Potential stocks of reef fish‐based ecosystem services in the Kuroshio Current region: Their relationship with latitude and biodiversity

Abstract

The latitudinal decline of species richness is a general spatial pattern of biodiversity, and it applies to marine species as well. Based on a latitudinal gradient of marine species richness, potential stocks of marine ecosystem services are expected to be higher in lower latitudes through increment in biodiversity. However, little is known about the relationships of the marine ecosystem services with latitude and biodiversity. We estimated the latitudinal patterns and relationships with the biodiversity of potential stocks of three major reef fish‐based ecosystem services (fisheries production, aquarium fish production, and recreational diving) at ten coral habitats from tropical to temperate zones in the Kuroshio Current region (8°37′N–33°24′N) using field survey data and information from relevant websites and administrative statistics. We found a latitudinal declin from south to north in potential stocks of aquarium fish production and diving in this region, whereas the peaks of fisheries production were found around both tropical and sub‐tropical zones. Our results also showed strong positive effects of biodiversity on potential stocks of the three ecosystem services, highlighting the importance of conserving diverse fish species to sustain multiple services at high levels. Broad spatial patterns of the reef fish‐based ecosystem services are useful as baselines for future evaluation of their changes. As the effects of climate change on reef fishes are predicted to vary among different latitude zones, our estimates of the ecosystem services infer specific management and economic actions for the respective zones against climate change.

Quantitative assessment of multiple fish species around artificial reefs combining environmental DNA metabarcoding and acoustic survey

“…(one dominant OTU) because these values are continuous and greater than zero. A mixture of binomial and gamma distributions, which is often called a “gamma hurdle model,” was also used as in previous studies 22 , 23 for eDNA copy numbers of remaining dominant OTUs because these values are continuous and contain zero values. Bayesian information criterion (BIC) was used to select the correct model among candidate models for the second and third analyses 24 .…”

Quantitative assessment of multiple fish species around artificial reefs using environmental DNA metabarcoding

“…(one dominant OTU) because these values are continuous and greater than zero. A mixture of binomial and gamma distributions, which is often called a “gamma hurdle model,” was also used as in previous studies 19,20 for eDNA copy numbers of remaining dominant OTUs because these values are continuous and contain zero values. Bayesian information criterion (BIC) was used to select the correct model among candidate models for the second and third analyses 21 .…”

Predicting Future Shifts in the Distribution of Tropicalization Indicator Fish that Affect Coastal Ecosystem Services of Japan

“…On the other hand, an increase in the abundance and species richness of tropical reef fish may attract tourism, such as snorkeling and scuba diving, which can benefit local economies. In addition, the monetary value of fisheries production and the species richness of aquarium fish may increase in the temperate regions in the future, and ecosystem services from the reef fish may change (Biodiversity Center of Japan, 2015;Sato et al, 2021). Changes in the distribution of coral-dependent tropical fishes, such as obligate coral dwellers and corallivores, cannot be estimated using this model.…”