Growth trades off with habitat specialization

Caley, M. Julian; Munday, Philip L.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2003.0040

Cited by 77 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…2 is a habitat specialist, implying that its host coral Acropora hyacinthus (in which this goby has the lowest fitness-related costs) is a rather suboptimal habitat for most Gobiodon spp. Caley & Munday (2003) observed that growth trades off with habitat specialisation among Gobiodon spp., and specialists avoid corals with high fitness-related costs. A. hyacinthus seems unsuitable for most other gobiid fishes and does not support large species, as is reflected in the very small size of Gobiodon sp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microhabitat specialisation and ecological consequences for coral gobies of the genus Gobiodon in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea

Dirnwöber¹,

Herler²

2007

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The microhabitat selection and distribution of 6 coral-associated species of Gobiodon were examined in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea, including 3 recently discovered species. A total of 1626 fishes were counted visually using 10 × 1 m belt transects in 1731 colonies of 13 species of Acropora. Niche segregation was observed at the level of coral species. Gobiodon sp. 2 was the most specialised, occupying only A. hyacinthus; Gobiodon sp. 1 was most generalised (occupying 3 species of Acropora more frequently than expected). G. reticulatus was a zone specialist that preferred deeper water regions. Less specialised species were able to use substitute host corals, which enabled them to maintain extraordinarily high abundance. G. histrio, for example, preferred the rare A. digitifera, but was common in the very abundant A. acuminata, although proportionally fewer breeding pairs were established in the latter. When compared to the western Pacific, G. histrio showed a more generalised behaviour in the northern Red Sea, and different coral species served as host corals; the latter also holds true for the even more generalised G. rivulatus. Hence, species of Gobiodon appear to alter host-use and degree of specialisation on a global scale.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microhabitat specialisation and ecological consequences for coral gobies of the genus Gobiodon in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea

Dirnwöber¹,

Herler²

2007

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Habitat specialists can suffer as a result of their specialisation when those habitats become reduced in availability or disappear altogether (Caley & Munday 2003). The implications of habitat specialisation on populations of coral reef fishes have been difficult to determine (Sale 1991).…”

Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme habitat specialisation and population structure of two gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses

Smith

Grutter²,

Tibbetts³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Pygmy seahorses are a group of little-known miniature hippocampid fish that differ considerably in biology and ecology from their larger congeners. We estimated the population density, sex ratio and habitat of 2 sympatric, obligate gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses, Hippocampus bargibanti and H. denise, in a 20 km long coastal marine protected area in southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Belt transects covering 200 m 2 each were surveyed at 7 sites and 5 depth contours to record the density of seahorses and their host gorgonians. The population density (± SE) was 1.17 (± 0.27) per 200 m 2 for H. denise and 0.34 (± 0.20) per 200 m 2 for H. bargibanti, some of the lowest densities for unexploited seahorse populations studied thus far. Male−female pairs (43.9%) were the most common group composition for H. denise, with single, 3 or 4 individuals found on 19.5, 7.3 and 29.3% of inhabited gorgonians, respectively. H. denise inhabited 7.8% of Annella reticulata gorgonians within the survey area but were recorded from a total of 8 gorgonian genera during extensive opportunistic ad hoc searches. Annella spp. density was 10.7 times higher than that of Muricella spp. (the sole host of H. bargibanti), of which 20.0% were inhabited. The small population size, occurrence of pygmy seahorses in groups on their hosts with the resulting skew in sex ratios, and habitat specialisation likely all impact the species' population dynamics, and hence these need to be considered in conservation management strategies.KEY WORDS: Habitat specialist · Miniature species · Abundance · Rare species · Hippocampus · Syngnathidae · Pygmy seahorse · Gorgonian 444: 195-206, 2012 Many organisms that live on coral reefs rely directly on architectural species for their existence (Jones et al. 2004). An association with gorgonians can be beneficial to other organisms due to the gorgonians' temporal stability as hosts, their unpalatability, thus acting as a chemical refuge, and their provision of access to rich food resources via their position in high water flow (Goh et al. 1999, Puglisi et al. 2000, Kumagai 2008. Two of the 7 described species of pygmy seahorses are obligate associates of gorgonian corals and form small groups of individuals that appear to spend their entire post-pelagic life on a single host (Smith 2011). The associations of these miniature seahorses with gorgonian hosts have been documented for Hippocampus bargibanti, which lives exclusively with Muricella plectana and M. paraplectana (Gomon 1997), and H. denise, which has a wider range of hosts including Annella reticulata, Muricella sp. and unconfirmed associations with Echinogorgia sp. and Acanthogorgia sp. (Gomon 1997, Lourie & Randall 2003, Lourie & Kuiter 2008. Despite a paucity of knowledge regarding the biology and ecology of gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses, their host specialisation is a factor potentially placing them at an increased risk due to habitat disturbance , Munday 2004, Feary 2007. Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of th...

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“…However, incompatibility selection appears to be more realistic in this case: exploitation of substantially different resources or habitats probably depends on different traits, and the impaired ability to exploit one of them does not per se help to exploit the other. Ecological tradeoffs, which force resource specialization and are necessary for speciation, are well documented in a variety of situations (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(27)(28)(29). Here, we assumed that the environment is homogeneous, as of free-swimming fish in a lake.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, to cause sympatric speciation, natural selection must (i) protect genetic variability within the population and (ii) tear the population apart by eliminating intermediate phenotypes, such as those of hybrids between the incipient species (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). These conditions can be met either by frequency-dependent disruptive selection acting on one trait or frequency-dependent incompatibility selection, acting on two traits and involving a fitness tradeoff between them (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Here we investigate the previously neglected possibility of sympatric speciation driven by incompatibility selection and argue that modes of selection behind allopatric and sympatric speciation can be essentially the same.…”

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confidence: 99%

Sympatric speciation under incompatibility selection

Artzy‐Randrup¹,

Kondrashov²

2006

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

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The existing theory of sympatric speciation assumes that a local population splits into two species under one-dimensional disruptive selection, which favors both of the opposite extreme values of a quantitative trait. Here we model sympatric speciation under selection that favors high values of either of the two independently inherited traits, each required to efficiently consume one of the two available resources, but acts, because of a tradeoff, against those possessing high values of both traits. Such two-dimensional incompatibility selection is similar to that involved in allopatric speciation. Using a hypergeometric phenotypic model, we show that incompatibility selection readily leads to sympatric speciation. In contrast to disruptive selection, two distinct modes of sympatric speciation exist under incompatibility selection: under strong tradeoffs both of the new species are specialists, each consuming its own resource, but under moderate tradeoffs speciation may be asymmetric and involve the origin of a specialist and a generalist species. Also, incompatibility selection may lead to irreversible specialization: under strong tradeoffs, the population speciates if it consists mostly of unspecialized individuals, but remains undivided if most of the individuals are specialized to consume one of the resources. Incompatibility selection appears to be more realistic than disruptive selection, implying that incompatibility between individually adaptive alleles or trait states drives both allopatric and sympatric speciation.evolution ͉ tradeoff ͉ resource ͉ hypergeometric model M echanisms of allopatric and sympatric speciation are thought to be very different. Allopatric speciation occurs because populations evolving in geographic isolation accumulate Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities, i.e., independently acquire new beneficial alleles that reduce fitness when combined in the same genotype (1, 2). In contrast, the available theory of sympatric speciation by natural selection assumes that this process is driven by disruptive selection, which favors both of the opposite extreme values of one trait (1-11).However, this is not the only feasible assumption. Indeed, to cause sympatric speciation, natural selection must (i) protect genetic variability within the population and (ii) tear the population apart by eliminating intermediate phenotypes, such as those of hybrids between the incipient species (1-11). These conditions can be met either by frequency-dependent disruptive selection acting on one trait or frequency-dependent incompatibility selection, acting on two traits and involving a fitness tradeoff between them (12-19). Here we investigate the previously neglected possibility of sympatric speciation driven by incompatibility selection and argue that modes of selection behind allopatric and sympatric speciation can be essentially the same.

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Growth trades off with habitat specialization

Cited by 77 publications

References 13 publications

Microhabitat specialisation and ecological consequences for coral gobies of the genus Gobiodon in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea

Microhabitat specialisation and ecological consequences for coral gobies of the genus Gobiodon in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea

Extreme habitat specialisation and population structure of two gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses

Sympatric speciation under incompatibility selection

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