No reef-associated gradient in the infaunal communities of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Are oceanic waves more important than reef predators?

Gusmao, Joao B.; Lee, Matthew R.; MacDonald, Ian R.; Ory, Nicolas C.; Sellanes, Javier; Watling, Les; Thiel, Martín

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2018.06.019

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Estimating a gradient in predation from a reef was beyond the constrains of our experiment, but merits investigation. For example, Squidpops have shown greater predation intensity closer to a reef (Gusmao et al, 2018). However, few patch reefs can sustain larger predators, making it likely that pressure from top predators in our experiment was transitory versus localized.…”

Section: Conservation Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Piscine predation rates vary relative to habitat, but not protected status, in an island chain with an established marine reserve

Kough

Belak

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Establishing marine reserves can increase biomass and diversity relative to surrounding areas. However, such changes presumably alter species compositions, interactions, and associated demographic processes such as predation. We investigated relative predation pressure by fish inside and outside of a well-established no-take reserve using standardized predation tether units: Squidpops. We deployed Squidpops (N = 990) monitored by cameras to examine predation, as estimated by consumption rates, between paired seagrass and patch reef habitat sites proximate to the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a well-enforced no-take Bahamian reserve since 1986. Surprisingly, there was no significant park effect on consumption nor observed diversity. Significantly higher consumption rates were found at patch reef sites relative to seagrass sites, occurred in association with higher fish diversity and with longer soak times. Observed fish diversity was predicted by habitat and distance inshore with more species found on patch reefs and further from the deep water Exuma Sound. Recorded fish bites were positively associated with patch reef habitat, with reef dwelling fish, and increased as the species became more commonly encountered. Deployment-specific factors, including temperature, depth, and time of day had little impact on measured predation, an expected result as the experiments occurred in similar locations over a fine temporal scale. In our experiment, ecosystem-based factors outweighed the place-based management effects that we expected from being within the oldest well-enforced no-take marine reserve in the Caribbean versus the surrounding actively fished waters. Despite well-documented increases in abundances across trophic levels from primary consumers to apex predators within the reserve, predation rates were not significantly different than adjacent areas. Evaluating the efficacy of a marine reserve in protecting vital ecosystem processes requires studies beyond abundance and diversity surveys. By focusing on predation on two of the most ubiquitous habitats throughout the region and on common species, rather than on exceptional sites and charismatic species, we reveal a process that seems relatively unchanged by strict marine conservation management.

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Section: Conservation Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Piscine predation rates vary relative to habitat, but not protected status, in an island chain with an established marine reserve

Kough

Belak

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…This finding agrees with our results, where we found that protected sites had significantly higher drilling frequencies than sites exposed to wave action. The coast of Rapa Nui has cliffs and rocks, and there is a lack of intertidal or subtidal ecosystem engineers such as coral reefs or mangroves to protect it, leaving the communities from shallow habitats to face harsh and unstable environments (Gusmao et al 2018). Hydrodynamic stress has also been suggested as the major driving factor structuring benthic soft-bottom communities on the island (Gusmao et al 2018).…”

Section: Environmental Factors and Drilling Predation In Rapa Nuimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The coast of Rapa Nui has cliffs and rocks, and there is a lack of intertidal or subtidal ecosystem engineers such as coral reefs or mangroves to protect it, leaving the communities from shallow habitats to face harsh and unstable environments (Gusmao et al 2018). Hydrodynamic stress has also been suggested as the major driving factor structuring benthic soft-bottom communities on the island (Gusmao et al 2018). Our results imply that drilling frequencies were significantly affected by exposure to high energy and waves, and this may also explain the preference for certain life habits.…”

Section: Environmental Factors and Drilling Predation In Rapa Nuimentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Drilling Predation in Isolated, Nutrient-Poor Ecosystems: First Insights From Rapa Nui, Polynesia

MARTINELLI,

GORDILLO,

ARANZAMENDI

et al. 2023

Palaios

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As a biotic interaction, drilling predation is affected by the evolutionary histories of the predator and prey, as well as the environment. A unique location with distinctive evolutionary histories and environmental conditions is the remote island of Rapa Nui. For mollusks, an evolutionary history in relative isolation has led to high rates of endemism (35–40%), in an area that has some of the most nutrient-poor waters of the global ocean. Here, we use death assemblages collected in Rapa Nui to answer two main questions: (1) How does a pervasive interaction like drilling predation play out in an isolated, oligotrophic marine system? and (2) What role do the environment (exposed vs. sheltered sites) and species traits (feeding, mobility, life habit) play in ‘protecting' the prey? We predicted that predation would be low relative to other tropical and subtropical islands given the oligotrophic conditions and found that the average drilling frequency (DF) was 5.67% (n = 6122). We observed no significant differences in DF between feeding guilds, mobility types, or life habits. Sheltered sites dominated by the infaunal bivalve Ctena bella had higher predation. In terms of passive defenses for C. bella, larger body size was not an effective defense against drilling predators. We show that drilling predation in Rapa Nui is lower than in high-latitude regions, and it is dependent on how sheltered or exposed sites are. Historically and currently, Rapa Nui has been subject to multiple anthropogenic stressors, including over-extraction and tourism, making efforts to understand its endemic species and their interactions fundamental.

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“…Fernández et al, 2014). Despite numerous studies have improved the understanding of the biodiversity and functioning of coastal ecosystems in the Juan Fernandez Archipelago (Friedlander et al, 2016;Pérez-Matus et al, 2014) and RN (Friedlander et al, 2013;Gusmao et al, 2018;Meerhoff et al, 2018;Wieters et al, 2014), there is no detailed information on cryptic fauna associated with these rocky and coral reef habitats, including both emergent macrobenthos and larval stages. Similarly, environmental sounds emitted by the reef and the potential effects of anthropogenic noise are completely unexplored in these isolated environments.…”

Section: Snaps From Snapping Shrimpmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even although cryptic fauna can account for up to two thirds of the reef's richness and are crucial components of regional biodiversity and conservation studies regarding the design of marine protected areas (Pearman et al, 2018), information on their biology and ecology in isolated south-east Pacific environments remain unexplored. Around the Juan Fernandez Archipelago and the RN Ecoregion, various efforts have increased knowledge in some of these cryptic components at both, the community level (Gusmao et al, 2018) as well as in specific taxonomic groups, including crustaceans (Meerhoff, Mujica, García, & Nava, 2017;Palma et al, 2011;Rivera & Mujica, 2004a, 2004b, fish (Acuña, Cabrera, & López, 2009;Landaeta & Castro, 2004), and molluscs (Cárdenas, Viard, & Castilla, 2008;Carrasco, Meerhoff, Yannicelly, & Ibáñez, 2019). Therefore, a different scenario may emerge when considering smaller and poorly studied organisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring overlooked components of remote South‐east Pacific oceanic islands: Larval and macrobenthic assemblages in reef habitats with distinct underwater soundscapes

Carrasco

Bravo

Avilés

et al. 2020

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Identifying the diverse assemblage of species inhabiting rocky and coral reef habitats in isolated oceanic environments, and the important sound cues emitted from the reef, are crucial components to understand how species locate suitable habitats for the completion of their life-cycle and, thus, the functioning of these vulnerable ecosystems. 2. Recent field information suggests that the majority of reef biodiversity comprises small cryptic invertebrates; however, knowledge on these small components is extremely scarce. 3. The present study used light attraction methods to explore the diversity of larval, post-larval and macrobenthic cryptic fauna, and hydrophones to characterize the natural soundscape of rocky and coral reef habitats at the Robinson Crusoe island (Juan Fernandez Archipelago; 33 38 0 S, 78 50 0 W), and Rapa Nui (Easter Island; 27 7 0 S, 109 21 0 W), respectively. 4. Pelagic collections found important site-specific patterns and identified two main species assemblages: early-life stages (e.g. eggs, larval and juvenile stages of crustaceans, molluscs, and fishes) and emerging macrobenthos (e.g. demersal zooplankton such as peracarid crustaceans, ostracods, copepods, and polychaetes), with the latter contributing between 73 and 98% to the total catches. 5. The soundscape records showed marked differences among sites and seasons at Robinson Crusoe island, with variable differences found between day and night. However, at Rapa Nui, there were no differences between sites, but the ambient sound was higher at night possibly due to higher snapping shrimp activity. 6. This information highlights the importance of considering small-scale (site-to-site) patterns when evaluating overlooked components of diversity (i.e. biological or acoustic) in oceanic habitats, and provides the basis for understanding the importance of natural noise in the settlement of most reef-associated species, crucial features for the conservation of these remote and vulnerable ecosystems.

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No reef-associated gradient in the infaunal communities of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Are oceanic waves more important than reef predators?

Cited by 9 publications

References 62 publications

Piscine predation rates vary relative to habitat, but not protected status, in an island chain with an established marine reserve

Piscine predation rates vary relative to habitat, but not protected status, in an island chain with an established marine reserve

The Role of Drilling Predation in Isolated, Nutrient-Poor Ecosystems: First Insights From Rapa Nui, Polynesia

Exploring overlooked components of remote South‐east Pacific oceanic islands: Larval and macrobenthic assemblages in reef habitats with distinct underwater soundscapes

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