Community structure and diet of roving herbivorous reef fishes in the Abrolhos Archipelago, south‐western Atlantic

Abstract

Community structure and diet of roving herbivorous reef fishes were analysed in 13 study sites around the five islands of the Abrolhos Archipelago, north-eastern Brazil (17°589 S; 38°429 W). This area has been part of the Abrolhos Marine National Park since 1983. Abundances and diets of fishes within the families Scaridae, Acanthuridae and Kyphosidae were compared among groups of sites differing in benthic community structure and exposure regime. The abundance of roving herbivorous fishes was higher in shallower sites than in deeper sites. At all study sites, observations of total herbivorous reef fish community structure revealed that 64% of fishes were acanthurids, 33% were scarids and only 4% were kyphosids. This pattern was predominant in all study sites. The majority of fishes examined in this study had the bulk of their diet based on both algae (35-90%) and detritus (35-65%). Among groups of algae, filamentous algae were the most commonly consumed as the majority of roving herbivorous fishes in Abrolhos feed as scrapers and excavators. The exceptions were the kyphosids, which had a diet consisting primarily of macroalgae (mainly Phaeophyta), and Acanthurus coeruleus that consumed mainly turf algae and very little detritus. The data collected indicate that roving herbivorous fishes in the Abrolhos Archipelago are more abundant at calm sites where detritus and delicate algae, their major food resources, are more abundant. The results presented here, along with underwater observations, suggest that the abundance and diet of these three fish families are associated with substratum cover.

Live coral predation by parrotfishes (Perciformes: Scaridae) in the Abrolhos Bank, eastern Brazil, with comments on the classification of species into functional groups

“…viride), indicating that these two congeneric species pairs play similar ecological roles in different geographic regions (Brazil and Caribbean). Ferreira & Gonçalves (2006) found larger amounts of carbonate material in stomach contents of Sp. amplum in comparisons to other parrotfishes in the Abrolhos Archipelago.…”

“…amplum in comparisons to other parrotfishes in the Abrolhos Archipelago. The larger and deeper bites, the removal of large amounts of underlying skeleton when preying upon live coral, and the preference for crustose coralline algae (Ferreira & Gonçalves, 2006) may explain why Sp. amplum have larger carbonate fractions in their guts than other species.…”

“…Two recent studies on Brazilian rocky reefs provide information on the foraging activity and diet of Brazilian parrotfishes (see Bonaldo et al, 2005;Ferreira & Gonçalves, 2006 for further details), but there is no previous evidence of live coral predation. Here we report on live coral predation by Scarus trispinosus and Sparisoma amplum in the Abrolhos Bank, eastern Brazil, and comment on their classification into functional groups, based on direct behavioral observations.…”

Seagrass and Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (VAS) Habitats off the Coast of Brazil: state of knowledge, conservation and main threats

“…Between 5% and 12% of the stomach content of herbivourous fishes (Kyphosus spp. 12%, Acanthurus chirurgus 8 %, Sparisoma and Scarus 0.5-5 %) are composed of seagrasses (FERREIRA; GONÇALVES, 2006). Chelonia mydas has been observed grazing on H. wrightii meadows, taking 32 bites per minute (J.C. CREED, unpublished data) Southeast Seagrass beds occur sporadically throughout the states of Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo where suitable conditions for seagrass development: shallow unconsolidated substrate, wave-protected position and suitable water quality, are available.…”

Organização trófica da comunidade de peixes de poças de maré da Praia dos Castelhanos (ES), Atlântico sudoeste tropical

“…Enquanto A. bahianus apresentou uma dieta praticamente restrita a algas, ingerindo menos de 1% de outros organismos, provavelmente de forma involuntária, S. axillare apresentou uma dieta um pouco mais diversificada, composta por aproximadamente 80% de algas, além de pequenos crustáceos (copépodes harpacticóides e anfípodes), escamas, e larvas de insetos (Chironomidae). Essas espécies pertencem à mesma categoria trófica, herbívoros errantes (Ferreira et al, 2004;Ferreira & Gonçalves, 2006), embora possuam formas de alimentação distintas, uma vez que A. bahianus é uma espécie raspadora, enquanto S. axillare é escavadora/raspadora (Ferreira & Gonçalves, 2006 Porém, o entremarés rochoso é um ambiente altamente produtivo, que apresenta grande abundância e diversidade de organismos, tanto produtores primários (algas e plantas) como consumidores (principalmente invertebrados) (Norton & Cook, 1999;Levinton, 2001;Nybakken, 2001), sobretudo em regiões tropicais, onde a biodiversidade é ainda maior (Fernández et al, 2007 poliquetas e algas filamentosas com a poça 5, devido à necessidade de espaço suficiente e substrato adequado para a manutenção dos "jardins". E, por fim, os…”