Abstract:Overfishing of large herbivorous fishes is connected to the rise of algal-dominated states on coral reefs. The recovery of their populations is challenging, and future herbivore assemblages may be composed of smaller fish. With fisheries now targeting these smaller-sized herbivore populations, coral reef benthic communities may face unknown outcomes. We performed caging experiments in algal-dominated reefs of Northeastern Brazil, that have been depleted of large herbivorous fishes, to appraise the effects of r… Show more
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