Species-specific effects of herbivorous fishes on the establishment of the macroalga Lobophora on coral reefs
Autor: | Kennedy Wolfe, John M. Dwyer, Peter J. Mumby, Alyssa Marshell, Laura D. Puk, Nicole H. Cernohorsky |
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Rok vydání: | 2020 |
Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
geography Herbivore geography.geographical_feature_category Ecology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology media_common.quotation_subject Coral reef Aquatic Science Biology biology.organism_classification 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Competition (biology) Grazing pressure Propagule Grazing Ecosystem 14. Life underwater Lobophora Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics media_common |
Zdroj: | Marine Ecology Progress Series. 637:1-14 |
ISSN: | 1616-1599 0171-8630 |
Popis: | Herbivory is a key ecosystem function that influences ecosystem trajectories. However, interactions between plants and herbivores are species-specific and change throughout the plants’ lifetime. On coral reefs, herbivorous fishes reduce competition between corals and macroalgae through their grazing activity, thereby regulating the ecosystem state. Grazing vulnerability of marine algae generally decreases with increasing algal size. Therefore, the removal of newly settled recruits by herbivorous fish is likely important in preventing macroalgal blooms and reducing competition with corals. We studied the grazing susceptibility of recruits of the brown macroalga Lobophora to multiple fish species through a combination of feeding observations and manipulative in situ and ex situ experiments. Further, we recorded short-term Lobophora growth patterns and adult survival over 9 wk. Lobophora recruits were more susceptible to herbivory than adults, likely owing to their smaller size. However, recruit mortality was driven by only 3 of the studied species: Acanthurus nigrofuscus, Scarus niger and Chlorurus spilurus, whereas other common herbivores did not remove any Lobophora recruits. Our data also suggest variable growth and recruitment among months. These findings point to a possible increase in grazing resistance with age for Lobophora. As such, a decrease in grazing pressure by key fish species controlling Lobophora recruits could permit Lobophora to establish more grazing-tolerant adult populations. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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