The Ecological Role of Sharks on Coral Reefs

Roff, George; Doropoulos, Christopher; Rogers, Alice; Bozec, Yves‐Marie; Krueck, Nils C.; Aurellado, Eleanor; Priest, Mark A.; Birrell, Chico; Mumby, Peter J.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2016.02.014

Cited by 239 publications

(237 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Declining populations of sharks in the tropics are of concern because of increasing evidence of their important trophic role Roff et al 2016;Ruppert et al 2013). The presence of sharks has been shown to affect the diet, condition and morphology of their prey (Barley et al 2017a, b) and food chain structure (Barley et al 2017a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster plancii (Dulvy et al 2004;Ruppert et al 2013), which is a major issue in a world facing climate change (Hughes et al 2003). However, there is still some uncertainty around the exact functional role reef sharks play in structuring reef communities, which is due to the complex nature of ecosystem dynamics and unknown exploitation histories (Roff et al 2016). For many coastal and island nations in the tropics, sharks are also a valuable tourism resource that support industries that provide significant benefits to regional economies (Brunnschweiler 2010;Gallagher and Hammerschlag 2011;Huveneers et al 2017;Vianna et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence for rapid recovery of shark populations within a coral reef marine protected area

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Meekan

2018

Biological Conservation

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There is limited evidence on the rate at which the shark populations of coral reefs can rebound from over-exploitation, the baselines that might signify when recovery has occurred and the role of no-take Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in aiding this process. We surveyed shark assemblages at Ashmore Reef in Western Australia using baited remote underwater video Stations in 2004 prior to enforcement of MPA status and then again in 2016 after eight years of strict enforcement. We found an increase in the relative mean abundance of Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos from 0.16 ± 0.06 individuals/hr -1 in 2004 to 0.74 ± 0.11 individuals/hr -1 in 2016, a change that was also accompanied by a shift in the assemblage of sharks to greater proportions of apex species (from 7.1% to 11.9%) and reef sharks (from 28.6% to 57.6%), and a decrease in the proportional abundance of lower trophic level species (from 64.3% to 30.5%). Abundances and trophic assemblage of sharks at Ashmore Reef in 2004 resembled those of the Scott Reefs, where targeted fishing for sharks still occurs, whereas in 2016, abundances and trophic structures had recovered to resemble those of the Rowley Shoals, a reef system that has been a strictly enforced MPA for over 25 years. The shift in abundance and community structure coincident with strict enforcement of the MPA at Ashmore Reef has occurred at a rate greater than predicted by demographic models, implying the action of compensatory processes in recovery. Our study shows that shark communities can recover rapidly after exploitation in a well-managed no-take MPA.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for rapid recovery of shark populations within a coral reef marine protected area

Speed

Cappo

Meekan

2018

Biological Conservation

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“…However, metaanalyses of extensive datasets reveal a more complex picture such that the rise in  15 N becomes proportionally smaller at higher trophic levels [18]. When these nonlinearities are incorporated into analyses of trophic structure, it appears that the 'apex' position of the largest shark species, including the great white (Carcharodon carcharias), has been underestimated [18]; a pattern that is consistent with new dietary analyses arguing that moderately-sized reef sharks are in fact mesopredators rather than true apex predators [19] ( Figure 1C). Thus, the largest sharks have a more unique role than previously assumed.…”

Section: Tooling Up To Understand the Oceansmentioning

confidence: 54%

Trends and frontiers for the science and management of the oceans

Mumby

2017

Current Biology

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“…Sharks are considered the apex predator of coral reefs. In another review [10] they find that most reef-associated shark species do not act as apex predators but instead function as mesopredators along with a diverse group of reef fish. Cited:''Coral reefs provide some functional benefits to sharks, but sharks do not appear to favour healthier reef environments.…”

Section: Importance and Contraindicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While coral reefs provide a range of ecological benefits for sharks, the link between healthy reefs and shark abundance is unclear.'' [10].…”

Section: Importance and Contraindicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%