1
|
Silveira MM, Donelson JM, McCormick MI, Araujo-Silva H, Luchiari AC. Impact of ocean warming on a coral reef fish learning and memory. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15729. [PMID: 37576501 PMCID: PMC10416774 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Tropical ectotherms are highly sensitive to environmental warming, especially coral reef fishes, which are negatively impacted by an increase of a few degrees in ocean temperature. However, much of our understanding on the thermal sensitivity of reef fish is focused on a few traits (e.g., metabolism, reproduction) and we currently lack knowledge on warming effects on cognition, which may endanger decision-making and survival. Here, we investigated the effects of warming on learning and memory in a damselfish species, Acanthochromis polyacanthus. Fish were held at 28-28.5 °C (control group), 30-30.5 °C (moderate warming group) or 31.5-32 °C (high warming group) for 2 weeks, and then trained to associate a blue tag (cue) to the presence of a conspecific (reward). Following 20 training trials (5 days), fish were tested for associative learning (on the following day) and memory storage (after a 5-days interval). The control group A. polyacanthus showed learning of the task and memory retention after five days, but increasing water temperature impaired learning and memory. A thorough understanding of the effects of heat stress, cognition, and fitness is urgently required because cognition may be a key factor determining animals' performance in the predicted scenario of climate changes. Knowing how different species respond to warming can lead to better predictions of future community dynamics, and because it is species specific, it could pinpoint vulnerable/resilience species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mayara M. Silveira
- Department of Physiology and Behavior, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
| | - Jennifer M. Donelson
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townville, Australia
| | | | - Heloysa Araujo-Silva
- Department of Physiology and Behavior, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
| | - Ana C. Luchiari
- Department of Physiology and Behavior, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Fakan EP, Allan BJM, Illing B, Hoey AS, McCormick MI. Habitat complexity and predator odours impact on the stress response and antipredation behaviour in coral reef fish. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0286570. [PMID: 37379294 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Mass coral bleaching events coupled with local stressors have caused regional-scale loss of corals on reefs globally. Following the loss of corals, the structural complexity of these habitats is often reduced. By providing shelter, obscuring visual information, or physically impeding predators, habitat complexity can influence predation risk and the perception of risk by prey. Yet little is known on how habitat complexity and risk assessment interact to influence predator-prey interactions. To better understand how prey's perception of threats may shift in degraded ecosystems, we reared juvenile Pomacentrus chrysurus in environments of various habitat complexity levels and then exposed them to olfactory risk odours before simulating a predator strike. We found that the fast-start escape responses were enhanced when forewarned with olfactory cues of a predator and in environments of increasing complexity. However, no interaction between complexity and olfactory cues was observed in escape responses. To ascertain if the mechanisms used to modify these escape responses were facilitated through hormonal pathways, we conducted whole-body cortisol analysis. Cortisol concentrations interacted with habitat complexity and risk odours, such that P. chrysurus exhibited elevated cortisol levels when forewarned with predator odours, but only when complexity levels were low. Our study suggests that as complexity is lost, prey may more appropriately assess predation risk, likely as a result of receiving additional visual information. Prey's ability to modify their responses depending on the environmental context suggests that they may be able to partly alleviate the risk of increased predator-prey interactions as structural complexity is reduced.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eric P Fakan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
- College of Sciences and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Björn Illing
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
- Thünen Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Andrew S Hoey
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
- College of Sciences and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Mark I McCormick
- Coastal Marine Field Station, School of Science, University of Waikato, Tauranga, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Downie AT, Lefevre S, Illing B, Harris J, Jarrold MD, McCormick MI, Nilsson GE, Rummer JL. Rapid physiological and transcriptomic changes associated with oxygen delivery in larval anemonefish suggest a role in adaptation to life on hypoxic coral reefs. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002102. [PMID: 37167194 PMCID: PMC10174562 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Connectivity of coral reef fish populations relies on successful dispersal of a pelagic larval phase. Pelagic larvae must exhibit high swimming abilities to overcome ocean and reef currents, but once settling onto the reef, larvae transition to endure habitats that become hypoxic at night. Therefore, coral reef fish larvae must rapidly and dramatically shift their physiology over a short period of time. Taking an integrative, physiological approach, using swimming respirometry, and examining hypoxia tolerance and transcriptomics, we show that larvae of cinnamon anemonefish (Amphiprion melanopus) rapidly transition between "physiological extremes" at the end of their larval phase. Daily measurements of swimming larval anemonefish over their entire early development show that they initially have very high mass-specific oxygen uptake rates. However, oxygen uptake rates decrease midway through the larval phase. This occurs in conjunction with a switch in haemoglobin gene expression and increased expression of myoglobin, cytoglobin, and neuroglobin, which may all contribute to the observed increase in hypoxia tolerance. Our findings indicate that critical ontogenetic changes in the gene expression of oxygen-binding proteins may underpin the physiological mechanisms needed for successful larval recruitment to reefs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adam T Downie
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia
| | - Sjannie Lefevre
- Section for Physiology and Cell Biology, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Björn Illing
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
- Thünen Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Jessica Harris
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Michael D Jarrold
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Mark I McCormick
- Coastal Marine Field Station, School of Science, University of Waikato, Tauranga, New Zealand
| | - Göran E Nilsson
- Section for Physiology and Cell Biology, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jodie L Rummer
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Asunsolo-Rivera A, Lester E, Langlois T, Vaughan B, McCormick MI, Simpson SD, Meekan MG. Behaviour of mesopredatory coral reef fishes in response to threats from sharks and humans. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6714. [PMID: 37185796 PMCID: PMC10130163 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33415-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Both sharks and humans present a potentially lethal threat to mesopredatory fishes in coral reef systems, with implications for both population dynamics and the role of mesopredatory fishes in reef ecosystems. This study quantifies the antipredator behaviours mesopredatory fishes exhibit towards the presence of large coral reef carnivores and compares these behavioural responses to those elicited by the presence of snorkelers. Here, we used snorkelers and animated life-size models of the blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) to simulate potential predatory threats to mesopredatory reef fishes (lethrinids, lutjanids, haemulids and serranids). The responses of these reef fishes to the models and the snorkelers were compared to those generated by three non-threatening controls (life-size models of a green turtle [Chelonia mydas], a PVC-pipe [an object control] and a Perspex shape [a second object control]). A Remote Underwater Stereo-Video System (Stereo-RUV) recorded the approach of the different treatments and controls and allowed accurate measurement of Flight Initiation Distance (FID) and categorization of the type of flight response by fishes. We found that mesopredatory reef fishes had greater FIDs in response to the approach of threatening models (1402 ± 402-1533 ± 171 mm; mean ± SE) compared to the controls (706 ± 151-896 ± 8963 mm). There was no significant difference in FID of mesopredatory fishes between the shark model and the snorkeler, suggesting that these treatments provoked similar levels of predator avoidance behaviour. This has implications for researchers monitoring behaviour in situ or using underwater census as a technique to estimate the abundance of reef fishes. Our study suggests that, irrespective of the degree to which sharks actually consume these mesopredatory reef fishes, they still elicit a predictable and consistent antipredator response that has the potential to create risk effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Asunsolo-Rivera
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
| | - E Lester
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - T Langlois
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - B Vaughan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - M I McCormick
- Coastal Marine Field Station, School of Science, University of Waikato, Tauranga, New Zealand
| | - S D Simpson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - M G Meekan
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Lester EK, Langlois TJ, McCormick MI, Simpson SD, Bond T, Meekan MG. Relative influence of predators, competitors and seascape heterogeneity on behaviour and abundance of coral reef mesopredators. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily K. Lester
- School of Biological Sciences and the UWA Oceans Inst., Univ. of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
- Australian Inst. of Marine Science, UWA Oceans Inst. Crawley WA Australia
| | - Tim J. Langlois
- School of Biological Sciences and the UWA Oceans Inst., Univ. of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
| | - Mark I. McCormick
- Coastal Marine Field Station, School of Science, Univ of Waikato Tauranga New Zealand
| | | | - Todd Bond
- School of Biological Sciences and the UWA Oceans Inst., Univ. of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
| | - Mark G. Meekan
- Australian Inst. of Marine Science, UWA Oceans Inst. Crawley WA Australia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Nadler LE, McCormick MI, Johansen JL, Domenici P. Social familiarity improves fast-start escape performance in schooling fish. Commun Biol 2021; 4:897. [PMID: 34285330 PMCID: PMC8292327 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02407-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Using social groups (i.e. schools) of the tropical damselfish Chromis viridis, we test how familiarity through repeated social interactions influences fast-start responses, the primary defensive behaviour in a range of taxa, including fish, sharks, and larval amphibians. We focus on reactivity through response latency and kinematic performance (i.e. agility and propulsion) following a simulated predator attack, while distinguishing between first and subsequent responders (direct response to stimulation versus response triggered by integrated direct and social stimulation, respectively). In familiar schools, first and subsequent responders exhibit shorter latency than unfamiliar individuals, demonstrating that familiarity increases reactivity to direct and, potentially, social stimulation. Further, familiarity modulates kinematic performance in subsequent responders, demonstrated by increased agility and propulsion. These findings demonstrate that the benefits of social recognition and memory may enhance individual fitness through greater survival of predator attacks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E Nadler
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia. .,College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia. .,Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL, USA.
| | - Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Jacob L Johansen
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Kaneohe, HI, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Killen SS, Nadler LE, Grazioso K, Cox A, McCormick MI. The effect of metabolic phenotype on sociability and social group size preference in a coral reef fish. Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shaun S. Killen
- College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine University of Glasgow Glasgow UK
| | - Lauren E. Nadler
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| | - Kathryn Grazioso
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science University of Miami Miami FL USA
| | - Amy Cox
- Biological and Chemical Sciences The University of the West Indies St. Michael Barbados
| | - Mark I. McCormick
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark I. McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine & Environmental Sciences James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| | - Eric P. Fakan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine & Environmental Sciences James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| | - Jake W. Edmiston
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine & Environmental Sciences James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| | - Maud C. O. Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences WCVMUniversity of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK Canada
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Affiliation(s)
- Maria del Mar Palacios
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook Univ. Townsville Queensland Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin Univ. Victoria Australia
| | - Mark I. McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook Univ. Townsville Queensland Australia
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
McCloskey KP, Chapman KE, Chapuis L, McCormick MI, Radford AN, Simpson SD. Assessing and mitigating impacts of motorboat noise on nesting damselfish. Environ Pollut 2020; 266:115376. [PMID: 32829125 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Motorboats are a pervasive, growing source of anthropogenic noise in marine environments, with known impacts on fish physiology and behaviour. However, empirical evidence for the disruption of parental care remains scarce and stems predominantly from playback studies. Additionally, there is a paucity of experimental studies examining noise-mitigation strategies. We conducted two field experiments to investigate the effects of noise from real motorboats on the parental-care behaviours of a common coral-reef fish, the Ambon damselfish Pomacentrus amboinensis, which exhibits male-only egg care. When exposed to motorboat noise, we found that males exhibited vigilance behaviour 34% more often and spent 17% more time remaining vigilant, compared to an ambient-sound control. We then investigated nest defence in the presence of an introduced conspecific male intruder, incorporating a third noise treatment of altered motorboat-driving practice that was designed to mitigate noise exposure via speed and distance limitations. The males spent 22% less time interacting with the intruder and 154% more time sheltering during normal motorboat exposure compared to the ambient-sound control, with nest-defence levels in the mitigation treatment equivalent to those in ambient conditions. Our results reveal detrimental impacts of real motorboat noise on some aspects of parental care in fish, and successfully demonstrate the positive effects of an affordable, easily implemented mitigation strategy. We strongly advocate the integration of mitigation strategies into future experiments in this field, and the application of evidence-based policy in our increasingly noisy world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kieran P McCloskey
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK.
| | - Katherine E Chapman
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Lucille Chapuis
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
| | - Mark I McCormick
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Stephen D Simpson
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
McCormick MI, Chivers DP, Ferrari MCO, Blandford MI, Nanninga GB, Richardson C, Fakan EP, Vamvounis G, Gulizia AM, Allan BJM. Microplastic exposure interacts with habitat degradation to affect behaviour and survival of juvenile fish in the field. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201947. [PMID: 33109008 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral reefs are degrading globally due to increased environmental stressors including warming and elevated levels of pollutants. These stressors affect not only habitat-forming organisms, such as corals, but they may also directly affect the organisms that inhabit these ecosystems. Here, we explore how the dual threat of habitat degradation and microplastic exposure may affect the behaviour and survival of coral reef fish in the field. Fish were caught prior to settlement and pulse-fed polystyrene microplastics six times over 4 days, then placed in the field on live or dead-degraded coral patches. Exposure to microplastics or dead coral led fish to be bolder, more active and stray further from shelter compared to control fish. Effect sizes indicated that plastic exposure had a greater effect on behaviour than degraded habitat, and we found no evidence of synergistic effects. This pattern was also displayed in their survival in the field. Our results highlight that attaining low concentrations of microplastic in the environment will be a useful management strategy, since minimizing microplastic intake by fishes may work concurrently with reef restoration strategies to enhance the resilience of coral reef populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Douglas P Chivers
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon SK S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Maud C O Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon SK S7 W 5B4, Canada
| | - Makeely I Blandford
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Gerrit B Nanninga
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Celia Richardson
- Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - Eric P Fakan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - George Vamvounis
- College of Sciences and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Alexandra M Gulizia
- College of Sciences and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Ferrari MCO, McCormick MI, Fakan E, Barry R, Chivers DP. The fading of fear effects due to coral degradation is modulated by community composition. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maud C. O. Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences WCVMUniversity of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK Canada
| | - Mark I. McCormick
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture James Cook University Townsville QLD Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville QLD Australia
| | - Eric Fakan
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture James Cook University Townsville QLD Australia
| | - Randall Barry
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture James Cook University Townsville QLD Australia
| | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Allan BJM, Illing B, Fakan EP, Narvaez P, Grutter AS, Sikkel PC, McClure EC, Rummer JL, McCormick MI. Parasite infection directly impacts escape response and stress levels in fish. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb230904. [PMID: 32611788 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.230904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Parasites can account for a substantial proportion of the biomass in marine communities. As such, parasites play a significant ecological role in ecosystem functioning via host interactions. Unlike macropredators, such as large piscivores, micropredators, such as parasites, rarely cause direct mortality. Rather, micropredators impose an energetic tax, thus significantly affecting host physiology and behaviour via sublethal effects. Recent research suggests that infection by gnathiid isopods (Crustacea) causes significant physiological stress and increased mortality rates. However, it is unclear whether infection causes changes in the behaviours that underpin escape responses or changes in routine activity levels. Moreover, it is poorly understood whether the cost of gnathiid infection manifests as an increase in cortisol. To investigate this, we examined the effect of experimental gnathiid infection on the swimming and escape performance of a newly settled coral reef fish and whether infection led to increased cortisol levels. We found that micropredation by a single gnathiid caused fast-start escape performance and swimming behaviour to significantly decrease and cortisol levels to double. Fast-start escape performance is an important predictor of recruit survival in the wild. As such, altered fitness-related traits and short-term stress, perhaps especially during early life stages, may result in large scale changes in the number of fish that successfully recruit to adult populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bridie J M Allan
- Department of Marine Science, University of Otāgo, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Björn Illing
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Eric P Fakan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Pauline Narvaez
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
- Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Alexandra S Grutter
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Paul C Sikkel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR 72467, USA
- Water Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
| | - Eva C McClure
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
- Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4215, Australia
| | - Jodie L Rummer
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Atherton JA, McCormick MI. Parents know best: transgenerational predator recognition through parental effects. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9340. [PMID: 32596050 PMCID: PMC7306219 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In highly biodiverse systems, such as coral reefs, prey species are faced with predatory threats from numerous species. Recognition of predators can be innate, or learned, and can help increase the chance of survival. Research suggests that parental exposure to increased predatory threats can affect the development, behaviour, and ultimately, success of their offspring. Breeding pairs of damselfish (Acanthochromis polyacanthus) were subjected to one of three olfactory and visual treatments (predator, herbivore, or control), and their developing embryos were subsequently exposed to five different chemosensory cues. Offspring of parents assigned to the predator treatment exhibited a mean increase in heart rate two times greater than that of offspring from parents in herbivore or control treatments. This increased reaction to a parentally known predator odour suggests that predator-treated parents passed down relevant threat information to their offspring, via parental effects. This is the first time transgenerational recognition of a specific predator has been confirmed in any species. This phenomenon could influence predator-induced mortality rates and enable populations to adaptively respond to fluctuations in predator composition and environmental changes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Atherton
- College of Science & Engineering, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mark I McCormick
- College of Science & Engineering, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Lester EK, Langlois TJ, Simpson SD, McCormick MI, Meekan MG. The hemisphere of fear: the presence of sharks influences the three dimensional behaviour of large mesopredators in a coral reef ecosystem. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.06844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily K. Lester
- School of Biological Sciences and the UWA Oceans Inst., Univ. of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
- Australian Inst. of Marine Science, UWA Oceans Inst. Crawley WA Australia
| | - Tim J. Langlois
- School of Biological Sciences and the UWA Oceans Inst., Univ. of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
| | - Stephen D. Simpson
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Exeter Exeter UK
| | - Mark I. McCormick
- Dept of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook Univ. Townsville QLD Australia
| | - Mark G. Meekan
- Australian Inst. of Marine Science, UWA Oceans Inst. Crawley WA Australia
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Gordon TAC, Radford AN, Davidson IK, Barnes K, McCloskey K, Nedelec SL, Meekan MG, McCormick MI, Simpson SD. Acoustic enrichment can enhance fish community development on degraded coral reef habitat. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5414. [PMID: 31784508 PMCID: PMC6884498 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13186-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral reefs worldwide are increasingly damaged by anthropogenic stressors, necessitating novel approaches for their management. Maintaining healthy fish communities counteracts reef degradation, but degraded reefs smell and sound less attractive to settlement-stage fishes than their healthy states. Here, using a six-week field experiment, we demonstrate that playback of healthy reef sound can increase fish settlement and retention to degraded habitat. We compare fish community development on acoustically enriched coral-rubble patch reefs with acoustically unmanipulated controls. Acoustic enrichment enhances fish community development across all major trophic guilds, with a doubling in overall abundance and 50% greater species richness. If combined with active habitat restoration and effective conservation measures, rebuilding fish communities in this manner might accelerate ecosystem recovery at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Acoustic enrichment shows promise as a novel tool for the active management of degraded coral reefs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Timothy A C Gordon
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK. .,Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia.
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Isla K Davidson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Kasey Barnes
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Kieran McCloskey
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
| | - Sophie L Nedelec
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
| | - Mark G Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Mark I McCormick
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Stephen D Simpson
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Warren DT, McCormick MI. Intrageneric differences in the effects of acute temperature exposure on competitive behaviour of damselfishes. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7320. [PMID: 31346499 PMCID: PMC6642626 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Projected increases in global temperatures brought on by climate change threaten to disrupt many biological and ecological processes. Tropical ectotherms, like many fishes, can be particularly susceptible to temperature change as they occupy environments with narrow thermal fluctuations. While climate change models predict temperatures to increase over decades, thermal fluctuations are already experienced on a seasonal scale, which may affect the ability to capture and defend resources across a thermal gradient. For coral reef fish, losers of competitive interactions are often more vulnerable to predation, and this pressure is strongest just after settlement. Competitive interactions may determine future success for coral reef fishes, and understanding how temperature experienced during settlement can influence such interactions will give insight to community dynamics in a future warmer world. We tested the effect of increased temperatures on intraspecific competitive interactions of two sympatric species of reef damselfish, the blue damselfish Pomacentrus nagasakiensis, and the whitetail damselfish Pomacentrus chrysurus. Juvenile fishes were exposed to one of four temperature treatments, ranging from 26–32 °C, for seven days then placed into competitive arenas where aggressive interactions were recorded between sized matched individuals within each species. While there was no apparent effect of temperature treatment on aggressive behaviour for P. chrysurus, we observed up to a four-fold increase in aggression scores for P. nagasakiensis with increasing temperature. Results suggest that temperature experienced as juveniles can impact aggressive behaviour; however, species-specific thermal tolerances led to behavioural affects that differ among closely related species. Differential thermal tolerance among species may cause restructuring of the interaction network that underlies the structure of reef assemblages.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Donald T Warren
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mark I McCormick
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
|
19
|
Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Fakan EP, Barry RP, Edmiston JW, Ferrari MCO. Coral degradation alters predator odour signatures and influences prey learning and survival. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190562. [PMID: 31138070 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat degradation is a key factor leading to the global loss of biodiversity. This problem is particularly acute in coral reef ecosystems. We investigated whether recognition of predator odours by damselfish was influenced by coral degradation and whether these changes altered survival in the wild. We taught whitespot damselfish to recognize the odour of a predator in the presence of live/healthy coral or dead/degraded coral. Fish were tested for a response to predator odours in environments that matched their conditioning environment or in environments that were mismatched. Next, we taught blue damselfish to recognize the odour of three common reef predators in live and degraded coral environments and then stocked them onto live or degraded patch reefs, where we monitored their subsequent response to predator odour along with their survival. Damselfish learned to recognize predator odours in both coral environments, but the intensity of their antipredator response was much greater when the conditioning and test environments matched. Fish released on degraded coral had about 50% higher survival if they had been trained in the presence of degraded coral rather than live coral. Altering the intensity of antipredator responses could have rather profound consequences on population growth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- D P Chivers
- 1 Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan , Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5E2
| | - M I McCormick
- 2 ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine & Environmental Sciences, James Cook University , Townsville, Queensland 4811 , Australia
| | - E P Fakan
- 2 ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine & Environmental Sciences, James Cook University , Townsville, Queensland 4811 , Australia
| | - R P Barry
- 2 ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine & Environmental Sciences, James Cook University , Townsville, Queensland 4811 , Australia
| | - J W Edmiston
- 2 ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine & Environmental Sciences, James Cook University , Townsville, Queensland 4811 , Australia
| | - M C O Ferrari
- 3 Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan , Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7W 5B4
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
McCormick MI, Fakan EP, Nedelec SL, Allan BJM. Effects of boat noise on fish fast-start escape response depend on engine type. Sci Rep 2019; 9:6554. [PMID: 31024063 PMCID: PMC6484016 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43099-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Vessel noise represents a relatively recent but rapidly increasing form of pollution, which affects the many organisms that use sound to inform their behavioural decisions. Recent research shows that anthropogenic noise can lead to reduced responsiveness to risk and higher mortality. The current laboratory experiment determined whether the playback of noise from motorboats powered by two- or four-stroke outboard engines affected the kinematics of the fast-start response in a juvenile coral reef fish, and the time scale over which the effects may occur. Results show that the two engine types produce slightly different sound spectra, which influence fish differently. Playback of 2-stroke engines had the greatest effect on activity, but only for a brief period (45 s). While noise from 4-stroke outboard engines affected fast-start kinematics, they had half the impact of noise from 2-stroke engines. Two-stroke engine noise affected routine swimming more than 4-stroke engines, while 4-stroke noise had a greater effect on the speed at which fish responded to a startle. Evidence suggests that the source of the noise pollution will have a major influence on the way marine organisms will respond, and this gives managers an important tool whereby they may reduce the effects of noise pollution on protected communities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia.
| | - Eric P Fakan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia
| | - Sophie L Nedelec
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia.,Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Fakan EP, McCormick MI. Boat noise affects the early life history of two damselfishes. Mar Pollut Bull 2019; 141:493-500. [PMID: 30955760 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.02.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2018] [Revised: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2019] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise can have a negative effect on the physiology and survival of marine fishes. Most research has focused on later life-stages, and few studies have investigated the effects of human-induced noise on embryogenesis. The current study investigated whether playback of motorboat noise affected the embryogenesis of the coral reef damselfishes, Amphiprion melanopus and Acanthochromis polyacanthus. Embryos reared under the playback of boat noise had faster heart rates compared to the ambient reef controls. The effects of noise on morphological development differed between species and the fundamental interrelationships between early life history characteristics changed dramatically under boat noise for Ac. polyacanthus. Noise treatments did not alter the survival rates of embryos under laboratory conditions. Although species specific, our findings suggest that anthropogenic noise causes physiological responses in fishes during embryogenesis and these changes have direct impacts on their development and these alterations may have carry-over effects to later life stages.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- E P Fakan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
| | - M I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Laubenstein TD, Rummer JL, McCormick MI, Munday PL. A negative correlation between behavioural and physiological performance under ocean acidification and warming. Sci Rep 2019; 9:4265. [PMID: 30862781 PMCID: PMC6414711 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36747-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Many studies have examined the average effects of ocean acidification and warming on phenotypic traits of reef fishes, finding variable, but often negative effects on behavioural and physiological performance. Yet the presence and nature of a relationship between these traits is unknown. A negative relationship between phenotypic traits could limit individual performance and even the capacity of populations to adapt to climate change. Here, we examined the relationship between behavioural and physiological performance of a juvenile reef fish under elevated CO2 and temperature in a full factorial design. Behaviourally, the response to an alarm odour was negatively affected by elevated CO2, but not elevated temperature. Physiologically, aerobic scope was significantly diminished under elevated temperature, but not under elevated CO2. At the individual level, there was no relationship between behavioural and physiological traits in the control and single-stressor treatments. However, a statistically significant negative relationship was detected between the traits in the combined elevated CO2 and temperature treatment. Our results demonstrate that trade-offs in performance between behavioural and physiological traits may only be evident when multiple climate change stressors are considered, and suggest that this negative relationship could limit adaptive potential to climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Taryn D Laubenstein
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
| | - Jodie L Rummer
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.,College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Philip L Munday
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Rodgers GG, Rummer JL, Johnson LK, McCormick MI. Impacts of increased ocean temperatures on a low-latitude coral reef fish - Processes related to oxygen uptake and delivery. J Therm Biol 2019; 79:95-102. [PMID: 30612692 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2018.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2018] [Revised: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 12/09/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Increasing temperatures are expected to significantly affect the physiological performance of ectotherms, particularly in tropical locations. The shape of an organism's thermal reaction norm can provide important information on its capacity to persist under climate change scenarios; however, difficulty lies in choosing a measurable trait that best depicts physiological performance. This study investigated the effects of elevated temperatures on processes related to oxygen uptake and delivery, including oxygen consumption, haematology, and tissue health for a low-latitude population of coral reef damselfish. Acanthochromis polyacanthus were collected from the Torres Strait (10°31-46'S, 142°20-35'E) and maintained at current average ocean temperatures (+0 °C; seasonally cycling), + 1.5 °C and + 3 °C higher than present day temperatures for 10 months. Aerobic performance indicated a limit to metabolic function at + 3 °C (33 °C), following an increase in aerobic capacity at + 1.5 °C (31.5 °C). Neither haematological parameters nor gill morphology showed the same improvement in performance at + 1.5 °C. Gill histopathology provided the first indicator of a decline in organism health, which corresponded with mortality observations from previous research. Findings from this study suggest thermal specialisation in this low-latitude population as well as variation in thermal sensitivity, depending on the physiological trait.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G G Rodgers
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia; College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
| | - J L Rummer
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - L K Johnson
- College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - M I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia; College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Ferrari MCO, McCormick MI, Meekan MG, Simpson SD, Nedelec SL, Chivers DP. School is out on noisy reefs: the effect of boat noise on predator learning and survival of juvenile coral reef fishes. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 285:rspb.2018.0033. [PMID: 29386370 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Noise produced by anthropogenic activities is increasing in many marine ecosystems. We investigated the effect of playback of boat noise on fish cognition. We focused on noise from small motorboats, since its occurrence can dominate soundscapes in coastal communities, the number of noise-producing vessels is increasing rapidly and their proximity to marine life has the potential to cause deleterious effects. Cognition-or the ability of individuals to learn and remember information-is crucial, given that most species rely on learning to achieve fitness-promoting tasks, such as finding food, choosing mates and recognizing predators. The caveat with cognition is its latent effect: the individual that fails to learn an important piece of information will live normally until the moment where it needs the information to make a fitness-related decision. Such latent effects can easily be overlooked by traditional risk assessment methods. Here, we conducted three experiments to assess the effect of boat noise playbacks on the ability of fish to learn to recognize predation threats, using a common, conserved learning paradigm. We found that fish that were trained to recognize a novel predator while being exposed to 'reef + boat noise' playbacks failed to subsequently respond to the predator, while their 'reef noise' counterparts responded appropriately. We repeated the training, giving the fish three opportunities to learn three common reef predators, and released the fish in the wild. Those trained in the presence of 'reef + boat noise' playbacks survived 40% less than the 'reef noise' controls over our 72 h monitoring period, a performance equal to that of predator-naive fish. Our last experiment indicated that these results were likely due to failed learning, as opposed to stress effects from the sound exposure. Neither playbacks nor real boat noise affected survival in the absence of predator training. Our results indicate that boat noise has the potential to cause latent effects on learning long after the stressor has gone.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maud C O Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mark G Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, c/o UWA OI (MO96), 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Stephen D Simpson
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Sophie L Nedelec
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QD, UK.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Douglas P Chivers
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Domenici P, Allan BJM, Lefrançois C, McCormick MI. The effect of climate change on the escape kinematics and performance of fishes: implications for future predator-prey interactions. Conserv Physiol 2019; 7:coz078. [PMID: 31723432 PMCID: PMC6839432 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coz078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/18/2019] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Climate change can have a pronounced impact on the physiology and behaviour of fishes. Notably, many climate change stressors, such as global warming, hypoxia and ocean acidification (OA), have been shown to alter the kinematics of predator-prey interactions in fishes, with potential effects at ecological levels. Here, we review the main effects of each of these stressors on fish escape responses using an integrative approach that encompasses behavioural and kinematic variables. Elevated temperature was shown to affect many components of the escape response, including escape latencies, kinematics and maximum swimming performance, while the main effect of hypoxia was on escape responsiveness and directionality. OA had a negative effect on the escape response of juvenile fish by decreasing their directionality, responsiveness and locomotor performance, although some studies show no effect of acidification. The few studies that have explored the effects of multiple stressors show that temperature tends to have a stronger effect on escape performance than OA. Overall, the effects of climate change on escape responses may occur through decreased muscle performance and/or an interference with brain and sensory functions. In all of these cases, since the escape response is a behaviour directly related to survival, these effects are likely to be fundamental drivers of changes in marine communities. The overall future impact of these stressors is discussed by including their potential effects on predator attack behaviour, thereby allowing the development of potential future scenarios for predator-prey interactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Domenici
- CNR-IAS, Oristano, 09170 Italy
- Corresponding author: CNR-IAS, Oristano 09170, Italy.
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | | | - Mark I McCormick
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Fisher EE, Choat JH, McCormick MI, Cappo M. Relative influence of environmental factors on the timing and occurrence of multi-species coral reef fish aggregations. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0209234. [PMID: 30576357 PMCID: PMC6303027 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Reef configuration and hydrodynamics were identified as the principle physical drivers behind coral reef fish aggregations on a mid-shelf patch reef in the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef (-16.845°, 146.23°). The study was carried out over a six-year period at a large reef pass on the oceanic margin of the northern Great Barrier Reef. Over this period (February 2006 -December 2012) tidal state, moon phase and surface seawater temperature were monitored. The timing of sampling was organised to assess variation in physical environment at daily, monthly, seasonal and annual time scales. Over these time scales, temporal patterns of occurrence of 10 species of coral reef fish from 5 families representing 5 defined trophic groups were monitored. The study incorporated 1,357 underwater visual census counts involving 402,370 fish and these estimates were collated with data on tidal state, water temperature, lunar and seasonal periodicity. Aggregated boosted regression trees analysed the univariate responses of fish abundance and species richness to the variation in the physical environment of the reef pass. Flood tides or when water flows from open water through the pass and into the Moore Reef lagoon had 2.3 times as many fish and 1.75 times as many species compared to counts made on ebb tides. Fish abundance was highest in late winter and spring months (Austral calendar), but notably when water temperatures were below the long-term mean of 27°C. Multivariate regression trees and Dufrêne-Legendre indicator predicted 4 out of 10 times the occurrence of all 10 species at any temporal scale ranging from hours to years. Flood tides were the principle driver underlying the occurrence of all 10 species regardless of their trophic classification and produced distinct seasonal assemblages, indicative of fishes aggregating to forage and reproduce.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eric E. Fisher
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townville, Queensland, Australia
- Reef Education/ Reef Magic Cruises, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - John H. Choat
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mark I. McCormick
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mike Cappo
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Cape Cleveland, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Abstract
Animals are exposed to variable and rapidly changing environmental flow conditions, such as wind in terrestrial habitats and currents in aquatic systems. For fishes, previous work suggests that individuals exhibit flow-induced changes in aerobic swimming performance. Yet, no one has examined whether similar plasticity is found in fast-start escape responses, which are modulated by anaerobic swimming performance, sensory stimuli and neural control. In this study, we used fish from wild schools of the tropical damselfish Chromis viridis from shallow reefs surrounding Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The flow regime at each site was measured to ascertain differences in mean water flow speed and its temporal variability. Swimming and escape behaviour in fish schools were video-recorded in a laminar-flow swim tunnel. Though each school's swimming behaviour (i.e. alignment and cohesion) was not associated with local flow conditions, traits linked with fast-start performance (particularly turning rate and the distance travelled with the response) were significantly greater in individuals from high-flow habitats. This stronger performance may occur due to a number of mechanisms, such as an i n s itu training effect or greater selection pressure for faster performance phenotypes in areas with high flow speed.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E Nadler
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia .,Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Shaun S Killen
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Paolo Domenici
- CNR-IAMC, Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero, Localita Sa Mardini, Torregrande, 09170, Oristano, Italy
| | - Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.,Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Meekan MG, McCormick MI, Simpson SD, Chivers DP, Ferrari MCO. Never Off the Hook—How Fishing Subverts Predator-Prey Relationships in Marine Teleosts. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
29
|
Eurich JG, McCormick MI, Jones GP. Direct and indirect effects of interspecific competition in a highly partitioned guild of reef fishes. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob G. Eurich
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Queensland 4811 Australia
| | - Mark I. McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Queensland 4811 Australia
| | - Geoffrey P. Jones
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Queensland 4811 Australia
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
McCormick MI, Watson SA, Simpson SD, Allan BJM. Effect of elevated CO 2 and small boat noise on the kinematics of predator-prey interactions. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20172650. [PMID: 29563262 PMCID: PMC5897633 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Oceans of the future are predicted to be more acidic and noisier, particularly along the productive coastal fringe. This study examined the independent and combined effects of short-term exposure to elevated CO2 and boat noise on the predator-prey interactions of a pair of common coral reef fishes (Pomacentrus wardi and its predator, Pseudochromis fuscus). Successful capture of prey by predators was the same regardless of whether the pairs had been exposed to ambient control conditions, the addition of either playback of boat noise, elevated CO2 (925 µatm) or both stressors simultaneously. The kinematics of the interaction were the same for all stressor combinations and differed from the controls. The effects of CO2 or boat noise were the same, suggesting that their effects were substitutive in this situation. Prey reduced their perception of threat under both stressors individually and when combined, and this coincided with reduced predator attack distances and attack speeds. The lack of an additive or multiplicative effect when both stressors co-occurred was notable given the different mechanisms involved in sensory disruptions and highlights the importance of determining the combined effects of key drivers to aid in predicting community dynamics under future environmental scenarios.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Sue-Ann Watson
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Stephen D Simpson
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Jain-Schlaepfer S, Fakan E, Rummer JL, Simpson SD, McCormick MI. Impact of motorboats on fish embryos depends on engine type. Conserv Physiol 2018; 6:coy014. [PMID: 29593871 PMCID: PMC5865524 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coy014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Revised: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Human generated noise is changing the natural underwater soundscapes worldwide. The most pervasive sources of underwater anthropogenic noise are motorboats, which have been found to negatively affect several aspects of fish biology. However, few studies have examined the effects of noise on early life stages, especially the embryonic stage, despite embryo health being critical to larval survival and recruitment. Here, we used a novel setup to monitor heart rates of embryos from the staghorn damselfish (Amblyglyphidodon curacao) in shallow reef conditions, allowing us to examine the effects of in situ boat noise in context with real-world exposure. We found that the heart rate of embryos increased in the presence of boat noise, which can be associated with the stress response. Additionally, we found 2-stroke outboard-powered boats had more than twice the effect on embryo heart rates than did 4-stroke powered boats, showing an increase in mean individual heart rate of 1.9% and 4.6%, respectively. To our knowledge this is the first evidence suggesting boat noise elicits a stress response in fish embryo and highlights the need to explore the ecological ramifications of boat noise stress during the embryo stage. Also, knowing the response of marine organisms caused by the sound emissions of particular engine types provides an important tool for reef managers to mitigate noise pollution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Jain-Schlaepfer
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Eric Fakan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Jodie L Rummer
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Stephen D Simpson
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
McCormick MI, Allan BJM, Harding H, Simpson SD. Boat noise impacts risk assessment in a coral reef fish but effects depend on engine type. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3847. [PMID: 29497097 PMCID: PMC5832755 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22104-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Human noise pollution has increased markedly since the start of industrialization and there is international concern about how this may impact wildlife. Here we determined whether real motorboat noise affected the behavior, space use and escape response of a juvenile damselfish (Pomacentrus wardi) in the wild, and explored whether fish respond effectively to chemical and visual threats in the presence of two common types of motorboat noise. Noise from 30 hp 2-stroke outboard motors reduced boldness and activity of fish on habitat patches compared to ambient reef-sound controls. Fish also no longer responded to alarm odours with an antipredator response, instead increasing activity and space use, and fewer fish responded appropriately to a looming threat. In contrast, while there was a minor influence of noise from a 30 hp 4-stroke outboard on space use, there was no influence on their ability to respond to alarm odours, and no impact on their escape response. Evidence suggests that anthropogenic noise impacts the way juvenile fish assess risk, which will reduce individual fitness and survival, however, not all engine types cause major effects. This finding may give managers options by which they can reduce the impact of motorboat noise on inshore fish communities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia.
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia
- Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
| | - Harry Harding
- School of Biological Sciences & Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Stephen D Simpson
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Morse P, Huffard CL, Meekan MG, McCormick MI, Zenger KR. Mating behaviour and postcopulatory fertilization patterns in the southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
|
34
|
Nedelec SL, Radford AN, Pearl L, Nedelec B, McCormick MI, Meekan MG, Simpson SD. Motorboat noise impacts parental behaviour and offspring survival in a reef fish. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0143. [PMID: 28592667 PMCID: PMC5474065 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise is a pollutant of international concern, with mounting evidence of disturbance and impacts on animal behaviour and physiology. However, empirical studies measuring survival consequences are rare. We use a field experiment to investigate how repeated motorboat-noise playback affects parental behaviour and offspring survival in the spiny chromis (Acanthochromis polyacanthus), a brooding coral reef fish. Repeated observations were made for 12 days at 38 natural nests with broods of young. Exposure to motorboat-noise playback compared to ambient-sound playback increased defensive acts, and reduced both feeding and offspring interactions by brood-guarding males. Anthropogenic noise did not affect the growth of developing offspring, but reduced the likelihood of offspring survival; while offspring survived at all 19 nests exposed to ambient-sound playback, six of the 19 nests exposed to motorboat-noise playback suffered complete brood mortality. Our study, providing field-based experimental evidence of the consequences of anthropogenic noise, suggests potential fitness consequences of this global pollutant.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sophie L Nedelec
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Leanne Pearl
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, 1900 Pleasant Drive, 334 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0334, USA
| | - Brendan Nedelec
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Mark I McCormick
- School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Mark G Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, The University of Western Australia (MO96), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009
| | - Stephen D Simpson
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I. McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| | - Eric Fakan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| | - Bridie J. M. Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Allan BJM, Domenici P, Watson SA, Munday PL, McCormick MI. Warming has a greater effect than elevated CO 2 on predator-prey interactions in coral reef fish. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:rspb.2017.0784. [PMID: 28659450 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ocean acidification and warming, driven by anthropogenic CO2 emissions, are considered to be among the greatest threats facing marine organisms. While each stressor in isolation has been studied extensively, there has been less focus on their combined effects, which could impact key ecological processes. We tested the independent and combined effects of short-term exposure to elevated CO2 and temperature on the predator-prey interactions of a common pair of coral reef fishes (Pomacentrus wardi and its predator, Pseudochromis fuscus). We found that predator success increased following independent exposure to high temperature and elevated CO2 Overall, high temperature had an overwhelming effect on the escape behaviour of the prey compared with the combined exposure to elevated CO2 and high temperature or the independent effect of elevated CO2 Exposure to high temperatures led to an increase in attack and predation rates. By contrast, we observed little influence of elevated CO2 on the behaviour of the predator, suggesting that the attack behaviour of P. fuscus was robust to this environmental change. This is the first study to address how the kinematics and swimming performance at the basis of predator-prey interactions may change in response to concurrent exposure to elevated CO2 and high temperatures and represents an important step to forecasting the responses of interacting species to climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bridie J M Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia .,Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Paolo Domenici
- CNR-IAMC, Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero, Località Sa Mardini, 09170 Torregrande (Oristano), Italy
| | - Sue Ann Watson
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Philip L Munday
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.,Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Allan BJM, Mitchell MD, Gonçalves EJ, Bryshun R, Ferrari MCO. At odds with the group: changes in lateralization and escape performance reveal conformity and conflict in fish schools. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.1127. [PMID: 27798294 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Many vertebrates are known to show behavioural lateralization, whereby they differentially use one side of their body or either of their bilateral organs or limbs. Behavioural lateralization often manifests in a turning bias in fishes, with some individuals showing a left bias and others a right bias. Such biases could be the source of considerable conflict in fish schools given that there may be considerable social pressure to conform to the group to maintain effective group evasion. Here, we show that predation pressure is a major determinant of the degree of lateralization, both in a relative and absolute sense, in yellow-and-blueback fusiliers (Caesio teres), a schooling fish common on coral reefs. Wild-caught fish showed a bias for right turning. When predation pressure was experimentally elevated or relaxed, the strength of lateralization changed. Higher predation pressure resulted in an increase in the strength of lateralization. Individuals that exhibited the same turning bias as the majority of individuals in their group had improved escape performance compared with individuals that were at odds with the group. Moreover, individuals that were right-biased had improved escape performance, compared with left-biased ones. Plasticity in lateralization might be an important evolutionary consequence of the way gregarious species respond to predators owing to the probable costs associated with this behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Douglas P Chivers
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5E2
| | - Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Matthew D Mitchell
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5E2
| | - Emanuel J Gonçalves
- MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, R. Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Reid Bryshun
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5E2
| | - Maud C O Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7W 5B4
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Abstract
Habitat degradation alters the chemical landscape through which information about community dynamics is transmitted. Olfactory information is crucial for risk assessment in aquatic organisms as predators release odours when they capture prey that lead to an alarm response in conspecific prey. Recent studies show some coral reef fishes are unable to use alarm odours when surrounded by dead-degraded coral. Our study examines the spatial and temporal dynamics of this alarm odour-nullifying effect, and which substratum types may be responsible. Field experiments showed that settlement-stage damselfish were not able to detect alarm odours within 2 m downcurrent of degraded coral, and that the antipredator response was re-established 20-40 min after transferral to live coral. Laboratory experiments indicate that the chemicals from common components of the degraded habitats, the cyanobacteria, Okeania sp., and diatom, Pseudo-nitzschia sp.prevented an alarm odour response. The same nullifying effect was found for the common red algae, Galaxauria robusta, suggesting that the problem is of a broader nature than previously realised. Those fish species best able to compensate for a lack of olfactory risk information at key times will be those potentially most resilient to the effects of coral degradation that operate through this mechanism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia.
| | - Randall P Barry
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia
- Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Ferrari MC, McCormick MI, Mitchell MD, Allan BJ, Gonçalves EJ, Chivers DP. Daily variation in behavioural lateralization is linked to predation stress in a coral reef fish. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
|
40
|
Ferrari MCO, McCormick MI, Allan BJM, Chivers DP. Not equal in the face of habitat change: closely related fishes differ in their ability to use predation-related information in degraded coral. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:rspb.2016.2758. [PMID: 28404773 PMCID: PMC5394659 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 03/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral reefs are biodiversity hotpots that are under significant threat due to the degradation and death of hard corals. When obligate coral-dwelling species die, the remaining species must either move or adjust to the altered conditions. Our goal was to investigate the effect of coral degradation on the ability of coral reef fishes to assess their risk of predation using alarm cues from injured conspecifics. Here, we tested the ability of six closely related species of juvenile damselfish (Pomacentridae) to respond to risk cues in both live coral or dead-degraded coral environments. Of those six species, two are exclusively associated with live coral habitats, two are found mostly on dead-degraded coral rubble, while the last two are found in both habitat types. We found that the two live coral associates failed to respond appropriately to the cues in water from degraded habitats. In contrast, the cue response of the two rubble associates was unaffected in the same degraded habitat. Interestingly, we observed a mixed response from the species found in both habitat types, with one species displaying an appropriate cue response while the other did not. Our second experiment suggested that the lack of responses stemmed from deactivation of the alarm cues, rather than the inability of the species to smell. Habitat preference (live coral versus dead coral associates) and phylogeny are good candidates for future work aimed at predicting which species are affected by coral degradation. Our results point towards a surprising level of variation in the ability of congeneric species to fare in altered habitats and hence underscores the difficulty of predicting community change in degraded habitats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maud C O Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Discipline of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and Discipline of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Douglas P Chivers
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Jarrold MD, Humphrey C, McCormick MI, Munday PL. Diel CO 2 cycles reduce severity of behavioural abnormalities in coral reef fish under ocean acidification. Sci Rep 2017; 7:10153. [PMID: 28860652 PMCID: PMC5578974 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10378-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Accepted: 08/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Elevated CO2 levels associated with ocean acidification (OA) have been shown to alter behavioural responses in coral reef fishes. However, all studies to date have used stable pCO2 treatments, not considering the substantial diel pCO2 variation that occurs in shallow reef habitats. Here, we reared juvenile damselfish, Acanthochromis polyacanthus, and clownfish, Amphiprion percula, at stable and diel cycling pCO2 treatments in two experiments. As expected, absolute lateralization of A. polyacanthus and response to predator cue of Am. percula were negatively affected in fish reared at stable, elevated pCO2 in both experiments. However, diel pCO2 fluctuations reduced the negative effects of OA on behaviour. Importantly, in experiment two, behavioural abnormalities that were present in fish reared at stable 750 µatm CO2 were largely absent in fish reared at 750 ± 300 µatm CO2. Overall, we show that diel pCO2 cycles can substantially reduce the severity of behavioural abnormalities caused by elevated CO2. Thus, past studies may have over-estimated the impacts of OA on the behavioural performance of coral reef fishes. Furthermore, our results suggest that diel pCO2 cycles will delay the onset of behavioural abnormalities in natural populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Jarrold
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia. .,ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
| | - Craig Humphrey
- National Sea Simulator, Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville, Queensland, 4810, Australia
| | - Mark I McCormick
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Philip L Munday
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Warren DT, Donelson JM, McCormick MI. Extended exposure to elevated temperature affects escape response behaviour in coral reef fishes. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3652. [PMID: 28828253 PMCID: PMC5564382 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The threat of predation, and the prey’s response, are important drivers of community dynamics. Yet environmental temperature can have a significant effect on predation avoidance techniques such as fast-start performance observed in marine fishes. While it is known that temperature increases can influence performance and behaviour in the short-term, little is known about how species respond to extended exposure during development. We produced a startle response in two species of damselfish, the lemon damsel Pomacentrus moluccensis, and the Ambon damselfish Pomacentrus amboinensis, by the repeated use of a drop stimulus. We show that the length of thermal exposure of juveniles to elevated temperature significantly affects this escape responses. Short-term (4d) exposure to warmer temperature affected directionality and responsiveness for both species. After long-term (90d) exposure, only P. moluccensis showed beneficial plasticity, with directionality returning to control levels. Responsiveness also decreased in both species, possibly to compensate for higher temperatures. There was no effect of temperature or length of exposure on latency to react, maximum swimming speed, or escape distance suggesting that the physical ability to escape was maintained. Evidence suggests that elevated temperature may impact some fish species through its effect on the behavioural responses while under threat rather than having a direct influence on their physical ability to perform an effective escape response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Donald T Warren
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jennifer M Donelson
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Mark I McCormick
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Warren DT, Allan BJ, Ramasamy RA, Arvizu BK, Glue M, Ferrari MC. Competitive superiority versus predation savvy: the two sides of behavioural lateralization. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
44
|
Ferrari MC, McCormick MI, Watson SA, Meekan MG, Munday PL, Chivers DP. Predation in High CO2 Waters: Prey Fish from High-Risk Environments are Less Susceptible to Ocean Acidification. Integr Comp Biol 2017; 57:55-62. [DOI: 10.1093/icb/icx030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
|
45
|
McCormick MI, Lönnstedt OM. Disrupted learning: habitat degradation impairs crucial antipredator responses in naive prey. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.0441. [PMID: 27170715 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat degradation is a global problem and one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. Though widespread, the mechanisms that underlie faunal changes are poorly understood. In tropical marine systems, corals play a crucial role in forming habitat, but coral cover on many reefs is declining sharply. Coral degradation affects the olfactory cues that provide reliable information on the presence and intensity of threat. Here, we show for the first time that the ability of a habitat generalist to learn predators using an efficient and widespread method of predator learning is compromised in degraded coral habitats. Results indicate that chemical alarm cues are no longer indicative of a local threat for the habitat generalist (the damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis), and these cues can no longer be used to learn the identity of novel predators in degraded habitats. By contrast, a rubble specialist and congeneric (Pomacentrus coelestis) responded to olfactory threat cues regardless of background environment and could learn the identity of a novel predator using chemical alarm cues. Understanding how some species can cope with or acclimate to the detrimental impacts of habitat degradation on risk assessment abilities will be crucial to defining the scope of resilience in threatened communities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Oona M Lönnstedt
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia Department of Ecology and Genetics, Limnology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Abstract
Coral reefs around the world are rapidly degrading due to a range of environmental stressors. Habitat degradation modifies the sensory landscape within which predator-prey interactions occur, with implications for olfactory-mediated behaviours. Predator naïve settlement-stage damselfish rely on conspecific damage-released odours (i.e., alarm odours) to inform risk assessments. Yet, species such as the Ambon damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis, become unable to respond appropriately to these cues when living in dead-degraded coral habitats, leading to increased mortality through loss of vigilance. Reef fish predators also rely on odours from damaged prey to locate, assess prey quality and engage in prey-stealing, but it is unknown whether their responses are also modified by the change to dead-degraded coral habitats. Implications for prey clearly depend on how their predatory counterparts are affected, therefore the present study tested whether olfactory-mediated foraging responses in the dusky dottyback, Pseudochromis fuscus, a common predator of P. amboinensis, were similarly affected by coral degradation. A y-maze was used to measure the ability of Ps. fuscus to detect and move towards odours, against different background water sources. Ps. fuscus were exposed to damage-released odours from juvenile P. amboinensis, or a control cue of seawater, against a background of seawater treated with either healthy or dead-degraded hard coral. Predators exhibited an increased time allocation to the chambers of y-mazes injected with damage-released odours, with comparable levels of response in both healthy and dead-degraded coral treated waters. In control treatments, where damage-released odours were replaced with a control seawater cue, fish showed no increased preference for either chamber of the y-maze. Our results suggest that olfactory-mediated foraging behaviours may persist in Ps. fuscus within dead-degraded coral habitats. Ps. fuscus may consequently gain a sensory advantage over P. amboinensis, potentially altering the outcome of predator-prey interactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Natt
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Oona M. Lönnstedt
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Limnology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mark I. McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Abstract
Degradation of habitats is widespread and a leading cause of extinctions. Our study determined whether the change in the chemical landscape associated with coral degradation affected the way three fish species use olfactory information to optimize their fast-start escape response. Water from degraded coral habitats affected the fast-start response of the three closely-related damselfishes, but its effect differed markedly among species. The Ward's damselfish (Pomacentrus wardi) was most affected by water from degraded coral, and displayed shorter distances covered in the fast-start and slower escape speeds compared to fish in water from healthy coral. In the presence of alarm odours, which indicate an imminent threat, the Ambon damsel (P. amboinensis) displayed enhanced fast-start performance in water from healthy coral, but not when in water from degraded coral. In contrast, while the white-tailed damsel (P. chrysurus) was similarly primed by its alarm odour, the elevation of fast start performance was not altered by water from degraded coral. These species-specific responses to the chemistry of degraded water and alarm odours suggest differences in the way alarm odours interact with the chemical landscape, and differences in the way species balance information about threats, with likely impacts on the survival of affected species in degraded habitats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
McCormick MI, Chivers DP, Allan BJM, Ferrari MCO. Habitat degradation disrupts neophobia in juvenile coral reef fish. Glob Chang Biol 2017; 23:719-727. [PMID: 27393344 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2016] [Accepted: 06/01/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Habitat degradation not only disrupts habitat-forming species, but alters the sensory landscape within which most species must balance behavioural activities against predation risk. Rapidly developing a cautious behavioural phenotype, a condition known as neophobia, is advantageous when entering a novel risky habitat. Many aquatic organisms rely on damage-released conspecific cues (i.e. alarm cues) as an indicator of impending danger and use them to assess general risk and develop neophobia. This study tested whether settlement-stage damselfish associated with degraded coral reef habitats were able to use alarm cues as an indicator of risk and, in turn, develop a neophobic response at the end of their larval phase. Our results indicate that fish in live coral habitats that were exposed to alarm cues developed neophobia, and, in situ, were found to be more cautious, more closely associated with their coral shelters and survived four-times better than non-neophobic control fish. In contrast, fish that settled onto degraded coral habitats did not exhibit neophobia and consequently suffered much greater mortality on the reef, regardless of their history of exposure to alarm cues. Our results show that habitat degradation alters the efficacy of alarm cues with phenotypic and survival consequences for newly settled recruits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, 4811, Australia
| | - Douglas P Chivers
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Bridie J M Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, 4811, Australia
| | - Maud C O Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7W 5B4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
McCormick MI, Allan BJM. Lionfish misidentification circumvents an optimized escape response by prey. Conserv Physiol 2016; 4:cow064. [PMID: 27990292 PMCID: PMC5156895 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cow064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2016] [Revised: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 11/08/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Invasive lionfish represent an unprecedented problem in the Caribbean basin, where they are causing major changes to foodwebs and habitats through their generalized predation on fishes and invertebrates. To ascertain what makes the red lionfish (Pterois volitans) such a formidable predator, we examined the reaction of a native damselfish prey, the whitetail damsel (Pomacentrus chrysurus), to a repeatable startle stimulus once they had been forewarned of the sight or smell of lionfish. Fast-start responses were compared with prey forewarned of a predatory rockcod (Cephalopholis microprion), a corallivorous butterflyfish (Chaetodon trifasctiatus) and experimental controls. Forewarning of the sight, smell or a combination of the two cues from a rockcod led to reduced escape latencies and higher response distances, speed and maximal speed compared with controls, suggesting that forewarning primed the prey and enabled a more effective escape response. In contrast, forewarning of lionfish did not affect the fast-start kinematics measured, which were the same as in the control and non-predatory butterflyfish treatments. Lionfish appear to be able to circumvent mechanisms commonly used by prey to identify predators and were misclassified as non-predatory, and this is likely to contribute to their success as predators.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I. McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Bridie J. M. Allan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
- Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Nadler LE, Killen SS, McCormick MI, Watson SA, Munday PL. Effect of elevated carbon dioxide on shoal familiarity and metabolism in a coral reef fish. Conserv Physiol 2016; 4:cow052. [PMID: 27933164 PMCID: PMC5142050 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cow052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Revised: 10/02/2016] [Accepted: 10/14/2016] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Atmospheric CO2 is expected to more than double by the end of the century. The resulting changes in ocean chemistry will affect the behaviour, sensory systems and physiology of a range of fish species. Although a number of past studies have examined effects of CO2 in gregarious fishes, most have assessed individuals in social isolation, which can alter individual behaviour and metabolism in social species. Within social groups, a learned familiarity can develop following a prolonged period of interaction between individuals, with fishes preferentially associating with familiar conspecifics because of benefits such as improved social learning and greater foraging opportunities. However, social recognition occurs through detection of shoal-mate cues; hence, it may be disrupted by near-future CO2 conditions. In the present study, we examined the influence of elevated CO2 on shoal familiarity and the metabolic benefits of group living in the gregarious damselfish species the blue-green puller (Chromis viridis). Shoals were acclimated to one of three nominal CO2 treatments: control (450 µatm), mid-CO2 (750 µatm) or high-CO2 (1000 µatm). After a 4-7 day acclimation period, familiarity was examined using a choice test, in which individuals were given the choice to associate with familiar shoal-mates or unfamiliar conspecifics. In control conditions, individuals preferentially associated with familiar shoal-mates. However, this association was lost in both elevated-CO2 treatments. Elevated CO2 did not impact the calming effect of shoaling on metabolism, as measured using an intermittent-flow respirometry methodology for social species following a 17-20 day acclimation period to CO2 treatment. In all CO2 treatments, individuals exhibited a significantly lower metabolic rate when measured in a shoal vs. alone, highlighting the complexity of shoal dynamics and the processes that influence the benefits of shoaling.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E. Nadler
- 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
| | - Shaun S. Killen
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Mark I. McCormick
- 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
| | - Sue-Ann Watson
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Philip L. Munday
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|