Use of back-reef and lagoon habitats by coral reef fishes

Abstract

We visually censused fishes along transects on the back-reef and adjacent lagoons of bank-barrier reefs at 6 sites on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, to determine the extent to which coral reef fishes use lagoon habitats as nurseries. Fishes were recorded by size class (small, < 3 cm; medium, 3 to 5 cm; large, > 5 cm) on the back-reef, and on 5 lagoon habitat types: patch-reef, rubble, seagrass, algal plain, and sand. We examined densities of 4 focal 'species' (Acanthurus spp. [A. bahianus and A. chirurgus], Haemulon spp. [all species of the Haemulon genus], Sparisoma aurofrenatum, and Scarus iserti), and densities of all species combined to determine spatial and temporal patterns of habitat use. Although there was a general tendency for coral reef fishes to use lagoon habitats as nurseries, we discerned 2 patterns of habitat use: 1 group, exemplified by Acanthurus spp. and Haemulon spp., use lagoon patch-reef and rubble as nurseries in preference to back-reef and other lagoon habitats; in contrast, Sparisoma aurofrenatum and Scarus iserti preferentially use back-reef and, to a lesser extent patch-reef, as nursery, juvenile, and adult habitat. Temporal variation was greatest in the small size class and least in the large size class. Most settlement occurred during summer, which is when settlement in lagoon habitats was greatest, with a little settlement in winter in the back-reef habitat. For species that use lagoons as nurseries, lagoon habitats must provide advantages that offset the additional energy expense and predation experienced by both incoming larvae, as they cross over the reef and search for patch-reef and rubble, and juveniles, as they return to the reef during the juvenile-to-adult transition. Given the use of lagoon habitats as nurseries, there is a need for inclusion of lagoons in coral reef reserves.

Habitat associations of juvenile versus adult butterflyfishes

“…These six distinct reef habitats were selected to encompass gradients of exposure and coral cover, and also include habitats (especially back-reefs, shallow water patch reefs, and lagoons) commonly used as distinct juvenile habitats by many coral reef fishes (Adams and Ebersole 2002;Adams et al 2006). Notably, this study did not consider either mangrove or seagrass habitats (cf., Nagelkerken et al 2000Nagelkerken et al , 2001 because of the limited availability of these habitats at each of the three reefs.…”

“…For example, Booth (2002) documented significant spatial variation in post-settlement mortality of the ambon damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis, which almost completely obscured patterns of abundance established at settlement. Many different coral reef fishes (including haemulids, pomacentrids, labrids, scarids, and serranids) have also been shown to settle in specific juvenile habitats and then later (after weeks to months) recruit to habitats occupied by adult conspecifics (Shulman and Ogden 1987;McCormick and Makey 1997;Nagelkerken et al 2001;Adams and Ebersole 2002;Lecchini and Galzin 2005). The use of distinct juvenile habitats (i.e., putative nursery habitats, Beck et al 2001) varies greatly among species within and among families (Lecchini and Galzin 2005), but there is not any general explanation why some fishes utilise distinct juvenile habitats and others do not.…”

Variación entre hábitats de la densidad y composición por tallas en peces de arrecife de la región noroccidental de Cuba

“…Aguilar-Perera & Appeldoorn (2007) found significant differences among habitats for S. aurofrenatum and S. viride juveniles, but not for S. iseri juveniles. The preference of S. aurofrenatum and S. iseri for reef habitats has also been reported by others (Adams & Ebersole, 2002;Chittaro et al, 2005).…”

“…In one case, the study area was a portion of the shelf less than 10km 2 (Aguilar-Perera & Appeldoorn, 2007). In other cases, several locations were sampled around a small island with a total surface of less than 200km 2 (Adams & Ebersole, 2002;Grober-Dunsmore, Frazer, Lindberg & Beets, 2007). Mumby et al (2004) and Chittaro, Usseglio & Sale (2005) studied larger spatial scales (10-100km 2 ).…”

Demersal Fish and Shrimp Abundance in Relation to Mangrove Hydrogeomorphological Metrics

“…Three recent papers have attempted to redefine and summarize what constitutes a nursery-role concept based on the development of the stable nursery-role hypothesis (Adams & Ebersole 2002;de la Morinière et al 2002;Nagelkarken et al 2000). They proposed such tests that include an evaluation of life history strategies, comparative adult recruits per unit area of nursery habitat, comparison among habitats that juveniles use, movement patterns, and total biomass of individuals recruiting to adult populations.…”