Non-reef habitats in a tropical seascape affect density and biomass of fishes on coral reefs.

Autor: Sievers KT; College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville QLD Australia.; Australia Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville QLD Australia., McClure EC; College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville QLD Australia.; Australia Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville QLD Australia., Abesamis RA; Silliman University Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management Silliman University Dumaguete City Philippines., Russ GR; College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville QLD Australia.; Australia Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville QLD Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Ecology and evolution [Ecol Evol] 2020 Nov 19; Vol. 10 (24), pp. 13673-13686. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Nov 19 (Print Publication: 2020).
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6940
Abstrakt: Nonreef habitats such as mangroves, seagrass, and macroalgal beds are important for foraging, spawning, and as nursery habitat for some coral reef fishes. The spatial configuration of nonreef habitats adjacent to coral reefs can therefore have a substantial influence on the distribution and composition of reef fish. We investigate how different habitats in a tropical seascape in the Philippines influence the presence, density, and biomass of coral reef fishes to understand the relative importance of different habitats across various spatial scales. A detailed seascape map generated from satellite imagery was combined with field surveys of fish and benthic habitat on coral reefs. We then compared the relative importance of local reef (within coral reef) and adjacent habitat (habitats in the surrounding seascape) variables for coral reef fishes. Overall, adjacent habitat variables were as important as local reef variables in explaining reef fish density and biomass, despite being fewer in number in final models. For adult and juvenile wrasses (Labridae), and juveniles of some parrotfish taxa ( Chlorurus) , adjacent habitat was more important in explaining fish density and biomass. Notably, wrasses were positively influenced by the amount of sand and macroalgae in the adjacent seascape. Adjacent habitat metrics with the highest relative importance were sand (positive), macroalgae (positive), and mangrove habitats (negative), and fish responses to these metrics were consistent across fish groups evaluated. The 500-m spatial scale was selected most often in models for seascape variables. Local coral reef variables with the greatest importance were percent cover of live coral (positive), sand (negative), and macroalgae (mixed). Incorporating spatial metrics that describe the surrounding seascape will capture more holistic patterns of fish-habitat relationships on reefs. This is important in regions where protection of reef fish habitat is an integral part of fisheries management but where protection of nonreef habitats is often overlooked.
Competing Interests: There are no competing interests with any authors.
(© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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