Reef structure drives parrotfish species composition on shelf edge reefs in La Parguera, Puerto Rico

Tzadik, Orian E.; Appeldoorn, Richard S.

doi:10.1016/j.csr.2013.01.001

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Uncertainty in feedbacks between reef structural change and habitat complexity change, which would especially impact upon fish and urchin grazing taxa [19][20][21], and uncertain species responses to environmental change, make such Comparison of past (white bars) and present (black bars) rates of bioerosion in shallow water (less than 10 m depth) Caribbean reef habitats against measured contemporary rates of gross carbonate production (light grey bars are relict Acropora palmata habitat, dark grey bars are Orbicella spur-and-groove habitat). Dotted horizontal lines show regional average net carbonate production rates for relict Acropora palmata habitat (lower line) and Orbicella spur-and-groove habitat (upper line) (data from Perry et al [9]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the widespread loss of branching Acropora spp., as well as an overall decline in coral cover, have markedly reduced the structural complexity of most Caribbean reefs [2], changing habitat and substrate availability. Such habitat changes have well-documented impacts on urchin [19,20] and parrotfish [21] populations. Impacts on endolithic bioeroders are far more poorly understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changing dynamics of Caribbean reef carbonate budgets: emergence of reef bioeroders as critical controls on present and future reef growth potential

et al. 2014

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Coral cover has declined rapidly on Caribbean reefs since the early 1980s, reducing carbonate production and reef growth. Using a cross-regional dataset, we show that widespread reductions in bioerosion rates-a key carbonate cycling process-have accompanied carbonate production declines. Bioerosion by parrotfish, urchins, endolithic sponges and microendoliths collectively averages 2 G (where G ¼ kg CaCO 3 m 22 yr 21 ) (range 0.96-3.67 G). This rate is at least 75% lower than that reported from Caribbean reefs prior to their shift towards their present degraded state. Despite chronic overfishing, parrotfish are the dominant bioeroders, but erosion rates are reduced from averages of approximately 4 to 1.6 G. Urchin erosion rates have declined further and are functionally irrelevant to bioerosion on most reefs. These changes demonstrate a fundamental shift in Caribbean reef carbonate budget dynamics. To-date, reduced bioerosion rates have partially offset carbonate production declines, limiting the extent to which more widespread transitions to negative budget states have occurred. However, given the poor prognosis for coral recovery in the Caribbean and reported shifts to coral community states dominated by slower calcifying taxa, a continued transition from production to bioerosion-controlled budget states, which will increasingly threaten reef growth, is predicted.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing dynamics of Caribbean reef carbonate budgets: emergence of reef bioeroders as critical controls on present and future reef growth potential

et al. 2014

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“…Previous studies have reported that a high diversity of herbivores on coral reefs can be beneficial, increasing the effective removal of macroalgae and promoting coral settlement and growth (Burkepile & Hay ). The 15 species recorded in this study corresponded to 88% of the species of both families reported for the Caribbean, including Florida and the Bahamas (McAfee & Morgan ; Mumby & Wabnitz ; Human & DeLoach ; Tzadik & Appeldoorn ). Although the species richness on nsMBRS was high, other ecological attributes including density and biomass were lower than the values reported in similar studies (Bouchon‐Navaro & Harmelin‐Vivien ; Lewis & Wainwright ; Bruggemann et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…These types of habitats with high rugosity and coral cover provide shelter for the larger parrotfish as well as protection against predators during inactivity at night, when they sleep in mucus cocoons (Shephard ). In the study by Tzadik & Appeldoorn (), three of four parrotfish species ( Svir , Sise and Saur ) were positively correlated with reef structure ( e.g . coral cover and rugosity), with the exception of Sta .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The increase in size of these species towards the deeper habitats has also been observed by different authors in parrotfish and damselfish (Lirman ; McAfee & Morgan ; Cerveny ; Pittman et al . ; Tzadik & Appeldoorn ). This highlights the importance of coral cover and rugosity as crucial indicators for the distribution patterns of most parrotfish species in the nsMBRS.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial distribution of surgeonfish and parrotfish in the north sector of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System

et al. 2014

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Surgeonfish and parrotfish play an important role in structuring the benthic communities of coral reefs. However, despite their importance, little is known about their distribution patterns in the north sector of the Mesoamerican Reef System. This study evaluated the distribution of these fish in 34 sites in four habitats (lagoon, front, slopes and terrace) along a depth gradient (c 0.5–20 m). These herbivorous fish were assessed by visual censuses. Species dominance was evaluated for each habitat using SIMPER analysis. Habitat characteristics data were collected to determine the relationship between habitat conditions and spatial variations in herbivorous fish (using abundance and biomass as a proxy) via redundancy analysis. The herbivorous fish assemblage had a low density (fish per 100 m2) and biomass (g·100 m−2) in comparison with assemblages in similar studies. In contrast, species richness was high compared with other studies in the Caribbean. Spatial variation of the abundance, biomass and size of herbivorous fish was strongly related to coral and seagrass cover, as well as to depth and rugosity. These four variables were critical in controlling the distribution patterns of the herbivorous fish assemblages. No associations were found between fish and macroalgae or any other benthic group. The present study indicates that the species richness of surgeonfish and parrotfish was not regionally affected by the dominance of macroalgae in the habitats studied. Seagrass beds and the coral reef matrix need to be preserved for the herbivorous fish assemblages to remain healthy and capable of controlling excess macroalgae growth.

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Geo‐ecological functions provided by coral reef fishes vary among regions and impact reef carbonate cycling regimes

et al. 2022

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Coral reef fishes perform essential and well-documented ecological functions on reefs, but also contribute important geo-ecological functions, which influence reef carbonate cycling regimes. These functions include reef framework modification (through bioerosion and breakage), and the production, reworking, and transport of reefal sediments. To explore how these functions vary across reefs and regions, we compiled a dataset of available taxa-specific function rates and applied these to fish census data from sites in the Pacific Ocean (PO), Indian Ocean (IO), and Greater Caribbean (GC), each region displaying a gradient in fish biomass. The highest overall function rates occur at the highest fish biomass sites in the PO (Kingman Reef) and IO (Chagos Archipelago), where bioerosion dominates framework modification and sediment generation (up to 7 kg m À2 year À1 ). At the lowest biomass PO and IO sites, framework modification and sediment generation are driven mainly by breakage and occur at lower rates (~2 kg m À2 year À1 ). Sediment reworking rates are high across all PO and IO sites (~1-5 kg m À2 year À1 ) and higher than other function rates at low biomass sites. Geo-ecological function rates are generally low across the GC sites, despite total fish biomass being comparable to, or even exceeding, some PO and IO sites, with sediment reworking (up to ~1 kg m À2 year À1 ) being the dominant function.These site-level differences partly reflect total fish biomass, but fish assemblage size structure and species identity are critical, with a few fish families (and species) underpinning the highest function rates and regulating the "health" of the fish-driven carbonate cycling regime. Reefs with high fish-driven framework modification, sediment production and reworking rates define one end of this spectrum, while at lower biomass sites little new sediment is produced and sediment reworking dominates. While additional species-level rate data are urgently needed to better constrain function rates, these transitions align with ideas about the progressive shutdown of carbonate production regimes on ecologically perturbed reefs, with important

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Reef structure drives parrotfish species composition on shelf edge reefs in La Parguera, Puerto Rico

Cited by 11 publications

References 46 publications

Changing dynamics of Caribbean reef carbonate budgets: emergence of reef bioeroders as critical controls on present and future reef growth potential

Changing dynamics of Caribbean reef carbonate budgets: emergence of reef bioeroders as critical controls on present and future reef growth potential

Spatial distribution of surgeonfish and parrotfish in the north sector of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System

Geo‐ecological functions provided by coral reef fishes vary among regions and impact reef carbonate cycling regimes

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