Coral ReefsPub Date : 2024-02-21DOI: 10.1007/s00338-023-02456-7
Marko Terzin, Adriana Villamor, Lorenzo Marincich, Kenan Matterson, Maria Grazia Paletta, Valentina Bertuccio, Giorgio Bavestrello, Lisandro Benedetti Cecchi, Elisa Boscari, Carlo Cerrano, Giovanni Chimienti, Leonardo Congiu, Simonetta Fraschetti, Francesco Mastrototaro, Massimo Ponti, Roberto Sandulli, Eva Turicchia, Lorenzo Zane, Marco Abbiati, Federica Costantini
{"title":"2bRAD reveals fine-scale genetic structuring among populations within the Mediterranean zoanthid Parazoanthus axinellae (Schmidt, 1862)","authors":"Marko Terzin, Adriana Villamor, Lorenzo Marincich, Kenan Matterson, Maria Grazia Paletta, Valentina Bertuccio, Giorgio Bavestrello, Lisandro Benedetti Cecchi, Elisa Boscari, Carlo Cerrano, Giovanni Chimienti, Leonardo Congiu, Simonetta Fraschetti, Francesco Mastrototaro, Massimo Ponti, Roberto Sandulli, Eva Turicchia, Lorenzo Zane, Marco Abbiati, Federica Costantini","doi":"10.1007/s00338-023-02456-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-023-02456-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The zoanthid <i>Parazoanthus axinellae</i> (Schmidt, 1862) is a widespread coral species in the Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages where two morphotypes are found: Slender and Stocky, differing in size, color, and preferred substrate. Due to these marked differences, Slender and Stocky morphotypes were hypothesized to be two species. Here, we used 2bRAD to obtain genome‐wide genotyped single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to investigate the genetic differentiation between Slender and Stocky morphs, as well as their population structure. A total of 101 specimens of <i>P. axinellae</i> were sampled and genotyped from eight locations along the Italian coastline. In four locations, samples of the two morphotypes were collected in sympatry. 2bRAD genome-wide SNPs were used to assess the genetic divergence between the two morphotypes (1319 SNPs), and population connectivity patterns within Slender (1926 SNPs) and Stocky (1871 SNPs) morphotypes. Marked and consistent differentiation was detected between Slender and Stocky morphotypes. The widely distributed Slender morphotype showed higher population mixing patterns, while populations of the Stocky morphotype exhibited a stronger genetic structure at a regional scale. The strong genetic differentiation observed between <i>P. axinellae</i> Slender and Stocky morphotypes provides additional evidence that these morphs could be attributed to different species, although further morphological and ecological studies are required to validate this hypothesis. Our study highlights the importance of resolving phylogenetic and taxonomic disparities within taxonomically problematic groups, such as the <i>P. axinellae</i> species complex, when performing genetic connectivity studies for management and conservation purposes.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Graphical Abstract</h3><p>Schematic overview of the main genetic structuring patterns observed in this study. Coral polyps were colored to intuitively associate the reader to <i>Parazoanthus axinellae</i> morphotypes, with orange tones being attributed to the Stocky morphotype, and yellow tones to the Slender morphotype. Bidirectional arrows represent gene flow between coral individuals, with the number and thickness of arrows corresponding to the intensity of gene flow rates. The red dashed line represents the potential reproductive isolation between Slender and Stocky morphs</p>\u0000","PeriodicalId":10821,"journal":{"name":"Coral Reefs","volume":"61 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139921515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coral ReefsPub Date : 2024-02-21DOI: 10.1007/s00338-024-02471-2
Hiroya Abe, Hiroya Yamano
{"title":"Simulated connectivity of crown-of-thorns starfish around Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park (western Japan) based on a high-resolution hydrodynamic modeling","authors":"Hiroya Abe, Hiroya Yamano","doi":"10.1007/s00338-024-02471-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-024-02471-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) pose a major threat to coral reefs in the Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park, Japan, which is partially affected by the Kuroshio Current. The purpose of this study was to identify the upstream areas of the Kuroshio significantly contributing to the supply of larvae to this area, where the larvae are most likely to reach within the Ashizuri-Uwakai area (inter-connectivity), and to clarify the connectivity within the park (intra-connectivity). Using a hydrodynamic model based on a 12-year dataset with a high spatial resolution (ca. 2 km), this study evaluated the transport and dispersion processes into and within the region, although the proportion of particles reaching the Ashizuri-Uwakai area the major sources were Tanegashima and Yakushima islands and the east coast of Kyushu. Grid cells with a high supply from these source areas were identified within Ashizuri-Uwakai and quantitatively shown to have high sink strength in the southwestern and cape areas. We were also able to show where particles released within Ashizuri-Uwakai tend to accumulate. Since locations with high sink strength generally coincided with diving sites and areas where conservation activities have been conducted, strengthening conservation activities in these locations can be considered to be effective in controlling outbreaks of COTS.</p>","PeriodicalId":10821,"journal":{"name":"Coral Reefs","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139921514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coral ReefsPub Date : 2024-02-14DOI: 10.1007/s00338-024-02467-y
Siddhi Jaishankar, Radhika Nair, Teresa Alcoverro, Rohan Arthur
{"title":"Anvil use by three wrasse species: Halichoeres hortulanus, Thalassoma jansenii, and Thalassoma lunare","authors":"Siddhi Jaishankar, Radhika Nair, Teresa Alcoverro, Rohan Arthur","doi":"10.1007/s00338-024-02467-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-024-02467-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Over the past few decades, tool use has been described in a variety of animals across taxa. However, there are relatively limited reports and studies of tool use in marine environments. Among marine fish though, labrids have been reported to be proficient at using tools. Here, we describe the first observations of tool use in two species of tropical wrasses—<i>Halichoeres hortulanus</i> (checkerboard wrasse) and <i>Thalassoma jansenii</i> (Jansen’s wrasse)—and the first report of tool use from the wild for the wrasse <i>Thalassoma lunare</i> (Moon wrasse). These observations were made incidentally as part of size-specific predation assays for a small burrow-dwelling sea urchin <i>(Echinostrephus molaris)</i> in the Lakshadweep Archipelago, Indian Ocean. We documented multiple instances of anvil use by the wrasses <i>H. hortulanus</i>, and <i>T. jansenii</i>, and one instance of anvil use by <i>T. lunare</i>. All three species were recorded carrying the assay urchins to a nearby coral or benthic substrate and striking them repeatedly to break off their spines and crack their tests before consuming them. The behaviour was observed multiple times in different wrasse individuals. Also, sea urchin test size was a good predictor of the size of the fish that preyed on them. As naturalists spend more time observing fish in their natural environment, records of tool use in fish are increasing. Often these observations are incidental, yet documenting them carefully is critical, so we can ask larger questions about the evolution and development of animal intelligence. This study adds to observations of predation-associated tool use by fishes expanding reports of this behaviour taxonomically as well as geographically.</p>","PeriodicalId":10821,"journal":{"name":"Coral Reefs","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139756624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coral ReefsPub Date : 2024-02-12DOI: 10.1007/s00338-024-02469-w
Ryan Andrades, Gabriel C. Cardozo-Ferreira, Larissa J. Benevides, Caio R. Pimentel, Patrícia L. Mancini, Carlos E. L. Ferreira, Tommaso Giarrizzo, Jean-Christophe Joyeux, Raphael M. Macieira
{"title":"Seabird guano reshapes intertidal reef food web in an isolated oceanic islet","authors":"Ryan Andrades, Gabriel C. Cardozo-Ferreira, Larissa J. Benevides, Caio R. Pimentel, Patrícia L. Mancini, Carlos E. L. Ferreira, Tommaso Giarrizzo, Jean-Christophe Joyeux, Raphael M. Macieira","doi":"10.1007/s00338-024-02469-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-024-02469-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Deposits of seabird guano on marine shores have drawn the attention of companies and naturalists for centuries. Among notable effects, allochthonous energy/matter inputs by seabirds are responsible for shifts in ecosystem functioning next to colonies. Here, we used stable isotopes of nitrogen-15 (ratios of <sup>15</sup>N:<sup>14</sup>N, expressed as δ<sup>15</sup>N) to trace guano incorporation in the intertidal reef community (fish and crab). The study areas were the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (SPSPA), a remote and very small group of islets in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, and two reference Atlantic islands where intertidal environments are not subject to the influence of guano. SPSPA intertidal reef fauna presented 3–7‰ higher δ<sup>15</sup>N values in comparison with local seabirds and with the intertidal reef fauna of reference islands. The intertidal food web of SPSPA appears supplemented by guano subsidies with carnivores, omnivores and herbivores <sup>15</sup>N-enriched in relation to a local seabird. While no difference in intertidal biota δ<sup>15</sup>N values was detected between references sites, <sup>15</sup>N-enrichement observed for SPSPA intertidal reef fauna is supported by guano subsidies. With emerged area < 0.02 km<sup>2</sup>, SPSPA is one of the world’s smallest archipelagos and only its main islet (Belmonte Island) has a few tidepools apt to be inhabited by fish. As guano readily drains into tidepools and reef crevices adjacent to the seabird colony, allochthonous nutrients become available and support habitat-restricted species in this small and isolated location.</p>","PeriodicalId":10821,"journal":{"name":"Coral Reefs","volume":"54 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139756533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coral ReefsPub Date : 2024-02-07DOI: 10.1007/s00338-024-02465-0
James Cant, Lorenzo Bramanti, Georgios Tsounis, Ángela Martínez Quintana, Howard R. Lasker, Peter J. Edmunds
{"title":"The recovery of octocoral populations following periodic disturbance masks their vulnerability to persistent global change","authors":"James Cant, Lorenzo Bramanti, Georgios Tsounis, Ángela Martínez Quintana, Howard R. Lasker, Peter J. Edmunds","doi":"10.1007/s00338-024-02465-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-024-02465-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As the major form of coral reef regime shift, stony coral to macroalgal transitions have received considerable attention. In the Caribbean, however, regime shifts in which scleractinian corals are replaced by octocoral assemblages hold potential for maintaining reef associated communities. Accordingly, forecasting the resilience of octocoral assemblages to future disturbance regimes is necessary to understand these assemblages' capacity to maintain reef biodiversity. We parameterised integral projection models quantifying the survival, growth, and recruitment of the octocorals, <i>Antillogorgia americana</i>, <i>Gorgonia ventalina</i>, and <i>Eunicea flexuosa,</i> in St John, US Virgin Islands, before, during, and after severe hurricane disturbance. Using these models, we forecast the density of populations of each species under varying future hurricane regimes. We demonstrate that although hurricanes reduce population growth, <i>A. americana</i>, <i>G. ventalina</i>, and <i>E. flexuosa</i> each display a capacity for quick recovery following storm disturbance. Despite this recovery potential, we illustrate how the population dynamics of each species correspond with a longer-term decline in their population densities. Despite their resilience to periodic physical disturbance events, ongoing global change jeopardises the future viability of octocoral assemblages.</p>","PeriodicalId":10821,"journal":{"name":"Coral Reefs","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139756625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coral ReefsPub Date : 2024-02-07DOI: 10.1007/s00338-024-02464-1
Liam Lachs, Piera Biondi, Marine Gouezo, Victor Nestor, Dawnette Olsudong, James Guest, Yimnang Golbuu
{"title":"Demographic recovery of corals at a wave-exposed reef following catastrophic disturbance","authors":"Liam Lachs, Piera Biondi, Marine Gouezo, Victor Nestor, Dawnette Olsudong, James Guest, Yimnang Golbuu","doi":"10.1007/s00338-024-02464-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-024-02464-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Rapid recovery of coral cover following acute disturbance has been documented on many reefs. Yet measuring coverage alone can mask shifts in community and demographic structure. Here, we quantify long-term changes in population size structure for three common genera (<i>Acropora</i>, <i>Pocillopora</i>, and <i>Stylophora</i>) at an eastern outer reef in Palau, Micronesia, following catastrophic loss of corals due to typhoon Bopha in 2012, based on size measurements from 3648 coral colonies. Mean colony size returned to pre-disturbance levels within 4 and 6 years for <i>Stylophora</i> and <i>Pocillopora</i>, respectively. By 2020, <i>Pocillopora</i> colony density far exceeded pre-disturbance levels, with rapid successful recruitment following typhoon Bopha. Despite recovery of <i>Acropora</i> colony density by 2020, populations remained dominated by smaller colonies. We demonstrate that full demographic recovery can occur more rapidly for pocilloporids (within 6 years) compared to <i>Acropora</i> which had not fully recovered by 8 years post-disturbance, possibly due to fewer annual recruitment events and larger maximum colony sizes. Our results highlight the value of demographic metrics as early indicators of recovery.</p>","PeriodicalId":10821,"journal":{"name":"Coral Reefs","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139756580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coral ReefsPub Date : 2024-02-06DOI: 10.1007/s00338-024-02468-x
{"title":"Exploring benthic habitat assessments on coral reefs: a comparison of direct field measurements versus remote sensing","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s00338-024-02468-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-024-02468-x","url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>Coral reefs are spatially variable ecosystems that form biogenic structures ranging in size from 10 to 1000s of meters. Their changes in response to anthropogenic stress are occurring across increasingly broad scales, yet our ability to detect, understand and respond to these changes at relevant scales is limited. Traditional in-water observation-based coral reef ecology and remote sensing-based methods both offer valuable insights into benthic change, but their relative scalability and use to-date must be understood to inform optimal future research approaches. We conducted a systematic literature review comparing the approaches used to quantify benthic habitat, through traditional in-water ecological studies and remote sensing studies, with respect to: (a) their geographic distribution, (b) reef zone selection, and c) their focal questions. Among the 199 studies reviewed, traditional ecological studies primarily concentrated on community composition (89%), using high-detail direct measurements, especially from the reef slope (80%). By contrast, remote sensing studies provided spatially explicit datasets at coarser spatial and thematic resolutions, with a predominant focus on benthic mapping (72%) across entire reef systems. Only 3% of studies integrated both approaches, combining comprehensive in-situ observations with broadscale remote sensing. As anthropogenic stressors continue to increase in scale, bridging these scientific disciplines offers a promising way to upscale observations to entire reef-scape scales. We identify steps to harness the strengths of both fields and integrate multiple tools at various levels of resolution and scale. Such bridging approaches offer a way forward in understanding and managing coral reef functioning in the Anthropocene.</p>","PeriodicalId":10821,"journal":{"name":"Coral Reefs","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139756874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coral ReefsPub Date : 2024-02-05DOI: 10.1007/s00338-023-02463-8
Judith Camps-Castellà, Patricia Prado, José Tena-Medialdea, Antonio Brante, Iván A. Hinojosa
{"title":"Structural attributes and macrofaunal assemblages associated with rose gorgonian gardens (Leptogorgia sp. nov.) in Central Chile: opening the door for conservation actions","authors":"Judith Camps-Castellà, Patricia Prado, José Tena-Medialdea, Antonio Brante, Iván A. Hinojosa","doi":"10.1007/s00338-023-02463-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-023-02463-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Gorgonians (like corals) are important habitat-forming organisms that support a diversity of macrofauna. This study explored structural attributes of gorgonian gardens formed by rose gorgonians (<i>Leptogorgia</i> sp. nov.) and associated macrofaunal assemblages in Caleta Pichicuy (Central Chile). Hierarchical sampling was conducted at 20 m depth (maximum colony abundances) in order to assess spatial variability in abundance and colony attributes at two spatial scales (among sites and rocky walls). The abundance and composition of the associated vagile and sessile macrofauna were also examined using univariant (Taxa richness and Shannon index (<i>H’e</i>)) and multivariant approaches and were compared with adjacent bare rocky habitats. Our results showed a high abundance of gorgonians (ca. 28.9–36.5 colonies m<sup>−2</sup>) compared to other gorgonian gardens in the world. For structural attributes, our results showed smaller colonies with thicker holdfasts in more exposed sites, suggesting the influence of hydrodynamic forces on the colony morphology. Taxa richness and <i>H’e</i> of vagile fauna showed threefold and twofold, respectively, higher values in gorgonian gardens compared to bare walls, but no differences were observed for sessile fauna. In addition, PCoA and PERMANOVA evidenced a distinctive assemblages’ composition between habitats for both vagile and sessile fauna. Correlation analyzes and dbRDA showed, however, little association between structural attributes and associated faunal assemblages (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.06, and ca. 3–9.4% of the total variation explained, respectively). Our results constitute the first assessment of structural habitat complexity and accompanying fauna in these gorgonian gardens and establish the baseline for understanding possible future changes associated to human activities.</p>","PeriodicalId":10821,"journal":{"name":"Coral Reefs","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139756600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coral ReefsPub Date : 2024-01-29DOI: 10.1007/s00338-023-02455-8
A. A. Fousiya, Javed N. Malik, Debajyoti Paul, Supriyo Chakraborty, Hema Achyuthan
{"title":"Microstructure and growth rate variability in a giant clam (Tridacna maxima) from the Lakshadweep Archipelago, India: implications for their use as biological monitors to trace extreme weather events","authors":"A. A. Fousiya, Javed N. Malik, Debajyoti Paul, Supriyo Chakraborty, Hema Achyuthan","doi":"10.1007/s00338-023-02455-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-023-02455-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The giant clam shells are considered excellent marine bioarchives and have been used in studying current and past climate variabilities. Here, we present the microstructure and growth rate variability of a giant clam shell (<i>T. maxima)</i> collected from the Minicoy Island Lakshadweep, India. We employed FE-SEM, EDX, Raman spectroscopy and petrographic analysis to identify coherent records of the past marine environmental settings and factors controlling growth rates in <i>T. maxima</i>. A consistent growth rate was observed throughout the shell ontology, except for the year 2010, when a relatively slow growth rate was observed due to exceptionally warm water temperatures. Slower microstructural growth is confirmed by an anomalously negative excursion in δ<sup>18</sup>O values caused by an anomalous sea surface warming event. Such kind of warming was previously documented for the region in 2010 that caused widespread coral bleaching throughout the Lakshadweep Archipelago. Interestingly, our results do not reveal any major growth hiatus in the <i>T. maxima</i> even after experiencing this anomalous thermal stress event, demonstrating the ability of these bivalve shells to reliably reconstruct past environments. These findings advance the potential of combining data from shell microstructure, petrographic, and isotope (δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>shell</sub>) analyses, to reconstruct the past extreme events preserved in giant clam shells from the Lakshadweep Archipelago.</p>","PeriodicalId":10821,"journal":{"name":"Coral Reefs","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139588131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coral ReefsPub Date : 2024-01-27DOI: 10.1007/s00338-023-02459-4
Matthew D. Nicholson, J. Andrés Pagán, Gina C. Hendrick, Paul C. Sikkel
{"title":"Functional diversity among coral reef fishes as consumers of ectoparasites","authors":"Matthew D. Nicholson, J. Andrés Pagán, Gina C. Hendrick, Paul C. Sikkel","doi":"10.1007/s00338-023-02459-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-023-02459-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Nearly all organisms must cope with parasitic infestation, and most research on parasite ecology in marine systems has focused on the variety of both direct and indirect impacts that parasites can have on hosts. In coral reef ecosystems, gnathiid isopods are one of the most common ectoparasites of fishes. For individuals infested with gnathiids, there is a heavy reliance on intraspecific mutualisms where specialist species groom or “clean” parasites off host fishes. However, gnathiids spend most of their time free-living and not associated with a host and are thus susceptible to consumption by non-cleaner fish species. Here, we investigated if non-cleaner and facultative (less specialized) cleaner fish consume ectoparasitic gnathiid isopods as often or in similar quantities as dedicated (highly specialized) cleaners. To do so, we sampled the gut contents of 797 fishes, representing 61 species and including both cleaner and non-cleaner fishes, to compare their consumption of gnathiid isopods. We found that although there is some site level variation, cleaner fishes eat significantly more gnathiids, and eat them more frequently, compared to non-cleaner fishes. Our results highlight the importance of both dedicated and facultative cleaners as consumers of ectoparasites and show that their role is unlikely to be supplanted by non-cleaner consumers. Furthermore, we suggest that different cleaner species act as complementary rather than redundant specialists.</p>","PeriodicalId":10821,"journal":{"name":"Coral Reefs","volume":"67 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139588348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}