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Salles OC, Almany GR, Berumen ML, Jones GP, Saenz‐Agudelo P, Srinivasan M, Thorrold SR, Pujol B, Planes S. Strong habitat and weak genetic effects shape the lifetime reproductive success in a wild clownfish population. Ecol Lett 2019; 23:265-273. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Océane C. Salles
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE‐UPVD‐CNRS USR 3278 CRIOBE Université de Perpignan 52 Avenue Paul Alduy 66860 Perpignan Cedex France
- Laboratoire d’Excellence ‘CORAIL’ 58 avenue Paul Alduy F‐66360 Perpignan France
| | - Glenn R. Almany
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE‐UPVD‐CNRS USR 3278 CRIOBE Université de Perpignan 52 Avenue Paul Alduy 66860 Perpignan Cedex France
- Laboratoire d’Excellence ‘CORAIL’ 58 avenue Paul Alduy F‐66360 Perpignan France
| | - Michael L. Berumen
- Red Sea Research Center Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal 23955 Saudi Arabia
| | - Geoffrey P. Jones
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
| | - Pablo Saenz‐Agudelo
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas Universidad Austral de Chile 5090000 Valvidia Chile
| | - Maya Srinivasan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
| | - Simon R. Thorrold
- Biology Department Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole MA 02543 USA
| | - Benoit Pujol
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE‐UPVD‐CNRS USR 3278 CRIOBE Université de Perpignan 52 Avenue Paul Alduy 66860 Perpignan Cedex France
- Laboratoire d’Excellence ‘CORAIL’ 58 avenue Paul Alduy F‐66360 Perpignan France
| | - Serge Planes
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE‐UPVD‐CNRS USR 3278 CRIOBE Université de Perpignan 52 Avenue Paul Alduy 66860 Perpignan Cedex France
- Laboratoire d’Excellence ‘CORAIL’ 58 avenue Paul Alduy F‐66360 Perpignan France
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2
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Herrera M, Nanninga GB, Planes S, Jones GP, Thorrold SR, Saenz-Agudelo P, Almany GR, Berumen ML. Seascape and life-history traits do not predict self-recruitment in a coral reef fish. Biol Lett 2017; 12:rsbl.2016.0309. [PMID: 27512132 PMCID: PMC5014023 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [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: 04/13/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The persistence and resilience of many coral reef species are dependent on rates of connectivity among sub-populations. However, despite increasing research efforts, the spatial scale of larval dispersal remains unpredictable for most marine metapopulations. Here, we assess patterns of larval dispersal in the angelfish Centropyge bicolor in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, using parentage and sibling reconstruction analyses based on 23 microsatellite DNA loci. We found that, contrary to previous findings in this system, self-recruitment (SR) was virtually absent at both the reef (0.4-0.5% at 0.15 km(2)) and the lagoon scale (0.6-0.8% at approx. 700 km(2)). While approximately 25% of the collected juveniles were identified as potential siblings, the majority of sibling pairs were sampled from separate reefs. Integrating our findings with earlier research from the same system suggests that geographical setting and life-history traits alone are not suitable predictors of SR and that high levels of localized recruitment are not universal in coral reef fishes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Herrera
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Gerrit B Nanninga
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia USR 3278 CNRS EPHE, Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement (CRIOBE), BP1013 Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia
| | - Serge Planes
- USR 3278 CNRS EPHE, Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement (CRIOBE), BP1013 Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia
| | - Geoffrey P Jones
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, 4811 Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Simon R Thorrold
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Pablo Saenz-Agudelo
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5090000 Valdivia, Chile
| | - Glenn R Almany
- USR 3278 CNRS EPHE, Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement (CRIOBE), BP1013 Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia
| | - Michael L Berumen
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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3
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Hempson TN, Graham NAJ, MacNeil MA, Williamson DH, Jones GP, Almany GR. Coral reef mesopredators switch prey, shortening food chains, in response to habitat degradation. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:2626-2635. [PMID: 28428853 PMCID: PMC5395445 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [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: 12/05/2015] [Revised: 07/14/2016] [Accepted: 01/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Diet specificity is likely to be the key predictor of a predator's vulnerability to changing habitat and prey conditions. Understanding the degree to which predatory coral reef fishes adjust or maintain prey choice, in response to declines in coral cover and changes in prey availability, is critical for predicting how they may respond to reef habitat degradation. Here, we use stable isotope analyses to characterize the trophic structure of predator-prey interactions on coral reefs of the Keppel Island Group on the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. These reefs, previously typified by exceptionally high coral cover, have recently lost much of their coral cover due to coral bleaching and frequent inundation by sediment-laden, freshwater flood plumes associated with increased rainfall patterns. Long-term monitoring of these reefs demonstrates that, as coral cover declined, there has been a decrease in prey biomass, and a shift in dominant prey species from pelagic plankton-feeding damselfishes to territorial benthic algal-feeding damselfishes, resulting in differences in the principal carbon pathways in the food web. Using isotopes, we tested whether this changing prey availability could be detected in the diet of a mesopredator (coral grouper, Plectropomus maculatus). The δ13C signature in grouper tissue in the Keppel Islands shifted from a more pelagic to a more benthic signal, demonstrating a change in carbon sources aligning with the change in prey availability due to habitat degradation. Grouper with a more benthic carbon signature were also feeding at a lower trophic level, indicating a shortening in food chains. Further, we found a decline in the coral grouper population accompanying a decrease in total available prey biomass. Thus, while the ability to adapt diets could ameliorate the short-term impacts of habitat degradation on mesopredators, long-term effects may negatively impact mesopredator populations and alter the trophic structure of coral reef food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tessa N Hempson
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| | - Nicholas A J Graham
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia.,Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Lancaster UK
| | - M Aaron MacNeil
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia.,Australian Institute of Marine Science Townsville Qld Australia.,Department of Mathematics and Statistics Dalhousie University Halifax NS Canada
| | - David H Williamson
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| | - Geoffrey P Jones
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia.,College of Marine and Environmental Sciences James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| | - Glenn R Almany
- CRIOBE-USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD and Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL" Perpignan Cedex France
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4
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Pinsky ML, Saenz-Agudelo P, Salles OC, Almany GR, Bode M, Berumen ML, Andréfouët S, Thorrold SR, Jones GP, Planes S. Marine Dispersal Scales Are Congruent over Evolutionary and Ecological Time. Curr Biol 2016; 27:149-154. [PMID: 27989671 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [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: 08/15/2016] [Revised: 10/01/2016] [Accepted: 10/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The degree to which offspring remain near their parents or disperse widely is critical for understanding population dynamics, evolution, and biogeography, and for designing conservation actions. In the ocean, most estimates suggesting short-distance dispersal are based on direct ecological observations of dispersing individuals, while indirect evolutionary estimates often suggest substantially greater homogeneity among populations. Reconciling these two approaches and their seemingly competing perspectives on dispersal has been a major challenge. Here we show for the first time that evolutionary and ecological measures of larval dispersal can closely agree by using both to estimate the distribution of dispersal distances. In orange clownfish (Amphiprion percula) populations in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, we found that evolutionary dispersal kernels were 17 km (95% confidence interval: 12-24 km) wide, while an exhaustive set of direct larval dispersal observations suggested kernel widths of 27 km (19-36 km) or 19 km (15-27 km) across two years. The similarity between these two approaches suggests that ecological and evolutionary dispersal kernels can be equivalent, and that the apparent disagreement between direct and indirect measurements can be overcome. Our results suggest that carefully applied evolutionary methods, which are often less expensive, can be broadly relevant for understanding ecological dispersal across the tree of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin L Pinsky
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, 14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
| | - Pablo Saenz-Agudelo
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia 5090000, Chile
| | - Océane C Salles
- Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL," USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD CRIOBE, 58 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan, France
| | - Glenn R Almany
- Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL," USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD CRIOBE, 58 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan, France
| | - Michael Bode
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, School of Botany, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Michael L Berumen
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Serge Andréfouët
- UMR 250 ENTROPIE (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Université de la Réunion, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), BP A5, Noumea, 98848, New Caledonia
| | - Simon R Thorrold
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Geoffrey P Jones
- College of Science and Engineering and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Serge Planes
- Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL," USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD CRIOBE, 58 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan, France
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5
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Williamson DH, Harrison HB, Almany GR, Berumen ML, Bode M, Bonin MC, Choukroun S, Doherty PJ, Frisch AJ, Saenz‐Agudelo P, Jones GP. Large‐scale, multidirectional larval connectivity among coral reef fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:6039-6054. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2016] [Revised: 09/21/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- David H. Williamson
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
- Marine Biology and Aquaculture College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
| | - Hugo B. Harrison
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
| | - Glenn R. Almany
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
- National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) USR 3278 CNRS‐EPHE CRIOBE University of Perpignan 66860 Perpignan Cedex France
| | - Michael L. Berumen
- Red Sea Research Center King Abdullah University of Science and Technology 23955‐6900 Thuwal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Michael Bode
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions School of BioSciences University of Melbourne Parkville Melbourne Vic. 3010 Australia
| | - Mary C. Bonin
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
- Marine Biology and Aquaculture College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
| | - Severine Choukroun
- Physical Sciences College of Science, Technology and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
| | - Peter J. Doherty
- Australian Institute of Marine Science PMB#3 Townsville MC Qld 4810 Australia
| | - Ashley J. Frisch
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
- Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Townsville Qld 4810 Australia
| | - Pablo Saenz‐Agudelo
- National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) USR 3278 CNRS‐EPHE CRIOBE University of Perpignan 66860 Perpignan Cedex France
- Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Townsville Qld 4810 Australia
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas Universidad Austral de Chile Valdivia Chile
| | - Geoffrey P. Jones
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
- Marine Biology and Aquaculture College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
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6
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Salles OC, Maynard JA, Joannides M, Barbu CM, Saenz-Agudelo P, Almany GR, Berumen ML, Thorrold SR, Jones GP, Planes S. Coral reef fish populations can persist without immigration. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:rspb.2015.1311. [PMID: 26582017 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [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
Determining the conditions under which populations may persist requires accurate estimates of demographic parameters, including immigration, local reproductive success, and mortality rates. In marine populations, empirical estimates of these parameters are rare, due at least in part to the pelagic dispersal stage common to most marine organisms. Here, we evaluate population persistence and turnover for a population of orange clownfish, Amphiprion percula, at Kimbe Island in Papua New Guinea. All fish in the population were sampled and genotyped on five occasions at 2-year intervals spanning eight years. The genetic data enabled estimates of reproductive success retained in the same population (reproductive success to self-recruitment), reproductive success exported to other subpopulations (reproductive success to local connectivity), and immigration and mortality rates of sub-adults and adults. Approximately 50% of the recruits were assigned to parents from the Kimbe Island population and this was stable through the sampling period. Stability in the proportion of local and immigrant settlers is likely due to: low annual mortality rates and stable egg production rates, and the short larval stages and sensory capacities of reef fish larvae. Biannual mortality rates ranged from 0.09 to 0.55 and varied significantly spatially. We used these data to parametrize a model that estimated the probability of the Kimbe Island population persisting in the absence of immigration. The Kimbe Island population was found to persist without significant immigration. Model results suggest the island population persists because the largest of the subpopulations are maintained due to having low mortality and high self-recruitment rates. Our results enable managers to appropriately target and scale actions to maximize persistence likelihood as disturbance frequencies increase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Océane C Salles
- Laboratoire d'Excellence 'CORAIL', USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD CRIOBE, Perpignan, France
| | - Jeffrey A Maynard
- Laboratoire d'Excellence 'CORAIL', USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD CRIOBE, Perpignan, France SymbioSeas and Marine Applied Research Center, Wilmington, NC 28411, USA
| | - Marc Joannides
- Université de Montpellier 2, UMR 5149 I3M, Pl Eugene Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier, France
| | - Corentin M Barbu
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania, 800 Blockley Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Pablo Saenz-Agudelo
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Chile
| | - Glenn R Almany
- Laboratoire d'Excellence 'CORAIL', USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD CRIOBE, Perpignan, France
| | - Michael L Berumen
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Simon R Thorrold
- Department of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Geoffrey P Jones
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Serge Planes
- Laboratoire d'Excellence 'CORAIL', USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD CRIOBE, Perpignan, France
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Bode M, Williamson DH, Weeks R, Jones GP, Almany GR, Harrison HB, Hopf JK, Pressey RL. Planning Marine Reserve Networks for Both Feature Representation and Demographic Persistence Using Connectivity Patterns. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0154272. [PMID: 27168206 PMCID: PMC4864080 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2015] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine reserve networks must ensure the representation of important conservation features, and also guarantee the persistence of key populations. For many species, designing reserve networks is complicated by the absence or limited availability of spatial and life-history data. This is particularly true for data on larval dispersal, which has only recently become available. However, systematic conservation planning methods currently incorporate demographic processes through unsatisfactory surrogates. There are therefore two key challenges to designing marine reserve networks that achieve feature representation and demographic persistence constraints. First, constructing a method that efficiently incorporates persistence as well as complementary feature representation. Second, incorporating persistence using a mechanistic description of population viability, rather than a proxy such as size or distance. Here we construct a novel systematic conservation planning method that addresses both challenges, and parameterise it to design a hypothetical marine reserve network for fringing coral reefs in the Keppel Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. For this application, we describe how demographic persistence goals can be constructed for an important reef fish species in the region, the bar-cheeked trout (Plectropomus maculatus). We compare reserve networks that are optimally designed for either feature representation or demographic persistence, with a reserve network that achieves both goals simultaneously. As well as being practically applicable, our analyses also provide general insights into marine reserve planning for both representation and demographic persistence. First, persistence constraints for dispersive organisms are likely to be much harder to achieve than representation targets, due to their greater complexity. Second, persistence and representation constraints pull the reserve network design process in divergent directions, making it difficult to efficiently achieve both constraints. Although our method can be readily applied to the data-rich Keppel Islands case study, we finally consider the factors that limit the method's utility in information-poor contexts common in marine conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Bode
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, School of Botany, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, QLD, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - David H. Williamson
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, QLD, Australia
| | - Rebecca Weeks
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, QLD, Australia
| | - Geoff P. Jones
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, QLD, Australia
- College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, QLD, Australia
| | - Glenn R. Almany
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, QLD, Australia
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-EPHE-UPVD, Universite de Perpignan, 66860, Perpignan Cedex, France
| | - Hugo B. Harrison
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, QLD, Australia
| | - Jess K. Hopf
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, QLD, Australia
- College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, QLD, Australia
| | - Robert L. Pressey
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, QLD, Australia
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8
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Waldie PA, Almany GR, Sinclair-Taylor TH, Hamilton RJ, Potuku T, Priest MA, Rhodes KL, Robinson J, Cinner JE, Berumen ML. Restricted grouper reproductive migrations support community-based management. R Soc Open Sci 2016; 3:150694. [PMID: 27069662 PMCID: PMC4821273 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 02/12/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Conservation commonly requires trade-offs between social and ecological goals. For tropical small-scale fisheries, spatial scales of socially appropriate management are generally small-the median no-take locally managed marine area (LMMA) area throughout the Pacific is less than 1 km(2). This is of particular concern for large coral reef fishes, such as many species of grouper, which migrate to aggregations to spawn. Current data suggest that the catchment areas (i.e. total area from which individuals are drawn) of such aggregations are at spatial scales that preclude effective community-based management with no-take LMMAs. We used acoustic telemetry and tag-returns to examine reproductive migrations and catchment areas of the grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus at a spawning aggregation in Papua New Guinea. Protection of the resultant catchment area of approximately 16 km(2) using a no-take LMMA is socially untenable here and throughout much of the Pacific region. However, we found that spawning migrations were skewed towards shorter distances. Consequently, expanding the current 0.2 km(2) no-take LMMA to 1-2 km(2) would protect approximately 30-50% of the spawning population throughout the non-spawning season. Contrasting with current knowledge, our results demonstrate that species with moderate reproductive migrations can be managed at scales congruous with spatially restricted management tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter A. Waldie
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Glenn R. Almany
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
- CRIOBE—USR 3278, CNRS-EPHE-UPVD and Laboratoire d’Excellence ‘CORAIL’, 58 Avenue Paul Alduy, Perpignan Cedex 66860, France
| | - Tane H. Sinclair-Taylor
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Richard J. Hamilton
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
- Indo-Pacific Division, The Nature Conservancy, South Brisbane, Australia
| | - Tapas Potuku
- Kavieng Field Office, The Nature Conservancy, Kavieng, Papua New Guinea
| | - Mark A. Priest
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Marine Spatial Ecology Laboratory and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | | | - Jan Robinson
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Joshua E. Cinner
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Michael L. Berumen
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Saenz-Agudelo P, Almany GR, Mansour H, Perumal S, Berumen ML. Characterization of 11 novel microsatellite markers for the vagabond butterflyfish, Chaetodon vagabundus. CONSERV GENET RESOUR 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s12686-015-0440-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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10
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Green AL, Maypa AP, Almany GR, Rhodes KL, Weeks R, Abesamis RA, Gleason MG, Mumby PJ, White AT. Larval dispersal and movement patterns of coral reef fishes, and implications for marine reserve network design. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 90:1215-47. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 243] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2013] [Revised: 09/24/2014] [Accepted: 10/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alison L. Green
- The Nature Conservancy, 245 Riverside Drive, West End Brisbane Queensland Australia 4101
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia 4810
| | - Aileen P. Maypa
- Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation, PDI Condominium, Archbishop Reyes Street, Banilad Cebu City Philippines 6000
| | - Glenn R. Almany
- CRIOBE‐USR 3278, CNRS‐EPHE‐UPVD and Laboratoire d'Excellence “CORAIL”, 58 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan Cedex France
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia 4810
| | - Kevin L. Rhodes
- College of Aquaculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili Street Hilo HI U.S.A. 96720
| | - Rebecca Weeks
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia 4810
| | - Rene A. Abesamis
- Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management, Silliman University, Barangay Bantayan Dumaguete City Negros Oriental Philippines 6200
| | - Mary G. Gleason
- The Nature Conservancy, 99 Pacific Street Monterey CA U.S.A. 93940
| | - Peter J. Mumby
- Marine Spatial Ecology Laboratory School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia 4072
| | - Alan T. White
- The Nature Conservancy, 923 Nu'uanu Avenue Honolulu HI U.S.A. 96817
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Rhodes KL, Taylor BM, Wichilmel CB, Joseph E, Hamilton RJ, Almany GR. Reproductive biology of squaretail coralgrouper Plectropomus areolatus using age-based techniques. J Fish Biol 2013; 82:1333-1350. [PMID: 23557310 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2012] [Accepted: 01/28/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The squaretail coralgrouper Plectropomus areolatus was identified as a fast-growing, early maturing and relatively short-lived aggregation-spawning epinephelid. Examinations of sectioned otoliths found females and males first maturing at 2 and 3 years, respectively, suggesting protogynous hermaphroditism; however, no transitionals were observed in samples. Age distribution for the two sexes was similar and both were represented in the oldest age class; however, significant sex-specific differences in size-at-age were identified. Both sexes fully recruit into the fishery at age 4 years and reach 90% of asymptotic length by age 3 years. Underwater visual assessments, combined with the gonado-somatic indices, revealed a 5 month reproductive season, with interannual variability observed in the month of highest density within the spawning aggregation. Catch restrictions on adults during spawning times and at reproductive sites, combined with gear-based management and enhanced enforcement, are recommended to maintain spawning stocks. Based on the available evidence, the sexual pattern for this species is unresolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- K L Rhodes
- University of Hawaii at Hilo, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Resource Management, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.
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Cvitanovic C, Wilson SK, Fulton CJ, Almany GR, Anderson P, Babcock RC, Ban NC, Beeden RJ, Beger M, Cinner J, Dobbs K, Evans LS, Farnham A, Friedman KJ, Gale K, Gladstone W, Grafton Q, Graham NAJ, Gudge S, Harrison PL, Holmes TH, Johnstone N, Jones GP, Jordan A, Kendrick AJ, Klein CJ, Little LR, Malcolm HA, Morris D, Possingham HP, Prescott J, Pressey RL, Skilleter GA, Simpson C, Waples K, Wilson D, Williamson DH. Critical research needs for managing coral reef marine protected areas: perspectives of academics and managers. J Environ Manage 2013; 114:84-91. [PMID: 23220604 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.10.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2011] [Revised: 03/22/2012] [Accepted: 10/09/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a primary policy instrument for managing and protecting coral reefs. Successful MPAs ultimately depend on knowledge-based decision making, where scientific research is integrated into management actions. Fourteen coral reef MPA managers and sixteen academics from eleven research, state and federal government institutions each outlined at least five pertinent research needs for improving the management of MPAs situated in Australian coral reefs. From this list of 173 key questions, we asked members of each group to rank questions in order of urgency, redundancy and importance, which allowed us to explore the extent of perceptional mismatch and overlap among the two groups. Our results suggest the mismatch among MPA managers and academics is small, with no significant difference among the groups in terms of their respective research interests, or the type of questions they pose. However, managers prioritised spatial management and monitoring as research themes, whilst academics identified climate change, resilience, spatial management, fishing and connectivity as the most important topics. Ranking of the posed questions by the two groups was also similar, although managers were less confident about the achievability of the posed research questions and whether questions represented a knowledge gap. We conclude that improved collaboration and knowledge transfer among management and academic groups can be used to achieve similar objectives and enhance the knowledge-based management of MPAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Cvitanovic
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
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Berumen ML, Almany GR, Planes S, Jones GP, Saenz-Agudelo P, Thorrold SR. Persistence of self-recruitment and patterns of larval connectivity in a marine protected area network. Ecol Evol 2012; 2:444-52. [PMID: 22423335 PMCID: PMC3298954 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2011] [Accepted: 12/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of marine protected area (MPA) networks to sustain fisheries and conserve biodiversity is predicated on two critical yet rarely tested assumptions. Individual MPAs must produce sufficient larvae that settle within that reserve's boundaries to maintain local populations while simultaneously supplying larvae to other MPA nodes in the network that might otherwise suffer local extinction. Here, we use genetic parentage analysis to demonstrate that patterns of self-recruitment of two reef fishes (Amphiprion percula and Chaetodon vagabundus) in an MPA in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, were remarkably consistent over several years. However, dispersal from this reserve to two other nodes in an MPA network varied between species and through time. The stability of our estimates of self-recruitment suggests that even small MPAs may be self-sustaining. However, our results caution against applying optimization strategies to MPA network design without accounting for variable connectivity among species and over time.
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Harrison HB, Williamson DH, Evans RD, Almany GR, Thorrold SR, Russ GR, Feldheim KA, van Herwerden L, Planes S, Srinivasan M, Berumen ML, Jones GP. Larval Export from Marine Reserves and the Recruitment Benefit for Fish and Fisheries. Curr Biol 2012; 22:1023-8. [PMID: 22633811 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 363] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2012] [Revised: 04/04/2012] [Accepted: 04/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hugo B Harrison
- School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
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Feary DA, Almany GR, McCormick MI, Jones GP. Habitat choice, recruitment and the response of coral reef fishes to coral degradation. Oecologia 2007; 153:727-37. [PMID: 17566781 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-007-0773-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2007] [Accepted: 05/09/2007] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The global degradation of coral reefs is having profound effects on the structure and species richness of associated reef fish assemblages. Historically, variation in the composition of fish communities has largely been attributed to factors affecting settlement of reef fish larvae. However, the mechanisms that determine how fish settlers respond to different stages of coral stress and the extent of coral loss on fish settlement are poorly understood. Here, we examined the effects of habitat degradation on fish settlement using a two-stage experimental approach. First, we employed laboratory choice experiments to test how settlers responded to early and terminal stages of coral degradation. We then quantified the settlement response of the whole reef fish assemblage in a field perturbation experiment. The laboratory choice experiments tested how juveniles from nine common Indo-Pacific fishes chose among live colonies, partially degraded colonies, and dead colonies with recent algal growth. Many species did not distinguish between live and partially degraded colonies, suggesting settlement patterns are resilient to the early stages of declining coral health. Several species preferred live or degraded corals, and none preferred to associate with dead, algal-covered colonies. In the field experiment, fish recruitment to coral colonies was monitored before and after the introduction of a coral predator (the crown-of-thorns starfish) and compared with undisturbed control colonies. Starfish reduced live coral cover by 95-100%, causing persistent negative effects on the recruitment of coral-associated fishes. Rapid reductions in new recruit abundance, greater numbers of unoccupied colonies and a shift in the recruit community structure from one dominated by coral-associated fishes before degradation to one predominantly composed of algal-associated fish species were observed. Our results suggest that while resistant to coral stress, coral death alters the process of replenishment of coral reef fish communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Feary
- Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.
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Abstract
The scale of larval dispersal of marine organisms is important for the design of networks of marine protected areas. We examined the fate of coral reef fish larvae produced at a small island reserve, using a mass-marking method based on maternal transmission of stable isotopes to offspring. Approximately 60% of settled juveniles were spawned at the island, for species with both short (<2 weeks) and long (>1 month) pelagic larval durations. If natal homing of larvae is a common life-history strategy, the appropriate spatial scales for the management and conservation of coral reefs are likely to be much smaller than previously assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glenn R Almany
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville QLD 4811, Australia.
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Almany GR, Peacock LF, Syms C, McCormick MI, Jones GP. Predators target rare prey in coral reef fish assemblages. Oecologia 2007; 152:751-61. [PMID: 17361454 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-007-0693-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2006] [Accepted: 02/07/2007] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Predation can result in differing patterns of local prey diversity depending on whether predators are selective and, if so, how they select prey. A recent study comparing the diversity of juvenile fish assemblages among coral reefs with and without predators concluded that decreased prey diversity in the presence of predators was most likely caused by predators actively selecting rare prey species. We used several related laboratory experiments to explore this hypothesis by testing: (1) whether predators prefer particular prey species, (2) whether individual predators consistently select the same prey species, (3) whether predators target rare prey, and (4) whether rare prey are more vulnerable to predation because they differ in appearance/colouration from common prey. Rare prey suffered greater predation than expected and were not more vulnerable to predators because their appearance/colouration differed from common prey. Individual predators did not consistently select the same prey species through time, suggesting that prey selection behaviour was flexible and context dependent rather than fixed. Thus, selection of rare prey was unlikely to be explained by simple preferences for particular prey species. We hypothesize that when faced with multiple prey species predators may initially focus on rare, conspicuous species to overcome the sensory confusion experienced when attacking aggregated prey, thereby minimizing the time required to capture prey. This hypothesis represents a community-level manifestation of two well-documented and related phenomena, the "confusion effect" and the "oddity effect", and may be an important, and often overlooked, mechanism by which predators influence local species diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glenn R Almany
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Tropical and Marine Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia.
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Almany GR. Differential effects of habitat complexity, predators and competitors on abundance of juvenile and adult coral reef fishes. Oecologia 2004; 141:105-13. [PMID: 15197644 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-004-1617-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2003] [Accepted: 05/12/2004] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Greater structural complexity is often associated with greater abundance and diversity, perhaps because high complexity habitats reduce predation and competition. Using 16 spatially isolated live-coral reefs in the Bahamas, I examined how abundance of juvenile (recruit) and adult (non-recruit) fishes was affected by two factors: (1) structural habitat complexity and (2) the presence of predators and interference competitors. Manipulating the abundance of low and high complexity corals created two levels of habitat complexity, which was cross-factored with the presence or absence of resident predators (sea basses and moray eels) plus interference competitors (territorial damselfishes). Over 60 days, predators and competitors greatly reduced recruit abundance regardless of habitat complexity, but did not affect adult abundance. In contrast, increased habitat complexity had a strong positive effect on adult abundance and a weak positive effect on recruit abundance. Differential responses of recruits and adults may be related to the differential effects of habitat complexity on their primary predators. Sedentary recruits are likely most preyed upon by small resident predators that ambush prey, while larger adult fishes that forage widely and use reefs primarily for shelter are likely most preyed upon by large transient predators that chase prey. Increased habitat complexity may have inhibited foraging by transient predators but not resident predators. Results demonstrate the importance of habitat complexity to community dynamics, which is of concern given the accelerated degradation of habitats worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glenn R Almany
- Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-2914, USA.
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