Herbivory and the resilience of Caribbean coral reefs: knowledge gaps and implications for management

Adam, Thomas C.; Burkepile, Deron E.; Ruttenberg, Benjamin I.; Paddack, Michelle J.

doi:10.3354/meps11170

Cited by 155 publications

(150 citation statements)

References 208 publications

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“…This may be especially true in degraded, overfished, and heavily impacted ecosystems, as in our Caribbean study area. In the Indo-Pacific, the relatively rapid recovery of reefs following disturbance has been attributed to robust herbivore communities519, but our results are the first, to our knowledge, to suggest a similar potential due to functional redundancy in the herbivore community of the Caribbean. As aspects of our study system vary relative to some other well-studied areas of the Caribbean, which experience higher wave exposure and water flow, it will be important to monitor impacts of small bodied herbivores to determine the ecological contexts where similar dynamics can and do occur.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

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The emergent role of small-bodied herbivores in pre-empting phase shifts on degraded coral reefs

Kuempel

Altieri

2017

Sci Rep

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Natural and anthropogenic stressors can cause phase shifts from coral-dominated to algal-dominated states. In the Caribbean, over-fishing of large herbivorous fish and disease among the long-spined urchin, Diadema, have facilitated algal growth on degraded reefs. We found that diminutive species of urchin and parrotfish, which escaped die-offs and fishing pressure, can achieve abundances comparable to total herbivore biomass on healthier, protected reefs, and exert sufficient grazing function to pre-empt macroalgal dominance following mass coral mortality. Grazing was highest on the most degraded reefs, and was driven by small herbivores that made up >93% of the average herbivore biomass (per m2). We suggest that previously marginal species can achieve a degree of functional redundancy, and that their compensatory herbivory may play an important role in ecosystem resilience. Management strategies should consider the potential role of these additional herbivore functional groups in safeguarding natural controls of algal growth in times of increased uncertainty for the world’s reefs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

“…However, recent evidence suggests that coral-algal phase shifts may be less consistent than previously assumed16. Uncertainty in the frequency and occurrence of phase shifts questions our mechanistic understanding of coral reef dynamics and our ability to predict coral resilience and recovery11171819.…”

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confidence: 97%

The emergent role of small-bodied herbivores in pre-empting phase shifts on degraded coral reefs

Kuempel

Altieri

2017

Sci Rep

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“…We find that biodiversity is equally and often more important than water quality, nutrient supply, and human influence in controlling the global distribution of reef fish biomass, and that more diverse fish communities are more resilient to impacts of changing climate. Moreover, both species richness and functional trait diversity contributed roughly equally to fish biomass globally, generalizing local inferences that reef fish trophic interactions (45,46) and functional diversity (47)(48)(49) are key mediators of the community structure and resilience of coral reef ecosystems. Because reef fish biomass provides an important protein source for many people, particularly in the developing world, our results suggest that management to sustain reef fish diversity, of both species and functional types, will also promote higher productivity of fish biomass and higher resilience of that ecosystem service in the face of rising and more variable temperatures.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity enhances reef fish biomass and resistance to climate change

Duffy

Lefcheck

Stuart‐Smith

et al. 2016

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

197

182

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Fishes are the most diverse group of vertebrates, play key functional roles in aquatic ecosystems, and provide protein for a billion people, especially in the developing world. Those functions are compromised by mounting pressures on marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Because of its economic and food value, fish biomass production provides an unusually direct link from biodiversity to critical ecosystem services. We used the Reef Life Survey’s global database of 4,556 standardized fish surveys to test the importance of biodiversity to fish production relative to 25 environmental drivers. Temperature, biodiversity, and human influence together explained 47% of the global variation in reef fish biomass among sites. Fish species richness and functional diversity were among the strongest predictors of fish biomass, particularly for the large-bodied species and carnivores preferred by fishers, and these biodiversity effects were robust to potentially confounding influences of sample abundance, scale, and environmental correlations. Warmer temperatures increased biomass directly, presumably by raising metabolism, and indirectly by increasing diversity, whereas temperature variability reduced biomass. Importantly, diversity and climate interact, with biomass of diverse communities less affected by rising and variable temperatures than species-poor communities. Biodiversity thus buffers global fish biomass from climate change, and conservation of marine biodiversity can stabilize fish production in a changing ocean.

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“…The first has been to correlate macroalgal cover with herbivore biomass among reefs that vary in herbivore biomass, either naturally or as a result of differences in fishing pressure, and the second has been to observe responses of reefs following fishing bans43. While useful in exposing broad patterns, these approaches can be difficult to interpret due to the many other factors that can affect establishment and growth of algae (e.g., nutrient loading, light, sedimentation, type of herbivores present)44. Despite this, non-experimental studies have suggested that the relationship between herbivory and macroalgal cover can be non-linear15.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coral Reef Resilience, Tipping Points and the Strength of Herbivory

Holbrook

Schmitt

Adam

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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Coral reefs increasingly are undergoing transitions from coral to macroalgal dominance. Although the functional roles of reef herbivores in controlling algae are becoming better understood, identifying possible tipping points in the herbivory-macroalgae relationships has remained a challenge. Assessment of where any coral reef ecosystem lies in relation to the coral-to-macroalgae tipping point is fundamental to understanding resilience properties, forecasting state shifts, and developing effective management practices. We conducted a multi-year field experiment in Moorea, French Polynesia to estimate these properties. While we found a sharp herbivory threshold where macroalgae escape control, ambient levels of herbivory by reef fishes were well above that needed to prevent proliferation of macroalgae. These findings are consistent with previously observed high resilience of the fore reef in Moorea. Our approach can identify vulnerable coral reef systems in urgent need of management action to both forestall shifts to macroalgae and preserve properties essential for resilience.

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Herbivory and the resilience of Caribbean coral reefs: knowledge gaps and implications for management

Abstract: Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherBlue parrotfish Scarus coeruleus cropping algae on a reef.

Cited by 155 publications

References 208 publications

The emergent role of small-bodied herbivores in pre-empting phase shifts on degraded coral reefs

The emergent role of small-bodied herbivores in pre-empting phase shifts on degraded coral reefs

Biodiversity enhances reef fish biomass and resistance to climate change

Coral Reef Resilience, Tipping Points and the Strength of Herbivory

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