Patterns of taxonomic and functional diversity in the global cleaner reef fish fauna

Abstract

Aim Several drivers explain the global distribution of all reef fish. However, whether these drivers also explain the distribution and traits of a functional subgroup involving cleaner fishes remain unclear. Here we examine the variation in traits of cleaner fishes and test whether historical, environmental, ecological and geographical drivers are correlated with cleaner species richness and abundance at global reefs. Location Tropical and subtropical reefs. Taxon Actinopterygii. Methods We tested whether species traits and trait space vary between facultative (i.e. species that clean only during the juvenile stages or sporadically) and dedicated (i.e. species that clean during their whole lives) cleaner types. We compiled data from local checklists (relative richness) and belt transects (standardized richness and abundance). We built four models to test whether past and current isolation (i.e. distance from Quaternary refugia and biodiversity centres), sea temperature, primary productivity, local species pool and abundance of potential clients influenced the relative richness and abundance of cleaners. Results Facultative cleaners had high trait variability that contributed disproportionally to the trait space, whereas dedicated cleaners exhibited low trait variability. Cleaner species richness was higher in the Indo‐Pacific and Caribbean provinces, but the relative richness and standardized abundance of cleaners were higher in the Atlantic (i.e. North Eastern and Southwestern) and Eastern Pacific. Isolation influenced the relative richness of facultative cleaners, whereas the distance to Quaternary refugia, sea temperature and isolation influenced the relative richness of dedicated cleaners. Local species richness and standardized abundance of cleaner fish exhibited a strong relationship with regional diversity. The standardized abundance of both facultative and dedicated cleaners was influenced by the abundance of potential clients and the local species pool. Main conclusions The small trait space occupied by cleaner fishes may reflect their restricted origin among lineages of reef fishes. Differences in the relative richness and standardized abundance of cleaner fishes across marine realms suggest a strong influence on biogeographical history. Our results also indicate that cleaner fishes originated mostly in peripheral areas in high latitudes due to the absence of dedicated cleaners. Our results imply that cleaner fishes do not follow the pattern of main centres of origin described for reef fishes due to opportunistic cleaning behaviour that originated with higher frequency at locations with low species richness.

Global patterns and drivers of beta diversity facets of reef fish faunas

“…Both current and past reef areas were log‐transformed prior to the analyses. These variables have been widely used in global scale studies of tropical reef fish diversity patterns (Barneche et al, 2019; Bellwood et al, 2005; Bender et al, 2017; Leprieur, Colosio, et al, 2016; Ottimofiore et al, 2017; Parravicini et al, 2014; Quimbayo et al, 2021).…”

Bridging archaeology and marine conservation in the Neotropics

“…Fish trophic level was taken from FishBase (see above) and ranged between 2.0 to 4.9. Trophic group categories were compiled from Quimbayo et al 123 and complemented with information from other literature [124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137][138][139][140][141][142][143] . The categories were invertivores, herbivores, macrocarnivores, omnivores, piscivores and planktivores.…”

“…The categories were invertivores, herbivores, macrocarnivores, omnivores, piscivores and planktivores. Maximum body size and body mass were also obtained from Quimbayo et al 123 and from other literature 119,144−147 . Fish species were categorised into body size classes based on their maximum body sizes.…”

Functional biogeography of marine vertebrates in Atlantic Ocean reefs

“…Trait data were compiled from FishBase (http://www.fishbase.org), SeaLifeBase (http://www.sealifebase.org), iucn (http://www.iucnredlist.org), and also from a literature search. For Teleostei reef fish species, maximum body size (cm), inhabited depth category (maximum depth of occurrence) and trophic group (diet category) traits were obtained from the GASPAR Project database (Mouillot et al., 2014) and from the most up‐to‐date list of traits for Atlantic reef fishes (Quimbayo et al., 2021). Maximum body mass (M) was estimated for each species using weight–length relationships: M = aLt b , where Lt is the species’ maximum recorded length and a and b were coefficient estimates for species, which were obtained from FishBase and SeaLifeBase references (Froese & Pauly, 2019; Palomares & Pauly, 2019).…”

“…Marine mammals actually have tails, but we classified them as caudal fins so that this attribute would be comparable across different taxonomic groups. This classification was extended from bony fish species (Quimbayo et al., 2021) and applied cross‐taxa because the caudal fin determines swimming capacity/ability and prey capture efficiency (Fish et al., 2008; Fu et al., 2016; Lingham‐Soliar, 2005; Villéger et al., 2017), and is therefore associated with functions based on vertebrate species feeding and position in the water column. For species without caudal fin, as turtles and 20 ray species, “absent” was inserted for that trait.…”