Assessing reef fish assemblage structure: how do different stereo-video techniques compare?

Watson, Dianne L.; Harvey, Euan S.; Fitzpatrick, Ben; Langlois, Timothy J.; Shedrawi, George

doi:10.1007/s00227-010-1404-x

Cited by 166 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…BRUV surveys were originally designed to monitor temporal and regional changes in the overall fish community structure. Although RUVs baited with brown algae would have been more efficient for surveying browsing fishes (25), pilchard-baited RUVs produce similar estimates of herbivorous fish biomass to unbaited RUVs (46) and diver-operated videos (47).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term empirical evidence of ocean warming leading to tropicalization of fish communities, increased herbivory, and loss of kelp

Vergés

Doropoulos

Malcolm

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

346

340

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Some of the most profound effects of climate change on ecological communities are due to alterations in species interactions rather than direct physiological effects of changing environmental conditions. Empirical evidence of historical changes in species interactions within climate-impacted communities is, however, rare and difficult to obtain. Here, we demonstrate the recent disappearance of key habitat-forming kelp forests from a warming tropical-temperate transition zone in eastern Australia. Using a 10-y video dataset encompassing a 0.6°C warming period, we show how herbivory increased as kelp gradually declined and then disappeared. Concurrently, fish communities from sites where kelp was originally abundant but subsequently disappeared became increasingly dominated by tropical herbivores. Feeding assays identified two key tropical/ subtropical herbivores that consumed transplanted kelp within hours at these sites. There was also a distinct increase in the abundance of fishes that consume epilithic algae, and much higher bite rates by this group at sites without kelp, suggesting a key role for these fishes in maintaining reefs in kelp-free states by removing kelp recruits. Changes in kelp abundance showed no direct relationship to seawater temperatures over the decade and were also unrelated to other measured abiotic factors (nutrients and storms). Our results show that warming-mediated increases in fish herbivory pose a significant threat to kelp-dominated ecosystems in Australia and, potentially, globally.climate change | macroalgae | plant-herbivore interactions | range shifts | tropicalization

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term empirical evidence of ocean warming leading to tropicalization of fish communities, increased herbivory, and loss of kelp

Vergés

Doropoulos

Malcolm

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

346

340

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show abstract

“…However, comparisons between baited and unbaited camera stations have shown that while carnivore and scavenger abundances tend to increase in the presence of bait, no commensurate changes are typically detected in herbivore or omnivore abundances (Watson et al, 2005;Harvey et al, 2007). The lack of bait-induced declines among non-carnivorous functional groups could be explained by possible "sheep effects, " whereby species not directly attracted to bait plumes are attracted to the feeding activities of others around BRUVS, or conspecific social attraction behaviors (Watson et al, 2005(Watson et al, , 2010Harvey et al, 2007;Dorman et al, 2012). Finally, underwater sampling visibility was, in general, much higher than the required BRUVS sampling minimum (7 m), even in mesophotic depths to 100 m. While the authors detected no depth-associated, functional group or species-level behavior alterations as a result of reduced light attenuation in deeper strata, coral reef fishes are known to exhibit behavioral shifts in response to varying light levels, which merits additional consideration for future mesophotic research (Rickel and Genin, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesophotic Depth Gradients Impact Reef Fish Assemblage Composition and Functional Group Partitioning in the Main Hawaiian Islands

2017

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Mesophotic coral ecosystem (MCE) research has increased considerably in recent years, as MCEs may provide partial insulation from the effects of climate change, localized anthropogenic stressors, and may dampen fishing pressures for target species depleted in shallower waters. However, few studies have examined coral reef fish assemblages and functional groups across shallow water to mesophotic depth gradients. In the Main Hawaiian Islands, we investigated coral reef fish communities between 0 and 100 m using baited remote underwater stereo-video. While significant community shifts were detected when transitioning from shallow water to mesophotic depths, relative abundance and species richness remained highest between 0 and 30 m. Mobile invertivores and generalist macropiscivores were exceptions, recording higher abundance and richness values in deeper waters. Depth, habitat complexity, and percent cover of unconsolidated sediment and macroalgae were the main reef fish community drivers in multivariate regression and distance-based linear models. Finally, several target species were more abundant and/or larger in deeper waters, suggesting stock assessment and resource management strategies are incomplete without the incorporation of mesophotic portions of stocks.

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“…The method for sampling fi sh populations with a baited stereo-video camera system has been found to generate more consistent data than have comparable unbaited systems (Harvey et al, 2007), has the ability to detect mobile fi sh species (Harvey et al, 2007;Watson et al, 2010), and has been determined to be effective in sampling bottomfi shes in Hawaii (Ellis and DeMartini, 1995;Merritt et al, 2011). The BotCam is a means by which bottomfi sh abundance estimates can be made within actual bottomfi sh habitats and fi sh lengths can be accurately measured.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing species–habitat associations for 4 eteline snappers with the use of a baited stereo-video camera system

Misa¹,

Drazen²,

Kelley³

et al. 2013

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Abstract-With the use of a baited stereo-video camera system, this study semiquantitatively defined the habitat associations of 4 species of Lutjanidae: Opakapaka (Pristipomoides filamentosus), Kalekale (P. sieboldii), Onaga (Etelis coruscans), and Ehu (E. carbunculus). Fish abundance and length data from 6 locations in the main Hawaiian Islands were evaluated for speciesspecific and size-specific differences between regions and habitat types. Multibeam bathymetry and backscatter were used to classify habitats into 4 types on the basis of substrate (hard or soft) and slope (high or low). Depth was a major influence on bottomfish distributions. Opakapaka occurred at depths shallower than the depths at which other species were observed, and this species showed an ontogenetic shift to deeper water with increasing size. Opakapaka and Ehu had an overall preference for hard substrate with low slope (hard-low), and Onaga was found over both hard-low and hardhigh habitats. No significant habitat preferences were recorded for Kalekale. Opakapaka, Kalekale, and Onaga exhibited size-related shifts with habitat type. A move into hardhigh environments with increasing size was evident for Opakapaka and Kalekale. Onaga was seen predominantly in hard-low habitats at smaller sizes and in either hard-low or hard-high at larger sizes. These ontogenetic habitat shifts could be driven by reproductive triggers because they roughly coincided with the length at sexual maturity of each species. However, further studies are required to determine causality. No ontogenetic shifts were seen for Ehu, but only a limited number of juveniles were observed. Regional variations in abundance and length were also found and could be related to fishing pressure or large-scale habitat features.

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Assessing reef fish assemblage structure: how do different stereo-video techniques compare?

Cited by 166 publications

References 26 publications

Long-term empirical evidence of ocean warming leading to tropicalization of fish communities, increased herbivory, and loss of kelp

Long-term empirical evidence of ocean warming leading to tropicalization of fish communities, increased herbivory, and loss of kelp

Mesophotic Depth Gradients Impact Reef Fish Assemblage Composition and Functional Group Partitioning in the Main Hawaiian Islands

Establishing species–habitat associations for 4 eteline snappers with the use of a baited stereo-video camera system

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