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Honeycutt RN, Holbrook SJ, Brooks AJ, Schmitt RJ. Farmerfish gardens help buffer stony corals against marine heat waves. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0282572. [PMID: 36888598 PMCID: PMC9994727 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
With marine heat waves increasing in intensity and frequency due to climate change, it is important to understand how thermal disturbances will alter coral reef ecosystems since stony corals are highly susceptible to mortality from thermally-induced, mass bleaching events. In Moorea, French Polynesia, we evaluated the response and fate of coral following a major thermal stress event in 2019 that caused a substantial amount of branching coral (predominantly Pocillopora) to bleach and die. We investigated whether Pocillopora colonies that occurred within territorial gardens protected by the farmerfish Stegastes nigricans were less susceptible to or survived bleaching better than Pocillopora on adjacent, undefended substrate. Bleaching prevalence (proportion of the sampled colonies affected) and severity (proportion of a colony's tissue that bleached), which were quantified for >1,100 colonies shortly after they bleached, did not differ between colonies within or outside of defended gardens. By contrast, the fates of 399 focal colonies followed for one year revealed that a bleached coral within a garden was a third less likely to suffer complete colony death and about twice as likely to recover to its pre-bleaching cover of living tissue compared to Pocillopora outside of a farmerfish garden. Our findings indicate that while residing in a farmerfish garden may not reduce the bleaching susceptibility of a coral to thermal stress, it does help buffer a bleached coral against severe outcomes. This oasis effect of farmerfish gardens, where survival and recovery of thermally-damaged corals are enhanced, is another mechanism that helps explain why large Pocillopora colonies are disproportionately more abundant in farmerfish territories than elsewhere in the lagoons of Moorea, despite gardens being relatively uncommon. As such, some farmerfishes may have an increasingly important role in maintaining the resilience of branching corals as the frequency and intensity of marine heat waves continue to increase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Randi N Honeycutt
- Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Sally J Holbrook
- Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Andrew J Brooks
- Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Russell J Schmitt
- Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
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2
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Shantz AA, Ladd MC, Ezzat L, Schmitt RJ, Holbrook SJ, Schmeltzer E, Vega Thurber R, Burkepile DE. Positive interactions between corals and damselfish increase coral resistance to temperature stress. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:417-431. [PMID: 36315059 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
By the century's end, many tropical seas will reach temperatures exceeding most coral species' thermal tolerance on an annual basis. The persistence of corals in these regions will, therefore, depend on their abilities to tolerate recurrent thermal stress. Although ecologists have long recognized that positive interspecific interactions can ameliorate environmental stress to expand the realized niche of plants and animals, coral bleaching studies have largely overlooked how interactions with community members outside of the coral holobiont shape the bleaching response. Here, we subjected a common coral, Pocillopora grandis, to 10 days of thermal stress in aquaria with and without the damselfish Dascyllus flavicaudus (yellowtail dascyllus), which commonly shelter within these corals, to examine how interactions with damselfish impacted coral thermal tolerance. Corals often benefit from nutrients excreted by animals they interact with and prior to thermal stress, corals grown with damselfish showed improved photophysiology (Fv /Fm ) and developed larger endosymbiont populations. When exposed to thermal stress, corals with fish performed as well as control corals maintained at ambient temperatures without fish. In contrast, corals exposed to thermal stress without fish experienced photophysiological impairment, a more than 50% decline in endosymbiont density, and a 36% decrease in tissue protein content. At the end of the experiment, thermal stress caused average calcification rates to decrease by over 80% when damselfish were absent but increase nearly 25% when damselfish were present. Our study indicates that damselfish-derived nutrients can increase coral thermal tolerance and are consistent with the Stress Gradient Hypothesis, which predicts that positive interactions become increasingly important for structuring communities as environmental stress increases. Because warming of just a few degrees can exceed corals' temperature tolerance to trigger bleaching and mortality, positive interactions could play a critical role in maintaining some coral species in warming regions until climate change is aggressively addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew A Shantz
- Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, St. Teresa, Florida, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Mark C Ladd
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Key Biscayne, Florida, USA
| | - Leila Ezzat
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Russell J Schmitt
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Sally J Holbrook
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Emily Schmeltzer
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | | | - Deron E Burkepile
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
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3
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Moeller HV, Nisbet RM, Stier AC. Cascading benefits of mutualists' predators on foundation species: A model inspired by coral reef ecosystems. Ecosphere 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Holly V. Moeller
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California USA
| | - Roger M. Nisbet
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California USA
| | - Adrian C. Stier
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California USA
- Marine Science Institute University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California USA
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4
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Pisapia C, Stella J, Silbiger NJ, Carpenter R. Epifaunal invertebrate assemblages associated with branching Pocilloporids in Moorea, French Polynesia. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9364. [PMID: 32596053 PMCID: PMC7307568 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Reef-building corals can harbour high abundances of diverse invertebrate epifauna. Coral characteristics and environmental conditions are important drivers of community structure of coral-associated invertebrates; however, our current understanding of drivers of epifaunal distributions is still unclear. This study tests the relative importance of the physical environment (current flow speed) and host quality (e.g., colony height, surface area, distance between branches, penetration depth among branches, and background partial mortality) in structuring epifaunal communities living within branching Pocillopora colonies on a back reef in Moorea, French Polynesia. A total of 470 individuals belonging to four phyla, 16 families and 39 genera were extracted from 36 Pocillopora spp. colonies. Decapods were the most abundant epifaunal organisms (accounting for 84% of individuals) found living in Pocillopora spp. While coral host characteristics and flow regime are very important, these parameters were not correlated with epifaunal assemblages at the time of the study. Epifaunal assemblages associated with Pocillopora spp. were consistent and minimally affected by differences in host characteristics and flow regime. The consistency in abundance and taxon richness among colonies (regardless of habitat characteristics) highlighted the importance of total habitat availability. With escalating effects of climate change and other localized disturbances, it is critical to preserve branching corals to support epifaunal communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Pisapia
- Department of Ocean Science and Hong Kong Branch of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong.,Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA
| | - Jessica Stella
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Nyssa J Silbiger
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA
| | - Robert Carpenter
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA
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5
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Chase TJ, Pratchett MS, McWilliam MJ, Hein MY, Tebbett SB, Hoogenboom MO. Damselfishes alleviate the impacts of sediments on host corals. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:192074. [PMID: 32431885 PMCID: PMC7211878 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.192074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Mutualisms play a critical role in ecological communities; however, the importance and prevalence of mutualistic associations can be modified by external stressors. On coral reefs, elevated sediment deposition can be a major stressor reducing the health of corals and reef resilience. Here, we investigated the influence of severe sedimentation on the mutualistic relationship between small damselfishes (Pomacentrus moluccensis and Dascyllus aruanus) and their coral host (Pocillopora damicornis). In an aquarium experiment, corals were exposed to sedimentation rates of approximately 100 mg cm-2 d-1, with and without fishes present, to test whether: (i) fishes influence the accumulation of sediments on coral hosts, and (ii) fishes moderate partial colony mortality and/or coral tissue condition. Colonies with fishes accumulated much less sediment compared with colonies without fishes, and this effect was strongest for colonies with D. aruanus (fivefold less sediment than controls) as opposed to P. moluccensis (twofold less sediment than controls). Colonies with symbiont fishes also had up to 10-fold less sediment-induced partial mortality, as well as higher chlorophyll and protein concentrations. These results demonstrate that fish mutualisms vary in the strength of their benefits, and indicate that some mutualistic or facilitative interactions might become more important for species health and resilience at high-stress levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. J. Chase
- Marine Biology and Aquaculture Group, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - M. S. Pratchett
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - M. J. McWilliam
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Kaneohe, HI, 96744, USA
| | - M. Y. Hein
- Marine Biology and Aquaculture Group, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - S. B. Tebbett
- Marine Biology and Aquaculture Group, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - M. O. Hoogenboom
- Marine Biology and Aquaculture Group, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
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6
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Leray M, Alldredge AL, Yang JY, Meyer CP, Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ, Knowlton N, Brooks AJ. Dietary partitioning promotes the coexistence of planktivorous species on coral reefs. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:2694-2710. [PMID: 30933383 PMCID: PMC6852152 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Revised: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Theories involving niche diversification to explain high levels of tropical diversity propose that species are more likely to co‐occur if they partition at least one dimension of their ecological niche space. Yet, numerous species appear to have widely overlapping niches based upon broad categorizations of resource use or functional traits. In particular, the extent to which food partitioning contributes to species coexistence in hyperdiverse tropical ecosystems remains unresolved. Here, we use a molecular approach to investigate inter‐ and intraspecific dietary partitioning between two species of damselfish (Dascyllus flavicaudus, Chromis viridis) that commonly co‐occur in branching corals. Species‐level identification of their diverse zooplankton prey revealed significant differences in diet composition between species despite their seemingly similar feeding strategies. Dascyllus exhibited a more diverse diet than Chromis, whereas Chromis tended to select larger prey items. A large calanoid copepod, Labidocera sp., found in low density and higher in the water column during the day, explained more than 19% of the variation in dietary composition between Dascyllus and Chromis. Dascyllus did not significantly shift its diet in the presence of Chromis, which suggests intrinsic differences in feeding behaviour. Finally, prey composition significantly shifted during the ontogeny of both fish species. Our findings show that levels of dietary specialization among coral reef associated species have likely been underestimated, and they underscore the importance of characterizing trophic webs in tropical ecosystems at higher levels of taxonomic resolution. They also suggest that niche redundancy may not be as common as previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthieu Leray
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Panama City, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
| | - Alice L Alldredge
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Joy Y Yang
- Computational and Systems Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Christopher P Meyer
- National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Sally J Holbrook
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California.,Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Russell J Schmitt
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California.,Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Nancy Knowlton
- National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Andrew J Brooks
- Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
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7
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Chase TJ, Pratchett MS, Frank GE, Hoogenboom MO. Coral-dwelling fish moderate bleaching susceptibility of coral hosts. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0208545. [PMID: 30550591 PMCID: PMC6294555 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Global environmental change has the potential to disrupt well established species interactions, with impacts on nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. On coral reefs, fish living within the branches of coral colonies can promote coral performance, and it has been hypothesized that the enhanced water flow and nutrients provided by fish to corals could ameliorate coral bleaching. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of small, aggregating damselfish on the health of their host corals (physiology, recovery, and survival) before, during, and after a thermal-bleaching event. When comparing coral colonies with and without fish, those with resident fish exhibited higher Symbiodinium densities and chlorophyll in both field and experimentally-induced bleaching conditions, and higher protein concentrations in field colonies. Additionally, colonies with damselfish in aquaria exhibited both higher photosynthetic efficiency (FV/FM) during bleaching stress and post-bleaching recovery, compared to uninhabited colonies. These results demonstrate that symbiotic damselfishes, and the services they provide, translate into measureable impacts on coral tissue, and can influence coral bleaching susceptibility/resilience and recovery. By mediating how external abiotic stressors influence coral colony health, damselfish can affect the functional responses of these interspecific interactions in a warming ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. J. Chase
- Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville QLD, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville QLD, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - M. S. Pratchett
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville QLD, Australia
| | - G. E. Frank
- Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville QLD, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville QLD, Australia
| | - M. O. Hoogenboom
- Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville QLD, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville QLD, Australia
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8
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Kamath A, Pruitt JN, Brooks AJ, Ladd MC, Cook DT, Gallagher JP, Vickers ME, Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ. Potential feedback between coral presence and farmerfish collective behavior promotes coral recovery. OIKOS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ambika Kamath
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Dept of Environmental Science, Policy and Management & Miller Inst. for Basic Research in Science Univ. of California Berkeley Berkeley CA 94720 USA
| | - Jonathan N. Pruitt
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Dept of Pyschology, Neuroscience and Behaviour McMaster Univ. Hamilton ON L8N 1A8 Canada
- Marine Science Inst. Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA
| | - Andrew J. Brooks
- Marine Science Inst. Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA
| | - Mark C. Ladd
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Marine Science Inst. Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA
| | - Dana T. Cook
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Marine Science Inst. Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA
| | - Jordan P. Gallagher
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Marine Science Inst. Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA
| | | | - Sally J. Holbrook
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Marine Science Inst. Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA
| | - Russell J. Schmitt
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Marine Science Inst. Univ. of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA
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9
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10
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Allgeier JE, Burkepile DE, Layman CA. Animal pee in the sea: consumer-mediated nutrient dynamics in the world's changing oceans. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:2166-2178. [PMID: 28217892 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2016] [Revised: 12/05/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Humans have drastically altered the abundance of animals in marine ecosystems via exploitation. Reduced abundance can destabilize food webs, leading to cascading indirect effects that dramatically reorganize community structure and shift ecosystem function. However, the additional implications of these top-down changes for biogeochemical cycles via consumer-mediated nutrient dynamics (CND) are often overlooked in marine systems, particularly in coastal areas. Here, we review research that underscores the importance of this bottom-up control at local, regional, and global scales in coastal marine ecosystems, and the potential implications of anthropogenic change to fundamentally alter these processes. We focus attention on the two primary ways consumers affect nutrient dynamics, with emphasis on implications for the nutrient capacity of ecosystems: (1) the storage and retention of nutrients in biomass, and (2) the supply of nutrients via excretion and egestion. Nutrient storage in consumer biomass may be especially important in many marine ecosystems because consumers, as opposed to producers, often dominate organismal biomass. As for nutrient supply, we emphasize how consumers enhance primary production through both press and pulse dynamics. Looking forward, we explore the importance of CDN for improving theory (e.g., ecological stoichiometry, metabolic theory, and biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships), all in the context of global environmental change. Increasing research focus on CND will likely transform our perspectives on how consumers affect the functioning of marine ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob E Allgeier
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Deron E Burkepile
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Craig A Layman
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
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11
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Gallagher AJ, Brandl SJ, Stier AC. Intraspecific variation in body size does not alter the effects of mesopredators on prey. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160414. [PMID: 28083093 PMCID: PMC5210675 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2016] [Accepted: 11/11/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
As humans continue to alter the species composition and size structure of marine food webs, it is critical to understand size-dependent effects of predators on prey. Yet, how shifts in predator body size mediate the effect of predators is understudied in tropical marine ecosystems, where anthropogenic harvest has indirectly increased the density and size of small-bodied predators. Here, we combine field surveys and a laboratory feeding experiment in coral reef fish communities to show that small and large predators of the same species can have similar effects. Specifically, surveys show that the presence of a small predator (Paracirrhites arcatus) was correlated with lower chances of prey fish presence, but these correlations were independent of predator size. Experimental trials corroborated the size-independent effect of the predator; attack rates were indistinguishable between small and large predators, suggesting relatively even effects of hawkfish in various size classes on the same type of prey. Our results indicate that the effects of small predators on coral reefs can be size-independent, suggesting that variation in predator size-structure alone may not always affect the functional role of these predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin J. Gallagher
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL,USA
- Beneath the Waves, Inc., Miami, FL 33133, USA
| | - Simon J. Brandl
- Beneath the Waves, Inc., Miami, FL 33133, USA
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
| | - Adrian C. Stier
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, SantaBarbara, CA 93106,USA
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12
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Leray M, Meyer CP, Mills SC. Metabarcoding dietary analysis of coral dwelling predatory fish demonstrates the minor contribution of coral mutualists to their highly partitioned, generalist diet. PeerJ 2015; 3:e1047. [PMID: 26137428 PMCID: PMC4485734 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 06/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the role of predators in food webs can be challenging in highly diverse predator/prey systems composed of small cryptic species. DNA based dietary analysis can supplement predator removal experiments and provide high resolution for prey identification. Here we use a metabarcoding approach to provide initial insights into the diet and functional role of coral-dwelling predatory fish feeding on small invertebrates. Fish were collected in Moorea (French Polynesia) where the BIOCODE project has generated DNA barcodes for numerous coral associated invertebrate species. Pyrosequencing data revealed a total of 292 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU) in the gut contents of the arc-eye hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus), the flame hawkfish (Neocirrhites armatus) and the coral croucher (Caracanthus maculatus). One hundred forty-nine (51%) of them had species-level matches in reference libraries (>98% similarity) while 76 additional OTUs (26%) could be identified to higher taxonomic levels. Decapods that have a mutualistic relationship with Pocillopora and are typically dominant among coral branches, represent a minor contribution of the predators' diets. Instead, predators mainly consumed transient species including pelagic taxa such as copepods, chaetognaths and siphonophores suggesting non random feeding behavior. We also identified prey species known to have direct negative interactions with stony corals, such as Hapalocarcinus sp, a gall crab considered a coral parasite, as well as species of vermetid snails known for their deleterious effects on coral growth. Pocillopora DNA accounted for 20.8% and 20.1% of total number of sequences in the guts of the flame hawkfish and coral croucher but it was not detected in the guts of the arc-eye hawkfish. Comparison of diets among the three fishes demonstrates remarkable partitioning with nearly 80% of prey items consumed by only one predator. Overall, the taxonomic resolution provided by the metabarcoding approach highlights a highly complex interaction web and demonstrates that levels of trophic partitioning among coral reef fishes have likely been underestimated. Therefore, we strongly encourage further empirical approaches to dietary studies prior to making assumptions of trophic equivalency in food web reconstruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthieu Leray
- USR 3278 CRIOBE CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, CBETM de l'Université de Perpignan , Perpignan Cedex , France ; Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL" ; Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution , Washington, D.C. , USA
| | - Christopher P Meyer
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution , Washington, D.C. , USA
| | - Suzanne C Mills
- USR 3278 CRIOBE CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, CBETM de l'Université de Perpignan , Perpignan Cedex , France ; Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL"
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13
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Lenihan HS, Hench JL, Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ, Potoski M. Hydrodynamics influence coral performance through simultaneous direct and indirect effects. Ecology 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/14-1115.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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14
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Chase TJ, Pratchett MS, Walker SPW, Hoogenboom MO. Small-scale environmental variation influences whether coral-dwelling fish promote or impede coral growth. Oecologia 2014; 176:1009-22. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-3065-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2013] [Accepted: 08/12/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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15
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Adam TC, Brooks AJ, Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ, Washburn L, Bernardi G. How will coral reef fish communities respond to climate-driven disturbances? Insight from landscape-scale perturbations. Oecologia 2014; 176:285-96. [PMID: 25070649 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-3011-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2013] [Accepted: 06/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Global climate change is rapidly altering disturbance regimes in many ecosystems including coral reefs, yet the long-term impacts of these changes on ecosystem structure and function are difficult to predict. A major ecosystem service provided by coral reefs is the provisioning of physical habitat for other organisms, and consequently, many of the effects of climate change on coral reefs will be mediated by their impacts on habitat structure. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the independent and combined effects of coral mortality and loss of physical habitat on reef-associated biota. Here, we use a unique series of events affecting the coral reefs around the Pacific island of Moorea, French Polynesia to differentiate between the impacts of coral mortality and the degradation of physical habitat on the structure of reef fish communities. We found that, by removing large amounts of physical habitat, a tropical cyclone had larger impacts on reef fish communities than an outbreak of coral-eating sea stars that caused widespread coral mortality but left the physical structure intact. In addition, the impacts of declining structural complexity on reef fish assemblages accelerated as structure became increasingly rare. Structure provided by dead coral colonies can take up to decades to erode following coral mortality, and, consequently, our results suggest that predictions based on short-term studies are likely to grossly underestimate the long-term impacts of coral decline on reef fish communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas C Adam
- Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA,
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