Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-mzp66 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-14T19:34:18.911Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Linkage between fish functional groups and coral reef benthic habitat composition in the Western Indian Ocean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2016

Kennedy Osuka Open the ORCID record for Kennedy Osuka [Opens in a new window] ,
Marc Kochzius ,
Ann Vanreusel ,
David Obura  and
Melita Samoilys
Kennedy Osuka*
Affiliation:
CORDIO East Africa, #9 Kibaki Flats, Kenyatta Beach, P.O. Box 10135, Mombasa 80101, Kenya Marine Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Marc Kochzius
Affiliation:
Marine Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Ann Vanreusel
Affiliation:
Marine Biology Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Gent, Krijgslaan 281, 9000 Gent, Belgium
David Obura
Affiliation:
CORDIO East Africa, #9 Kibaki Flats, Kenyatta Beach, P.O. Box 10135, Mombasa 80101, Kenya
Melita Samoilys
Affiliation:
CORDIO East Africa, #9 Kibaki Flats, Kenyatta Beach, P.O. Box 10135, Mombasa 80101, Kenya
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: K. Osuka, CORDIO East Africa, #9 Kibaki Flats, Kenyatta Beach, P.O. Box 10135, Mombasa 80101, Kenya email: kosuka@cordioea.net
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Benthic habitat composition is a key factor that structures assemblages of coral reef fishes. However, natural and anthropogenic induced disturbances impact this relationship. This study investigates the link between benthic habitat composition and fish functional groups in four countries in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). Benthic composition of 32 sites was quantified visually from percentage cover of hard and soft corals, rubble, turf, fleshy and crustose coralline algae. At each site, abundance of 12 coral-associated fish functional groups in 50 × 5 m transects was determined. Cluster analysis characterized reefs based on benthic cover and revealed five habitat types (A, B, C, D and E) typified by decreasing cover of hard corals, increasing cover of turf and/or fleshy algae and differences in benthic diversity. Habitat type A was present in all four countries. Other habitats types showed geographic affiliations: notably Comoros sites clustered in either habitats B or E, northern Madagascar had B, C and D type habitats, whereas sites in central Tanzania and northern Mozambique had habitats D and E. Fish functional groups showed significant linkages with some habitat types. The abundances of corallivores, invertivores, detritivores and grazers were higher in habitat B, whereas planktivores and small excavators showed lower abundances in the same habitat. These linkages between benthic habitat types and fish functional groups are important in informing priority reefs that require conservation and management planning.

Keywords

Ecosystem functionalityreef resilience managementSIMPROFspatial characterizationphase-shifts
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 98 , Issue 2 , March 2018 , pp. 387 - 400
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allison, E.H., Perry, A.L., Badjeck, M.C., Adger, W.N., Brown, K., Conway, D., Halls, A.S., Pilling, G.M., Reynolds, J.D., Andrew, N.L. and Dulvy, N.K. (2009) Vulnerability of national economies to the impacts of climate change on fisheries. Fish and Fisheries 10, 173–196.Google Scholar
Andréfouët, S., Chagnaud, N. and Kranenburg, C.J. (2009) Atlas of Western Indian Ocean coral reefs. New Caledonia: Centre IRD de Nouméa, 157 pp.Google Scholar
Bellwood, D.R., Hughes, T.P., Folke, C. and Nyström, M. (2004) Confronting the coral reef crisis. Nature 429, 827–833.Google Scholar
Bellwood, D.R. and Wainwright, P.C. (2002) The history and biogeography of fishes on coral reefs. In Sale, P.F. (ed.) Coral reef fishes: dynamics and diversity in a complex ecosystem. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, pp. 5–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergman, K.C., Öhman, M.C. and Svensson, S. (2000) Influence of habitat structure on Pomacentrus sulfureus, a western Indian Ocean reef fish. Environmental Biology of Fishes 59, 243–252.Google Scholar
Burkepile, D.E. and Hay, M.E. (2006) Herbivore vs. nutrient control of marine primary producers: context dependent effects. Ecology 87, 3128–3139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caliman, A., Pires, A.F., Esteves, F.A., Bozelli, R.L. and Farjalla, V.F. (2010) The prominence of and biases in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research. Biodiversity and Conservation 19, 651–664.Google Scholar
Chesson, P. and Kuang, J.J. (2008) The interaction between predation and competition. Nature 456, 235–238.Google Scholar
Choat, J.H. and Ayling, A.M. (1987) The relationship between habitat structure and fish faunas on New Zealand reefs. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 110, 257–284.Google Scholar
Choat, J.H. and Randall, J.E. (1986) A revision of the parrotfishes (family Scaridae) of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia with description of a new species. Records of the Australian Museum 38, 175–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chong-Seng, K.M., Mannering, T.D., Pratchett, M.S., Bellwood, D.R. and Graham, N.A.J. (2012) The influence of coral reef benthic condition on associated fish assemblages. PLoS ONE 7, e42167, 1–10.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R. (1993) Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Australian Journal of Ecology 18, 117–143.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R., Somerfield, P.J. and Gorley, R.N. (2008) Testing of null hypotheses in exploratory community analyses: similarity profiles and biota-environment linkage. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 366, 56–69.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. (2001) Changes in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. Plymouth: PRIMER-E Ltd, 176 pp.Google Scholar
Cole, A.J., Pratchett, M.S. and Jones, G.P. (2008) Diversity and functional importance of coral-feeding fishes on tropical coral reefs. Fish and Fisheries 9, 286–307.Google Scholar
Coll, M., Libralato, S., Tudela, S., Palomera, I. and Pranovi, F. (2008) Ecosystem overfishing in the ocean. PLoS ONE 3, e3881, 1–10.Google Scholar
Doherty, P.J. and Williams, D.M. (1988) The replenishment of coral reef fish populations. Oceanography Marine Biology Annual Review 26, 551.Google Scholar
Duckworth, A.R. and Wolff, C.W. (2011) Population dynamics and growth of two coral reef sponges on rock and rubble substrates. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 402, 49–55.Google Scholar
Edwards, C.B., Friedlander, A.M., Green, A.G., Hardt, M.J., Sala, E., Sweatman, H.P., Williams, I.D., Zgliczynski, B., Sandin, S.A. and Smith, J.E. (2014) Global assessment of the status of coral reef herbivorous fishes: evidence for fishing effects. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences 281, 20131835.Google Scholar
English, S., Wilkinson, C. and Baker, V. (eds) (1994) Survey manual for tropical marine resources. ASEAN-Australia Science Project. Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 368 pp.Google Scholar
Eschmeyer, W.N. (ed.) (2012) Catalog of fishes: genera, species, and references. Available at http://research.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp. Electronic version (accessed 22 February 2012).Google Scholar
Friedlander, A.M., Obura, D., Aumeeruddy, R., Ballesteros, E., Church, J., Cebrian, E. and Sala, E. (2014) Coexistence of low coral cover and high fish biomass at Farquhar Atoll, Seychelles. PLoS ONE 9, 1.Google Scholar
Froese, R. and Pauly, D. (2012) FishBase. 2011. World Wide Web electronic publication. Available at http://wwwfishbase.org (accessed 22 February 2012).Google Scholar
Garpe, K.C. and Ohman, M.C. (2003) Coral and fish distribution patterns in Mafia Island National Park, Tanzania: fish-habitat interactions. Hydrobiologia 498, 191–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giraudoux, P. (2013) pgirmess: Data analysis in ecology. R package version 1.5.7. Available at http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=pgirmess.Google Scholar
Green, A.L. and Bellwood, D.R. (2009) Monitoring functional groups of herbivorous reef fishes as indicators of coral reef resilience. A practical guide for coral reef managers in the Asia Pacific Region. IUCN working group on Climate Change and coral reefs. Gland: IUCN.Google Scholar
Heemstra, P.C. and Randall, J.E. (1993) FAO species catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, Hind, Coral grouper and lyretall species. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
Hixon, M.A. (1991) Predation as a process structuring coral-reef fish communities. In Sale, P.F. (ed.) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, pp. 475–508.Google Scholar
Hixon, M.A. (1997) The effects of reef fishes on corals and algae. In Birkeland, C. (ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. New York, NY: Chapman and Hall, pp. 230–248.Google Scholar
Hixon, M.A. and Jones, G.P. (2005) Competition, predation, and density-dependent mortality in demersal marine fishes. Ecology 86, 2847–2859.Google Scholar
Hughes, T.P. (1994) Catastrophes, phase-shifts, and largescale degradation of a Caribbean coral reef. Science 265, 1547–1551.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, T.P., Rodrigues, M.J., Bellwood, D.R., Ceccarelli, D., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., McCook, L., Moltschaniwskyj, N., Pratchett, S.M., Steneck, R.S. and Willis, B. (2007) Phase shifts, herbivory, and the resilience of coral reefs to climate change. Current Biology 17, 360–365.Google Scholar
Jennings, S., Grandcourt, E.M. and Polunin, N.V.C. (1995) The effects of fishing on the diversity, biomass and trophic structure of Seychelles’ reef fish communities. Coral Reefs 14, 225–235.Google Scholar
Khalaf, M.A. and Kochzius, M. (2002a) Changes in trophic community structure of shore fishes at an industrial site in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 239, 287–299.Google Scholar
Khalaf, M.A. and Kochzius, M. (2002b) Community structure and biogeography of shore fishes in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Helgoland Marine Research 55, 252–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kochzius, M. (2007) Community structure of coral reef fishes in El Quadim Bay (El Quseir, Egyptian Red Sea coast). Zoology in the Middle East 42, 89–98.Google Scholar
Kuiter, R.H. (2002) Butterflyfishes, bannerfishes, and their relatives: a comprehensive guide to Chaetodontidae and Microcanthidae. Chorleywood: TMC Publishing, Chorleywood, UK.Google Scholar
Kuiter, R.H. and Debelius, H. (2006) World atlas of marine fishes. Frankfurt: IKAN-Unterwasserarchiv.Google Scholar
Kulbicki, M., Guillemot, N. and Amand, M. (2005) A general approach to length-weight relationships for New Caledonian lagoon fishes. Cybium 29, 235–252.Google Scholar
Letourneur, Y., Kulbicki, M. and Labrosse, P. (1998) Length-weight relationship of fishes from coral reefs and lagoons of New Caledonia: an update. Naga ICLARM Q 21, 39–46.Google Scholar
Lieske, E. and Myers, R.F. (1996) Coral reef fishes: Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean: including the Red Sea, Volume 41. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
McClanahan, T.R., Baker, A. and Ateweberhan, M. (2011) Preparing for climate change in the Western Indian Ocean: identifying climate refugia, biodiversity responses and preferred management. WIOMSA Book Series 12.Google Scholar
McClanahan, T.R. and Humphries, A.T. (2012) Differential and slow life-history responses of fishes to coral reef closures. Marine Ecological Progress Series 469, 121.Google Scholar
Obura, D., Di Carlo, G., Rabearisoa, A. and Oliver, T. (eds) (2011) A Rapid Marine Biodiversity Assessment of the coral reefs of northeast Madagascar. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 61. Arlington, VA: Conservation International, pp. 10–16.Google Scholar
Obura, D. and Grimsditch, G. (2009) Resilience assessment of coral – Assessment protocol for coral reefs, focusing on coral bleaching and thermal stress. IUCN Working Group on Climate Change and Coral Reefs. Gland: IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 70 pp.Google Scholar
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Dalsgaard, J., Froese, R. and Torres, F. (1998) Fishing down marine food webs. Science 279, 860–863.Google Scholar
Pereira, P.H.C., Moraes, R.L., dos Santos, M.V.B., Lippi, D.L., Feitosa, J.L.L. and Pedrosa, M. (2014) The influence of multiple factors upon reef fish abundance and species richness in a tropical coral complex. Ichthyological Research 61, 375–384.Google Scholar
Pittman, S.J., Caldow, C., Hile, S.D. and Monaco, M.E. (2007) Using seascape types to explain the spatial patterns of fish in the mangroves of SW Puerto Rico. Marine Ecology Progress Series 348, 273–284.Google Scholar
Pratchett, M.S. and Berumen, M.L. (2008) Interspecific variation in distributions and diets of coral reef butterflyfishes (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae). Journal of Fish Biology 73, 1730–1747.Google Scholar
R Core Development Team (2012) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. www.R-project.org.Google Scholar
Reese, E.S. (1989) Orientation behavior of butterflyfishes (family Chaetodontidae) on coral reefs: spatial learning of route specific landmarks and cognitive maps. Environmental Biology of Fishes 25, 79–86.Google Scholar
Reiss, J., Bridle, J.R., Montoya, J.M. and Woodward, G. (2009) Emerging horizons in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 24, 505–514.Google Scholar
Roberts, C.M., McClean, C.J., Veron, J.E., Hawkins, J.P., Allen, G.R., McAllister, D.E., Mittermeier, C.G., Schueler, F.W., Spalding, M., Wells, F., Vynne, C. and Werner, T.B. (2002) Marine biodiversity hotspots and conservation priorities for tropical reefs. Science 295, 1280–1284.Google Scholar
Roberts, C.M. and Ormond, R.F.G. (1987) Habitat complexity and coral reef fish diversity and abundance on Red Sea fringing reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series 41, 1–8.Google Scholar
Russ, G.R. (2003) Grazer biomass correlates more strongly with production than with biomass of algal turfs on a coral reef. Coral Reefs 22, 63–67.Google Scholar
Samoilys, M.A. (1988) Abundance and species richness of coral reef fish on the Kenyan coast: the effects of protective management and fishing. Proceedings of the Sixth International Coral Reef Symposium Townsville 2, 261–266.Google Scholar
Samoilys, M.A. (1997) Underwater visual census surveys. In Samoilys, M.A. (ed.) Manual for assessing fish stocks on Pacific coral reefs. Brisbane: Department of Primary Industries, pp. 16–29.Google Scholar
Samoilys, M.A. and Carlos, G. (2000) Determining methods of underwater visual census for estimating the abundance of coral reef fishes. Environmental Biology of Fishes 57, 289–304.Google Scholar
Samoilys, M.A. and Randriamanantsoa, B. (2011) Reef fishes of northeast Madagascar. In Obura, D., Di Carlo, G., Rabearisoa, A. and Oliver, T. (eds) A Rapid Marine Biodiversity Assessment of the coral reefs of northeast Madagascar. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 61, 29–3961.Google Scholar
Sweatman, H.H., Cheal, A.A., Coleman, G.G., Delean, S.S., Fitzpatrick, B.B., Miller, I.I., Ninio, R.R., Osborne, K.K., Page, C.C.M. and Thompson, A.A. (2001) Long-term monitoring of the Great Barrier Reef status report number 5. Queensland: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 71 pp.Google Scholar
Syms, C. and Jones, G.P. (2001) Soft corals exert no direct effects on coral reef fish assemblages. Oecologia 127, 560–571.Google Scholar
Turner, A.M. and Mittelbach, G.G. (1990) Predator avoidance and community structure: interactions among piscivores, planktivores, and plankton. Ecology 71, 2241–2254.Google Scholar
Vroom, P.S., Page, K.N., Kenyon, J.C. and Brainard, R.E. (2006) Algae-dominated reefs. American Scientist 94, 430–437.Google Scholar
Wells, S. (2009) Dynamite fishing in northern Tanzania – pervasive, problematic and yet preventable. Marine Pollution Bulletin 58, 20–23.Google Scholar
White, J.W. and Warner, R.R. (2007) Behavioral and energetic costs of group membership in a coral reef fish. Oecologia, 154, 423–433.Google Scholar
Worm, B., Barbier, E.B., Beaumont, N., Duffy, J.E., Folke, C., Halpern, B.S., Jackson, J.B., Lotze, H.K., Micheli, F. and Palumbi, S.R. (2006) Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services. Science 314, 787–790.Google Scholar
Zar, J.H. (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edition. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.Google Scholar