Management implications of juvenile reef fish habitat preferences and coral susceptibility to stressors

DeMartini, Edward E.; Anderson, Todd W.; Kenyon, Jean C.; Beets, Jim; Friedlander, Alan M.

doi:10.1071/mf09141

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(75 reference statements)

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“…To date most studies on the importance of coral as habitat for juvenile reef fish have been based on experiments and field observations in the Pacific Ocean [26], [27], [28]. These studies have tended to focus on coral-associated species from prominent families such as, pomacentrids [27], [28], [29], chaetodontids [30] or gobies [9], on reefs within the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat Associations of Juvenile Fish at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia: The Importance of Coral and Algae

Wilson¹,

et al. 2010

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Habitat specificity plays a pivotal role in forming community patterns in coral reef fishes, yet considerable uncertainty remains as to the extent of this selectivity, particularly among newly settled recruits. Here we quantified habitat specificity of juvenile coral reef fish at three ecological levels; algal meadows vs. coral reefs, live vs. dead coral and among different coral morphologies. In total, 6979 individuals from 11 families and 56 species were censused along Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Juvenile fishes exhibited divergence in habitat use and specialization among species and at all study scales. Despite the close proximity of coral reef and algal meadows (10's of metres) 25 species were unique to coral reef habitats, and seven to algal meadows. Of the seven unique to algal meadows, several species are known to occupy coral reef habitat as adults, suggesting possible ontogenetic shifts in habitat use. Selectivity between live and dead coral was found to be species-specific. In particular, juvenile scarids were found predominantly on the skeletons of dead coral whereas many damsel and butterfly fishes were closely associated with live coral habitat. Among the coral dependent species, coral morphology played a key role in juvenile distribution. Corymbose corals supported a disproportionate number of coral species and individuals relative to their availability, whereas less complex shapes (i.e. massive & encrusting) were rarely used by juvenile fish. Habitat specialisation by juvenile species of ecological and fisheries importance, for a variety of habitat types, argues strongly for the careful conservation and management of multiple habitat types within marine parks, and indicates that the current emphasis on planning conservation using representative habitat areas is warranted. Furthermore, the close association of many juvenile fish with corals susceptible to climate change related disturbances suggests that identifying and protecting reefs resilient to this should be a conservation priority.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat Associations of Juvenile Fish at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia: The Importance of Coral and Algae

Wilson¹,

et al. 2010

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“…Various studies have found that individual fish species are associated with particular habitat types and many species show ontogenetic changes in habitat use between adult and juvenile stages (Light & Jones, ; DeMartini et al ., ; Boaden & Kingsford, ). It is important to understand how habitat use can vary between different life stages of species as ontogenetic differences may require protection or individual management of various habitat types if the species is considered threatened.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The null hypothesis that H. whitei would not display a significant preference for a specific habitat was tested by comparing habitat availability with habitat use and determining habitat preference scores (Manly et al ., ; Light & Jones, ; Gladstone, ; DeMartini et al ., ). A point‐transect method was used to provide an estimate of the relative availability of each habitat type (Choat & Bellwood, ) where 20 transects measuring 30 m in length were haphazardly placed at each site.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The depth range for each site was limited from 2 to 13 m as no H. whitei have been observed >12 m depth, even though numerous dives (100+) were conducted in the 13-25 m depth range at each of the sites from 2006 to 2009. It was observed at depths of 13-25 m that there was still continuous habitat available, particularly with extensive sponge garden and D. australis habitats but no H. whitei were ever recorded deeper than 12 m. The null hypothesis that H. whitei would not display a significant preference for a specific habitat was tested by comparing habitat availability with habitat use and determining habitat preference scores (Manly et al, 1992;Light & Jones, 1997;Gladstone, 2007;DeMartini et al, 2010). A point-transect method was used to provide an estimate of the relative availability of each habitat type (Choat & Bellwood, 1985) where 20 transects measuring 30 m in length were haphazardly placed at each site.…”

Section: S T U Dy S I T E S This Study Was Undertaken At Nelson Bay Imentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ontogenetic and sex‐based differences in habitat preferences and site fidelity of White's seahorse Hippocampus whitei

Harasti

Martin‐Smith

Gladstone

2014

Journal of Fish Biology

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The aim of this study was to determine and compare habitat preferences for male and female adult and juvenile White's seahorse Hippocampus whitei and assess their movements and site fidelity over 4 years. Data were collected from three sites along 1.5 km of estuarine shoreline in Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia, from 2006 to 2009 using H. whitei that had been tagged with visible implant fluorescent elastomer. Relative availability of 12 habitats and habitat preferences of H. whitei was determined, based on the habitat that H. whitei used as a holdfast. Hippocampus whitei occurred in nine different habitats; adults preferred sponge and soft coral Dendronephthya australis habitats with no difference between male and female habitat preferences whilst juveniles preferred gorgonian Euplexaura sp. habitat. There was a significant preference by adults for D. australis colonies with height >40 cm and avoidance of colonies <20 cm. Neither adults nor juveniles used sand or the seagrasses Zostera muelleri subsp. capricorni and Halophila ovalis. Hippocampus whitei showed cryptic behaviour with c. 50% of adult sightings cryptic and c. 75% for juveniles with crypsis occurring predominantly in Sargassum sp. for adults and Euplexaura sp. habitat for juveniles. Within sites, females moved significantly longer distances (maximum of 70 m) than males (maximum of 38 m) over 20 months. Strong site fidelity was displayed by H. whitei with males persisting at the same site for up to 56 months and females for 49 months and no H. whitei moved between sites. The longest period that an H. whitei was recorded on the same holdfast was 17 months for a male and 10 months for a female. As this species displays strong site fidelity, specific habitat preferences and has a limited distribution, future management needs to minimize the risk of habitat disturbance as loss of key habitats could have a negative effect on species abundance and distribution.

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“…However, if fishing is not restricted, these largerbodied fishes are key targets for spearfishers and an increase in spearfishing is not accounted for in the model. Additionally, reef structure is likely to erode due to coral cover decline, preventing fish recruits and juveniles from hiding (Alvarez-Filip et al, 2009;DeMartini et al, 2010;Graham and Nash, 2013) and increasing their accessibility to their predatory fishes (Rogers et al, 2014), ultimately leading to a decline in reef fish productivity (Gratwicke et al, 2005). Therefore, we included two scalars related to the structural complexity a coral reef provides for: (1) the survival of both herbivorous and piscivorous fish recruits given by the relationship survival (Frec)…”

Section: Model Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing Local Stressors for Coral Reef Condition and Ecosystem Services Delivery Under Climate Scenarios

et al. 2018

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Coral reefs provide numerous ecosystem goods and services, but are threatened by multiple environmental and anthropogenic stressors. To identify management scenarios that will reverse or mitigate ecosystem degradation, managers can benefit from tools that can quantify projected changes in ecosystem services due to alternative management options. We used a spatially-explicit biophysical ecosystem model to evaluate socio-ecological trade-offs of land-based vs. marine-based management scenarios, and local-scale vs. global-scale stressors and their cumulative impacts. To increase the relevance of understanding ecological change for the public and decision-makers, we used four ecological production functions to translate the model outputs into the ecosystem services: "State of the Reef," "Trophic Integrity," "Fisheries Production," and "Fisheries Landings." For a case study of Maui Nui, Hawai'i, land-based management attenuated coral cover decline whereas fisheries management promoted higher total fish biomass. Placement of no-take marine protected areas (MPAs) across 30% of coral reef areas led to a reversal of the historical decline in predatory fish biomass, although this outcome depended on the spatial arrangement of MPAs. Coral cover declined less severely under strict sediment mitigation scenarios. However, the benefits of these local management scenarios were largely lost when accounting for climate-related impacts. Climate-related stressors indirectly increased herbivore biomass due to the shift from corals to algae and, hence, greater food availability. The two ecosystem services related to fish biomass increased under climate-related stressors but "Trophic Integrity" of the reef declined, indicating a less resilient reef. "State of the Reef" improved most and "Trophic Integrity" declined least under an optimistic global warming scenario and strict local management. This work provides insight into the relative influence of land-based vs. marine-based management and local vs. global stressors as drivers of changes in ecosystem dynamics while quantifying the tradeoffs between conservation-and extraction-oriented ecosystem services.

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Management implications of juvenile reef fish habitat preferences and coral susceptibility to stressors

Cited by 18 publications

References 47 publications

Habitat Associations of Juvenile Fish at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia: The Importance of Coral and Algae

Habitat Associations of Juvenile Fish at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia: The Importance of Coral and Algae

Ontogenetic and sex‐based differences in habitat preferences and site fidelity of White's seahorse Hippocampus whitei

Managing Local Stressors for Coral Reef Condition and Ecosystem Services Delivery Under Climate Scenarios

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