scholarly journals Dominance determines fish community biomass in a temperate seagrass ecosystem

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Eger ◽  
Rebecca J. Best ◽  
Julia K. Baum
Keyword(s):  
Fish Community ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Seagrass Ecosystem

Dominance determines fish community biomass in a temperate seagrass ecosystem

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Matthius Eger ◽  
Rebecca J. Best ◽  
Julia Kathleen Baum
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Ecosystem Valuation ◽  
Species Abundances

Biodiversity and ecosystem function are often correlated, but there are multiple hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Ecosystem functions such as primary or secondary production may be maximized by species richness, evenness in species abundances, or the presence or dominance of species with certain traits. Here, we combined surveys of natural fish communities (conducted in July and August, 2016) with morphological trait data to examine relationships between diversity and ecosystem function (quantified as fish community biomass) across 14 subtidal eelgrass meadows in the Northeast Pacific (54° N 130° W). We employed both taxonomic and functional trait measures of diversity to investigate if ecosystem function is driven by species diversity (complementarity hypothesis) or by the presence or dominance of species with particular trait values (selection or dominance hypotheses). After controlling for environmental variation, we found that fish community biomass is maximized when taxonomic richness and functional evenness is low, and in communities dominated by species with particular trait values – those associated with benthic habitats and prey capture. While previous work on fish communities has found that species richness is positively correlated with ecosystem function, our results instead highlight the capacity for regionally prevalent and locally dominant species to drive ecosystem function in moderately diverse communities. We discuss these alternate links between community composition and ecosystem function and consider their divergent implications for ecosystem valuation and conservation prioritization.

scholarly journals Species richness and identity both determine the biomass of global reef fish communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan S. Lefcheck ◽  
Graham J. Edgar ◽  
Rick D. Stuart-Smith ◽  
Amanda E. Bates ◽  
Conor Waldock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Reef Fish ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Rocky Reef ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Declining Species

AbstractChanging biodiversity alters ecosystem functioning in nature, but the degree to which this relationship depends on the taxonomic identities rather than the number of species remains untested at broad scales. Here, we partition the effects of declining species richness and changing community composition on fish community biomass across >3000 coral and rocky reef sites globally. We find that high biodiversity is 5.7x more important in maximizing biomass than the remaining influence of other ecological and environmental factors. Differences in fish community biomass across space are equally driven by both reductions in the total number of species and the disproportionate loss of larger-than-average species, which is exacerbated at sites impacted by humans. Our results confirm that sustaining biomass and associated ecosystem functions requires protecting diversity, most importantly of multiple large-bodied species in areas subject to strong human influences.

Spatial and temporal variation of fish community biomass and energy flow throughout a tropical river network

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 1782-1792
Author(s):  
Michael P. Venarsky ◽  
Ben Stewart‐Koster ◽  
Richard J. Hunt ◽  
Timothy D. Jardine ◽  
Stuart E. Bunn
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Energy Flow ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
River Network ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Tropical River ◽  
Community Biomass

scholarly journals Reef Fish Community Biomass and Trophic Structure Changes across Shallow to Upper-Mesophotic Reefs in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e0156641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic A. Andradi-Brown ◽  
Erika Gress ◽  
Georgina Wright ◽  
Dan A. Exton ◽  
Alex D. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Reef Fish ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Trophic Structure ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Structure Changes ◽  
Reef Fish Community ◽  
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef

Factors Related to the Biomass and Production of Fish Communities in Small, Oligotrophic Lakes Vulnerable to Acidification

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 2523-2532 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. M. Kelso ◽  
M. G. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
Acid Neutralizing Capacity ◽  
Lepomis Gibbosus ◽  
Fish Biomass ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Neutralizing Capacity

We estimated biomass and production of the fish community in 19 small (<50 ha) lakes from four watersheds in central Ontario. Lake pH ranged from 4.8 to 7.1. We found 19 fish species in these lakes; yellow perch (Perca flavescens), pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) were the most common. On average, there were 4.5 species per lake. Neither fish community biomass nor production was significantly different among the communities identified by cluster analysis, and the number offish species was not lower at lower pH. More than 75% of each lake's total biomass was confined to less than three fish species. Whole-lake fish biomass was related to the total number of species in the lakes and their average age. Fish community production was related to fish biomass, averge fish size, and acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) with an almost equal influence provided by each factor. At lower ANC and pH, fish were usually smaller in weight and often had lower population growth rates. In these lakes where the influence of lake size and trophic status was minimized, fish community biomass and production were only secondarily related to lake pH or ANC.

scholarly journals Marine reserve recovery rates towards a baseline are slower for reef fish community life histories than biomass

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1821) ◽  
pp. 20151938 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. McClanahan ◽  
N. A. J. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Marine Reserve ◽  
Reef Management ◽  
High Compliance ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Community Growth

Ecological baselines are disappearing and it is uncertain how marine reserves, here called fisheries closures, simulate pristine communities. We tested the influence of fisheries closure age, size and compliance on recovery of community biomass and life-history metrics towards a baseline. We used census data from 324 coral reefs, including 41 protected areas ranging between 1 and 45 years of age and 0.28 and 1430 km 2 , and 36 sites in a remote baseline, the Chagos Archipelago. Fish community-level life histories changed towards larger and later maturing fauna with increasing closure age, size and compliance. In high compliance closures, community biomass levelled at approximately 20 years and 10 km 2 but was still only at approximately 30% of the baseline and community growth rates were projected to slowly decline for more than 100 years. In low compliance and young closures, biomass levelled at half the value and time as high compliance closures and life-history metrics were not predicted to reach the baseline. Biomass does not adequately reflect the long-time scales for full recovery of life-history characteristics, with implications for coral reef management.

Phosphorus-Fish Community Biomass Relationships in Southern Appalachian Reservoirs: Can Lakes be too Clean for Fish?

1989 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey J. Yurk ◽  
John J. Ney
Keyword(s):  
Fish Community ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Southern Appalachian

Fish community structure, habitat complexity, and soundscape characteristics of patch reefs in a tropical, back-reef system

2019 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
pp. 33-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
RP Lyon ◽  
DB Eggleston ◽  
DR Bohnenstiehl ◽  
CA Layman ◽  
SW Ricci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Habitat Complexity ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Back Reef ◽  
Fish Community Structure ◽  
Patch Reefs ◽  
Reef System

Dissolved oxygen and temperature best predict deep-sea fish community structure in the Gulf of California with climate change implications

2020 ◽  
Vol 637 ◽  
pp. 159-180
Author(s):  
ND Gallo ◽  
M Beckwith ◽  
CL Wei ◽  
LA Levin ◽  
L Kuhnz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Gulf Of California ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
Fish Community Structure ◽  
Explained Variance

Natural gradient systems can be used to examine the vulnerability of deep-sea communities to climate change. The Gulf of California presents an ideal system for examining relationships between faunal patterns and environmental conditions of deep-sea communities because deep-sea conditions change from warm and oxygen-rich in the north to cold and severely hypoxic in the south. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) remotely operated vehicle (ROV) ‘Doc Ricketts’ was used to conduct seafloor video transects at depths of ~200-1400 m in the northern, central, and southern Gulf. The community composition, density, and diversity of demersal fish assemblages were compared to environmental conditions. We tested the hypothesis that climate-relevant variables (temperature, oxygen, and primary production) have more explanatory power than static variables (latitude, depth, and benthic substrate) in explaining variation in fish community structure. Temperature best explained variance in density, while oxygen best explained variance in diversity and community composition. Both density and diversity declined with decreasing oxygen, but diversity declined at a higher oxygen threshold (~7 µmol kg-1). Remarkably, high-density fish communities were observed living under suboxic conditions (<5 µmol kg-1). Using an Earth systems global climate model forced under an RCP8.5 scenario, we found that by 2081-2100, the entire Gulf of California seafloor is expected to experience a mean temperature increase of 1.08 ± 1.07°C and modest deoxygenation. The projected changes in temperature and oxygen are expected to be accompanied by reduced diversity and related changes in deep-sea demersal fish communities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document