The “resort effect”: Can tourist islands act as refuges for coral reef species?

Moritz, Charlotte; Ducarme, Frédéric; Sweet, Michael; Fox, Michael D.; Zgliczynski, Brian J.; Ibrahim, Nizam; Basheer, Ahmed; Furby, Kathryn A.; Caldwell, Zachary R.; Pisapia, Chiara; Grimsditch, Gabriel; Abdulla, Ameer

doi:10.1111/ddi.12627

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…These predator families have a known reliance on nekton (Kulbicki et al, ). Given the high diversity and biomass of planktivores on Maldivian reefs (McClanahan, ; Moritz et al, ) and the relatively small home ranges of the sampled predators (Karkarey, Alcoverro, Kumar, & Arthur, ; Sattar, ; Sluka & Reichenbach, ), we hypothesize that they link adjacent pelagic and reef ecosystems by primarily feeding on planktivorous prey. Cross‐system linkages, similar to those found here, are increasingly being documented.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of pelagic dependence among coral reef predators across an atoll seascape

Skinner

Newman

Mill

et al. 2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Coral reef food webs are complex, vary spatially and remain poorly understood. Certain large predators, notably sharks, are subsidized by pelagic production on outer reef slopes, but how widespread this dependence is across all teleost fishery target species and within atolls is unclear.North Malé Atoll (Maldives) includes oceanic barrier as well as lagoonal reefs. Nine fishery target predators constituting ca. 55% of the local fishery target species biomass at assumed trophic levels 3–5 were selected for analysis. Data were derived from carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and sulphur (δ34S) stable isotopes from predator white dorsal muscle samples, and primary consumer species representing production source end‐members.Three‐source Bayesian stable isotope mixing models showed that uptake of pelagic production extends throughout the atoll, with predatory fishes showing equal planktonic reliance between inner and outer edge reefs. Median plankton contribution was 65%–80% for all groupers and 68%–88% for an emperor, a jack and snappers.Lagoonal and atoll edge predators are equally at risk from anthropogenic and climate‐induced changes, which may impact the linkages they construct, highlighting the need for management plans that transcend the boundaries of this threatened ecosystem.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of pelagic dependence among coral reef predators across an atoll seascape

Skinner

Newman

Mill

et al. 2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…In addition to the outer reef slopes, reef fisherman in Baa Atoll, North and South Ari Atoll, and Vaavu Atoll target patch reef edges and small isolated submerged reefs (locally known as thila) in the lagoon, but there is little information available on which habitats fishers target in North Malé Atoll (Sattar et al 2012). Furthermore, although resort islands within atoll lagoons often prohibit fishing on their house reefs (Domroes 2001;Moritz et al 2017), they organise regular recreational fishing trips to reefs nearby. Catches from these recreational trips are also dominated by upper level reef predators (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, tourist resort islands, often located inside atoll lagoons, act as refuges for reef fish communities, because fishing is often prohibited there. As such, resort islands support a higher diversity of commercial fish species, such as groupers, than other permanently inhabited islands (Moritz et al 2017). Inner lagoonal reef habitats may thus be equally as important to reef predator assemblages as outer edge reefs (Skinner et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of oceanic atoll lagoons for coral reef predators

et al. 2020

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Predators on coral reefs play an important ecological role structuring reef fish communities and are important fishery targets. It is thought that reef predator assemblages increase in density and diversity from inner lagoonal to outer edge reefs. Oceanic atolls may differ though, as nutrients are available throughout. Reef predator populations are declining, but there is little known about how their distributions may vary across oceanic atolls. Using a combination of underwater visual census and baited remote underwater video, this study aimed to compare reef predator populations between inner and outer reefs of North Malé Atoll (Maldives) and determine which reef metrics may drive any differences in assemblage structure. We found that predator assemblages were significantly different between inner and outer atoll. Body sizes of several predator families were consistently larger in the outer atoll, however, abundance, biomass and species richness were similar between outer edge reefs and inner lagoonal reefs suggesting atoll lagoons may be undervalued habitats. Depth and complexity were consistently important predictors of the predator assemblage. Inner atoll lagoonal habitat is equally as important for reef predator assemblages as outer reef slopes, although the dominant species differ. This study provides important information on reef predator populations in the Maldives, where detailed assessments of the reef predator assemblage are lacking but the reef fishery is thriving and annual catch will continue to increase.

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“…Commonly targeted species include Lethrinidae, Scaridae and Siganidae. In contrast, Maldivian atoll reef systems are subject to lighter reef fishing and bait fishing pressure on community reefs with smaller de facto no-take areas in the reefs surrounding tourist resort islands (Jaleel, 2013;Moritz et al, 2017). 'Bait fishing' is defined as the targeting of species of reef fish that are captured and kept alive to be used as live bait for pelagic tuna fishing and is carried out using nets to capture schools of bait fish species, for example Spratelloides, Caesonidae, Pomacentridae and Apogonidae (Adam, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in size frequency distribution of coral populations under different fishing pressures in two contrasting locations in the Indian Ocean

Grimsditch¹,

Pisapia

Huck

et al. 2017

Marine Environmental Research

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This study aimed to assess how the size-frequency distributions of coral genera varied between reefs under different fishing pressures in two contrasting Indian Ocean locations (the Maldives and East Africa). Using generalized linear mixed models, we were able to demonstrate that complex interactions occurred between coral genera, coral size class and fishing pressure. In both locations, we found Acropora coral species to be more abundant in non-fished compared to fished sites (a pattern which was consistent for nearly all the assessed size classes). Coral genera classified as 'stress tolerant' showed a contrasting pattern i.e. were higher in abundance in fished compared to non-fished sites. Site specific variations were also observed. For example, Maldivian reefs exhibited a significantly higher abundance in all size classes of 'competitive' corals compared to East Africa. This possibly indicates that East African reefs have already been subjected to higher levels of stress and are therefore less suitable environments for 'competitive' corals. This study also highlights the potential structure and composition of reefs under future degradation scenarios, for example with a loss of Acropora corals and an increase in dominance of 'stress tolerant' and 'generalist' coral genera.

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The “resort effect”: Can tourist islands act as refuges for coral reef species?

Cited by 16 publications

References 69 publications

Prevalence of pelagic dependence among coral reef predators across an atoll seascape

Prevalence of pelagic dependence among coral reef predators across an atoll seascape

The importance of oceanic atoll lagoons for coral reef predators

Variation in size frequency distribution of coral populations under different fishing pressures in two contrasting locations in the Indian Ocean

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