Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiwei Li, Gregory P. Asner
Summary: Three-dimensional shallow benthic complexity provides valuable information for coral reef conservation and management, as it reflects the physical conditions and biodiversity of shallow coral reef environments. This study mapped global shallow water benthic complexity using satellite images and found that high complexity regions are mainly concentrated in areas with high benthic biodiversity. However, a significant portion of coral reef regions with high benthic complexity remains unprotected. The global coral reef benthic complexity map generated in this study can contribute to improving marine protected areas, reef conservation, and management.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wentao Zhu, Yuxiao Ren, Xiangbo Liu, Duanjie Huang, Jingquan Xia, Ming Zhu, Hongyang Yin, Rouwen Chen, Xiubao Li
Summary: This study examines the impact of the Qiongdong upwelling on the coastal coral reefs of Hainan Island. The results show significant differences in environmental variables between upwelling and non-upwelling areas, with colder and saltier water and lower coral coverage in the upwelling areas. The upwelling areas also face severe threats from coastal development and local anthropogenic activities.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
William S. Fisher
Summary: The goal of coral reef management is to provide habitat for fish populations, and it requires reliable methods to characterize reef features that contribute to fish habitat. By examining data from broad-area reef surveys, correlations were found between fish population measures and physical coral features, particularly coral colony height. Characterizing this relationship will improve fishery management tools and support assessment of the decline in the physical stature of reefs worldwide.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Carsten G. B. Grupstra, Lauren I. Howe-Kerr, Jesse A. van der Meulen, Alex J. Veglia, Samantha R. Coy, Adrienne M. S. Correa
Summary: Animal waste is an important part of nutrient cycles and can transmit diverse microorganisms through trophic interactions. The feces of grazers/detritivores were found to cause more frequent and larger lesions on corals compared to the feces of corallivores, indicating the harmful microbial activity in grazer/detritivore feces. Analysis of bacterial diversity in feces from different fish species revealed potential differences in coral-associated bacteria and coral pathogens, suggesting the role of consumers in coral symbiont dispersal. These findings have significant implications for environmental management.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jacey C. Van Wert, Leila Ezzat, Katrina S. Munsterman, Kaitlyn Landfield, Nina M. D. Schiettekatte, Valeriano Parravicini, Jordan M. Casey, Simon J. Brandl, Deron E. Burkepile, Erika J. Eliason
Summary: Consumers play a crucial role in nutrient cycling through excretion and egestion. While the excretion of fish-derived inorganic nutrients has been studied extensively, the importance of egestion for nutrient cycling has been neglected. This study investigated the fecal nutrient content of different fish species on a coral reef and found that different species exhibit unique fecal nutrient concentrations.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Mark Hamilton, James P. W. Robinson, Cassandra E. Benkwitt, Shaun K. Wilson, M. Aaron MacNeil, Ameer Ebrahim, Nicholas A. J. Graham
Summary: Changes in fish assemblages after coral bleaching and mortality can affect fisheries, particularly fish productivity and turnover. In Seychelles, fish productivity increased on reefs recovering to coral-dominated habitats, especially in fished areas, while it remained stable on reefs that shifted to macroalgae-dominated regimes. The benthic recovery trajectory strongly influenced post-bleaching fish productivity, emphasizing the importance of herbivore and invertivore species in sustaining small-scale inshore fisheries following climate disturbances.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Juan Shi, Chunhou Li, Teng Wang, Jinfa Zhao, Yong Liu, Yayuan Xiao
Summary: Coral reefs, known as tropical rainforests in the ocean, have a rich diversity of fish species. China has 2855 species of coral reef fishes, which can be categorized into nearshore and offshore. The diversity of coral reef fish species has a significant positive correlation with coral species diversity.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Peter L. Harrison, Dexter W. dela Cruz, Kerry A. Cameron, Patrick C. Cabaitan
Summary: Loss of foundation reef-corals is damaging reef communities globally, leading to a decline in ecosystem function. Active intervention and effective coral restoration techniques are needed to enhance coral recruitment and density. Enhancing larval supply significantly increases settlement on reefs, facilitating rapid re-establishment of breeding coral populations and enhancing fish abundance.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
A. Nassiri, O. Thebaud, S. J. Holbrook, M. Lauer, A. Rassweiler, R. J. Schmitt, J. Claudet
Summary: This evaluation using the two-stage Rosen's model aims to deduce the implicit prices of coral-reef fish species commonly encountered in the road-side market in Moorea, French Polynesia during 2014-2015. The results show positive cross-species elasticities, indicating complementarity between reef species in bundles which enhances the value of catches. These findings demonstrate the importance of empirical economic analysis in understanding small-scale coral-reef fisheries in the Pacific.
Article
Ecology
Daphne Cortese, Tommy Norin, Ricardo Beldade, Amelie Crespel, Shaun S. Killen, Suzanne C. Mills
Summary: Our study found that juvenile orange-fin anemonefish residing in bleached anemones experienced a decrease in their standard metabolic rate over time, leading to reduced growth compared to fish from healthy anemones. Despite spending more time foraging in the water column, fish from bleached anemones were less active and had a negative correlation between space use and survival after 4 weeks, highlighting the long-lasting impacts of short-term thermal anomalies on marine animals.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Jean-Paul A. Hobbs, Zoe T. Richards, Iva Popovic, Chuan Lei, Timo M. Staeudle, Stefano R. Montanari, Joseph D. DiBattista
Summary: Hybridisation in the marine environment, particularly in coral reef ecosystems, is more common than previously thought. Fish and hermatypic corals show high prevalence of hybridisation, with fish hybrids being linked to biogeographic borders while coral hybrids are not. These findings suggest that hybridisation can influence the evolution of fishes and corals in various ways.
Article
Ecology
David P. Kochan, Matthew D. Mitchell, Rachel Zuercher, Alastair R. Harborne
Summary: Anthropogenic stressors have resulted in coral mortality, leading to loss of coral cover and decreased structural complexity, which threatens reef biodiversity, functioning, and ecosystem services. However, the specific species affected and the traits that make them susceptible to reef flattening are not well understood. This study identifies important traits that mediate the responses of fish species to reef degradation.
Article
Microbiology
Xinyu Liao, Jiadenghui Yang, Zanhu Zhou, Jinying Wu, Dunming Xu, Qiaoting Yang, Saiyi Zhong, Xiaoyong Zhang
Summary: This study investigated the intestinal fungal diversity of three coral reef fish and found that fungal communities in the intestines are influenced by their surrounding environments. The distribution of fungi in fish intestines may be related to the physiological functions of different intestinal segments. Some fungal isolates showed antimicrobial activity against marine pathogenic microorganisms.
Article
Fisheries
Michael P. McCallister, James Oppenborn, Matthew J. Ajemian
Summary: Artificial reef development is a popular management tool used to enhance fish stocks and provide additional recreational opportunities. A study was conducted to assess the fish communities on artificial reefs off Florida's central east coast using vertical longline sampling and underwater videos. The study found that red snapper and vermilion snapper had the largest catch-per-unit-effort during sampling, and that red snapper, vermilion snapper, and tomtate contributed the most to differences in community composition.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biology
Laetitia Mathon, Virginie Marques, David Mouillot, Camille Albouy, Marco Andrello, Florian Baletaud, Giomar H. Borrero-Perez, Tony Dejean, Graham J. Edgar, Jonathan Grondin, Pierre-Edouard Guerin, Regis Hocde, Jean-Baptiste Juhel, Eva Kadarusman, Eva Maire, Gael Mariani, Matthew McLean, Andrea Polanco F., Laurent D. Pouyaud, Rick Stuart-Smith, Hagi Yulia Sugeha, Alice Valentini, Laurent B. Vigliola, Indra Vimono, Loic Pellissier
Summary: Using environmental DNA metabarcoding, researchers have found that coral reefs have higher fish biodiversity than previously thought. This method also revealed hidden patterns and provided a fresh perspective on the assembly rules of fish communities on reefs.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)