Effects of Habitat Connectivity on the Abundance and Species Richness of Coral Reef Fishes: Comparison of an Experimental Habitat Established at a Rocky Reef Flat and at a Sandy Sea Bottom

2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Nanami ◽  
Moritaka Nishihira
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Reef Flat ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Coral Reef Fishes ◽  
Habitat Connectivity ◽  
Rocky Reef ◽  
Sea Bottom

Endoparasite species richness of New Caledonian butterfly fishes: host density and diet matter

Parasitology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. MORAND ◽  
T. H. CRIBB ◽  
M. KULBICKI ◽  
M. C. RIGBY ◽  
C. CHAUVET ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Host Density ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Coral Reef Fishes ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Parasite Species Richness

Ecological factors may influence the number of parasites encountered and, thus, parasite species richness. These factors include diet, gregarity, conspecific and total host density, habitat, body size, vagility, and migration. One means of examining the influence of these factors on parasite species richness is through a comparative analysis of the parasites of different, but related, host species. In contrast to most comparative studies of parasite species richness of fish, which have been conducted by using data from the literature, the present study uses data obtained by the investigators. Coral reef fishes vary widely in the above ecological factors and are frequently parasitized by a diverse array of parasites. We, therefore, chose to investigate how the above ecological factors influence parasite species richness in coral reef fishes. We investigated the endoparasite species richness of 21 species of butterfly fishes (Chaetodontidae) of New Caledonia. We mapped the diet characters on the existing butterfly fish phylogeny and found that omnivory appears to be ancestral. We also mapped the estimated endoparasite species richness, coded from low to high parasite species richness, on the existing butterfly fish phylogeny and found that low parasite species richness appears to be associated with the ancestral state of omnivory. Different dietary and social strategies appear to have evolved more than once, with the exception of obligate coralivory, which appears to have evolved only once. Finally, after controlling for phylogenetic relationships, we found that only the percentage of plankton in the diet and conspecific host density were positively correlated with endoparasite species richness.

Environmental and spatial predictors of species richness and abundance in coral reef fishes

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Mellin ◽  
C. J. A. Bradshaw ◽  
M. G. Meekan ◽  
M. J. Caley
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Coral Reef Fishes ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance ◽  
Spatial Predictors

scholarly journals Planktivores as trophic drivers of global coral reef fish diversity patterns

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (9) ◽  
pp. e2019404118
Author(s):  
Alexandre C. Siqueira ◽  
Renato A. Morais ◽  
David R. Bellwood ◽  
Peter F. Cowman
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Trophic Ecology ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Coral Reef Fishes ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Trophic Groups ◽  
Quaternary Climate ◽  
Extant Species

One of the most prominent features of life on Earth is the uneven number of species across large spatial scales. Despite being inherently linked to energetic constraints, these gradients in species richness distribution have rarely been examined from a trophic perspective. Here we dissect the global diversity of over 3,600 coral reef fishes to reveal patterns across major trophic groups. By analyzing multiple nested spatial scales, we show that planktivores contribute disproportionally to the formation of the Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA) marine biodiversity hotspot. Besides being “hotter” at the hotspot, planktivorous fishes display the steepest decline in species numbers with distance from the IAA when compared to other trophic groups. Surprisingly, we did not detect differences in diversification, transition, and dispersal rates in extant species phylogenies that would explain this remarkable gradient in planktivorous fish richness. Thus, we identify two potential complementary drivers for this pattern. First, exceptional levels of partitioning among planktivorous coral reef fishes were driven by temporally stable oceanographic conditions and abundant planktonic resources in the IAA. Second, extinctions of planktivores outside the IAA have been particularly pronounced during Quaternary climate fluctuations. Overall, our results highlight trophic ecology as an important component of global species richness gradients.

Grazing pressure of herbivorous coral reef fishes on low coral-cover reefs

Coral Reefs ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle J. Paddack ◽  
Robert K. Cowen ◽  
Su Sponaugle
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Coral Reef Fishes
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