Tide-related periodicity of manta rays and sharks to cleaning stations on a coral reef

O’Shea, Owen R.; Kingsford, Michael J.; Seymour, Jamie

doi:10.1071/mf08301

Cited by 58 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Cleaning stations are ideal to make such observations, since manta rays often visit these places in order to be cleaned of parasites and dead skin (Gooding 1964;Feder 1966;Youngbluth 1968;O'Shea et al 2010). Manta rays tend to move slowly around cleaning stations and are therefore easier to approach and photograph.…”

Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Population estimates of Alfred mantas (Manta alfredi) in central Maldives atolls: North Male, Ari and Baa

2011

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The Alfred manta, Manta alfredi, is economically important in the Maldives due to the large number of tourists attracted to SCUBA dive and snorkel with them. It is important to understand the size of populations around main diving points and throughout the Maldives so that manta based tourism activities can be developed more successfully and the impact of tourism can be monitored. Using natural markings to identify individual manta rays, Petersen and Jolly-Seber probabilistic estimators were used to assess population size for main dive sites and the central atolls of North Male, Ari and Baa. Between 2000 and 2009, 1835 individual mantas were identified from 3373 sightings. There was a significant gender bias with a male: female ratio of 1:1.8. Only 24.7% of manta rays were re-sighted between 1 and 34 times with a maximum gap of 7 years and 11 months between sightings. Estimates for populations around main dive sites were 181-562. The estimated population of M. alfredi for North Male atoll is 537 (SE±53.2). Estimated atoll populations were extrapolated to obtain an estimate of Manta alfredi population for the entire Maldives of 9,677 individuals.

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Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Population estimates of Alfred mantas (Manta alfredi) in central Maldives atolls: North Male, Ari and Baa

2011

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“…Our inspiration was the cleaning stations at coral reefs where fish, sea turtles, sharks and rays congregate to be cleaned of parasites by cleaner fish and shrimps (Gorlick, Atkins & Losey, 1987; Losey, Balazs & Privitera, 1994; O’Shea, Kingsford & Seymour, 2010). Therefore, we systematically investigated the ability of coral reef fish to provide animal-assisted cleaning at coral nursery ropes prior to transplantation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing animal-assisted cleaning prior to transplantation in coral reef restoration

Frias-Torres

Geer

2015

PeerJ

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Rearing coral fragments in nurseries and subsequent transplantation onto a degraded reef is a common approach for coral reef restoration. However, if barnacles and other biofouling organisms are not removed prior to transplantation, fish will dislodge newly cemented corals when feeding on biofouling organisms. This behavior can lead to an increase in diver time due to the need to reattach the corals. Thus, cleaning nurseries to remove biofouling organisms such as algae and invertebrates is necessary prior to transplantation, and this cleaning constitutes a significant time investment in a restoration project. We tested a novel biomimicry technique of animal-assisted cleaning on nursery corals prior to transplantation at a coral reef restoration site in Seychelles, Indian Ocean. To determine whether animal-assisted cleaning was possible, preliminary visual underwater surveys were performed to quantify the fish community at the study site. Then, cleaning stations consisting of nursery ropes carrying corals and biofouling organisms, set at 0.3 m, 2 m, 4 m, 6 m and 8 m from the seabed, were placed at both the transplantation (treatment) site and the nursery (control) site. Remote GoPro video cameras recorded fish feeding at the nursery ropes without human disturbance. A reef fish assemblage of 32 species from 4 trophic levels (18.8% herbivores, 18.8% omnivores, 59.3% secondary consumers and 3.1% carnivores) consumed 95% of the barnacles on the coral nursery ropes placed 0.3 m above the seabed. Using this cleaning station, we reduced coral dislodgement from 16% to zero. This cleaning station technique could be included as a step prior to coral transplantation worldwide on the basis of location-specific fish assemblages and during the early nursery phase of sexually produced juvenile corals.

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“…These discharge waters converged on the outer shelf with nutrient-enriched, upwelled oceanic waters intruded onto the shelf via cyclonic eddy dynamics, providing a particularly intense convergent zone in the vicinity of LEI. Tidal flows and reef morphology concentrate zooplankton around island reefs [35][36][37], and at LEI tidal flows locally concentrate zooplankton biomass on the ebb tide, especially during spring tides [38]. Hence, we conclude that the convergent frontal zone in the vicinity of LEI further intensified on the spring ebb tide to form an intense front that attracted and shaped the aggregation pattern of the observed trains of foraging manta rays aligned along the front.…”

Section: Ocean Frontsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unique Sequence of Events Triggers Manta Ray Feeding Frenzy in the Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

et al. 2015

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Manta rays are classified as Vulnerable to Extinction on the IUCN Red List for Threatened Species. In Australia, a key aggregation site for reef manta rays is Lady Elliot Island (LEI) on the Great Barrier Reef, ~7 km from the shelf edge. Here, we investigate the environmental processes that triggered the largest manta ray feeding aggregation yet observed in Australia, in early 2013. We use MODIS sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a concentration and photic depth data, together with in situ data, to show that anomalous river discharges led to high chlorophyll (anomalies: 10-15 mg·m ) and turbid (photic depth anomalies: −15 m) river plumes extending out to LEI, and that these became entrained offshore around the periphery of an active cyclonic eddy. Eddy dynamics led to cold bottom intrusions along the shelf edge (6 °C temperature decrease), and at LEI (5 °C temperature decrease). Strongest SST gradients (>1 °C·km zone between the shelf and eddy-influenced waters, directly overlying LEI. Here, the front intensified on the spring ebb tide to attract and shape the aggregation pattern of foraging manta rays. Future research could focus on mapping the probability and persistence of these ecologically significant frontal zones via remote sensing to aid the management and conservation of marine species.

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Tide-related periodicity of manta rays and sharks to cleaning stations on a coral reef

Cited by 58 publications

References 30 publications

Population estimates of Alfred mantas (Manta alfredi) in central Maldives atolls: North Male, Ari and Baa

Population estimates of Alfred mantas (Manta alfredi) in central Maldives atolls: North Male, Ari and Baa

Testing animal-assisted cleaning prior to transplantation in coral reef restoration

Unique Sequence of Events Triggers Manta Ray Feeding Frenzy in the Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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