reef sharks, balistids, labrids, tetraodontids and carangids (Glynn 2008) in degraded and unstable substrates of lower porosity compared with intact reef frameworks (Enochs et al 2011).…”

Section: Patterns In Community Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Eastern Pacific reef fish responses to coral recovery following El Niño disturbances

Glynn

Enochs

Afflerbach

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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This study examined fluctuations in an eastern Pacific reef fish assemblage as it varied with coral recovery over 30 yr. Concurrent fish and coral monitoring were conducted at Uva Island reef, which lies within the boundaries of Coiba National Park, Panama, in an area that has received virtually no fishing pressure or watershed development over the past 80 yr. Coral and fish monitoring spanned the 1982−1983 and 1997−1998 El Niño disturbances -anomalous warming events that selectively killed reef-building corals. While no fish mortalities were observed during the 1982−1983 El Niño event, live coral cover was reduced to nearly 0% at the study reef. From 1984 to 1990, live coral (Pocillopora spp.) cover was extremely low (< 5%), but demonstrated steady recovery to ~35% by 2010. By quantifying disturbance-related, long-term changes in coral reef resources and relating these to fish trophic group responses, several functional relationships emerged. A total of 63 fish taxa were observed, and reef fish density (all taxa combined) remained relatively stable. Multivariate analysis of species abundances revealed a strong overlap between seasons and a clustering of community composition in the years following bleaching. Fish species richness increased significantly as live coral cover rose from near 0 to 15−20% and then demonstrated a decreasing trend to 35% cover. Benthic invertivores showed a significant parabolic increase in density peaking at ~20% live coral cover. A pattern of decline was apparent for the mixed diet feeders guild as coral cover increased, whereas an asymptotic relationship with coral cover emerged for the facultative corallivore guild. No clear patterns in herbivore, piscivore and planktivore abundance were apparent with increasing coral cover. The varying responses of invertivore, corallivore and mixed diet feeders guilds demonstrated strong associations with coral cover, probably reflecting changes in the availability of their respective trophic resources during reef recovery. Thus, variations in coral cover probably influence fish communities through trophic pathways involving invertebrate food sources. KEY WORDS: Reef fish community responses · El Niño disturbancesResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher Editorial responsibility: Ivan Nagelkerken,

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“…By understanding how different microhabitats contribute ecologically to marine ecosystems, predictions can be made in terms of the future implications of habitat degradation and climate change on reef Crustacea (cf. Enochs & Manzello 2012b). Whilst fine-branching live coral is an important habitat, especially for relatively large decapods, its main contribution -from a crustacean perspective -may be after the coral's death.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Marine Taxa and Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic Crustacea on coral reefs: a quantitative survey

Kramer

Bellwood²,

Bellwood³

2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Benthic crustaceans are an important component of the coral reef fauna, yet our understanding of their ecological significance is incomplete. To determine the community structure, abundance, biomass and productivity of benthic Crustacea at Lizard Island, a mid-shelf reef on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, we investigated 5 major microhabitats: dead coral, coral rubble, sand, epilithic algal matrix (EAM) and fine-branching live coral. Crustacean communities differed significantly among habitats, with the exception of dead coral and coral rubble. Dead coral was the most important microhabitat type in terms of crustacean abundance (7838 ± 628 ind. 100 cm −2 , mean ± SE), biomass (0.75 ± 0.13 g m −2 , wet weight) and estimated productivity (0.17 ± 0.043 g 100 cm −2 yr −1 ash free dry weight). These values were 2 to 3 orders of magnitude greater than those for the least important habitats (EAM and fine-branching live coral). Despite their abundance, the average crustacean body length was just 0.79 ± 0.32 mm, largely due to the dominance of harpacticoid copepods. In contrast, decapods exhibited very low abundances, but yielded the greatest biomass and productivity and were particularly abundant in dead coral and coral rubble. The results highlight the importance of small crustaceans and dead coral microhabitats as valuable contributors to the trophic structure of coral reefs.

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Responses of Cryptofaunal Species Richness and Trophic Potential to Coral Reef Habitat Degradation

Cited by 39 publications

References 44 publications

Changing role of coral reef marine reserves in a warming climate

Changing role of coral reef marine reserves in a warming climate

Eastern Pacific reef fish responses to coral recovery following El Niño disturbances

Benthic Crustacea on coral reefs: a quantitative survey

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