Restocking Herbivorous Fish Populations As a Social-Ecological Restoration Tool in Coral Reefs

Reef fishes are the highest number of organisms that can be found in coral reefs in which the abundance depends on the healthy of this ecosystem. Reef fishes are mainly consisted of corallivorous and herbivorous fish. Corralivorous fish feeds on coral polyps while herbivorous fish feeds on algae. Therefore these fishes are an important indicators in the resilience of coral reefs. Studies showed that its abundance is strongly correlated with reef’s conture (rugosity). Pemuteran waters is one of developing tourists attraction in the north Bali island. However, the data of reef fishes and coral reefs in Pemuteran waters remain limited. Therefore, this research aimed to study the reef` condition and rugosity in Pemuteran waters, also to examine the correlation between reefs fishes and reefs rugosity in this area. There were four stations according to purposive sampling method. Data of corallivorous and herbivorous fishes were collected by using the underwater visual census with a 40 m2 transect. Reef rugosity index were determined by using chain transect method. Results showed that reef rugosity in Pemuteran waters was in the medium to high category. Reef rugosity has strong correlation with the total abundance and diversity of corallivorous fishes. However, reef rugosity was only strong correlated with the total abundance but not with the diversity of herbivorous fishes.

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The emergence of the social-ecological restoration concept

Restoration Ecology ◽

10.1111/rec.12685 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 404-410 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Juan F. Fernández-Manjarrés ◽

Samuel Roturier ◽

Anne-Gaël Bilhaut

Keyword(s):

Ecological Restoration ◽

Social Ecological ◽

The Social

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Abundance of Herbivorous Fish at Fish Apartment in Tangah Island Coastal Waters of Pariaman City, West Sumatera

Metamorfosa Journal of Biological Sciences ◽

10.24843/metamorfosa.2019.v06.i01.p15 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 97

Author(s):

Suci Frimanozi ◽

Indra Junaidi Zakaria ◽

Jabang Nurdin

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Habitat Quality ◽

Coastal Waters ◽

Herbivorous Fish ◽

Coral Recruitment ◽

Visual Census ◽

West Sumatra ◽

And Control ◽

Reef Condition

Herbivorous fish have an influence on habitat quality and a major factor in determining coral reef community. This herbivorous fish used as indicator of monitoring refers to reef resilience since of its ability to retain and restore the coral reef condition after disturbance. The presence of herbivores is important in influencing succession of algae, it can reduce and control algae on coral reefs. It’s causes in the availability of space or substrate for corals to recruit. So the research conducted that aims to know the abundance of herbivorous fish in fish apartment as one indicator of monitoring based on endurance. This study had conducted after six months of fish apartment placed in the coastal waters of Tangah Island, Pariaman City, West Sumatra. Then, the observation had done every month for six months in July 2015 - January 2016 at the location of the fish apartment. Observation abundance of herbivorous fish had done by visual census method at fish apartment location. From the results of observations for six months found 10 species of herbivorous fish with total as many as 289 individuals. Zebrasoma scopas is a species with the most individuals than 97 individu. However, to see the effect of herbivorous fish on coral recruitment in fish apartment needs to do further research. Keywords: abundance, herbivorous fish, fish apartment

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Grazing Effects of Fish versus Sea Urchins on Turf Algae and Coral Recruits: Possible Implications for Coral Reef Resilience and Restoration

Journal of Marine Biology ◽

10.1155/2011/960207 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Leor Korzen ◽

Alvaro Israel ◽

Avigdor Abelson

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Sea Urchins ◽

Benthic Algae ◽

Herbivorous Fish ◽

Grazing Impact ◽

Turf Algae ◽

Coral Reef Resilience ◽

Drastic Increase ◽

The Impact

Herbivory is an important structuring factor in coral reefs, influencing seaweed abundance, competitive interactions between seaweeds and corals, and coral reef resilience. Despite reports of a drastic increase in the cover of benthic algae and turf dominancy in the coral reefs of Eilat, Red Sea, very little is known about the factors responsible for this phenomenon or the possible effects of herbivory on turf algae and coral recruits. Here, we examine the effects of herbivory by experimentally exposing turf algae and coral recruits to grazing activities of herbivorous fish and sea urchins. Using remote video cameras to document removal of algae and coral spats, we show that the main grazing impact is due to daily grazing by fishes, whereas the significant impact of sea urchins is mainly expressed in their adverse effect on the survival of coral recruits, with a relatively low effect on algal biomass. These findings contribute to our understanding of the factors influencing turf algae establishment and proliferation, and the survival of coral recruits on the coral reefs of Eilat. The clear differences between the impact of herbivorous fish and that of sea urchins, on the Eilat reefs, have critical implications for reef resilience and restoration measures.

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Toward a social-ecological approach to ecological restoration: a look back at three decades of maritime clifftop restoration

Restoration Ecology ◽

10.1111/rec.12849 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 228-238 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maxime Le Roy ◽

Jérôme Sawtschuk ◽

Frédéric Bioret ◽

Sébastien Gallet

Keyword(s):

Ecological Restoration ◽

Ecological Approach ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Look Back

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Management effectiveness suggests a role in structuring herbivorous fish communities in Sinai marine protected areas, Gulf of Aqaba

10.1101/2021.09.17.460804 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Khaled M. El-Haddad ◽

Saad Z. Mohamed ◽

Tarek A. Temraz ◽

Abdel-Hamid A. Ali ◽

Mohamed S. Abdel-Rahman

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Size Structure ◽

Reef Fishes ◽

Fish Populations ◽

Herbivorous Fish ◽

Gulf Of Aqaba ◽

Management Approach ◽

Numerical Density ◽

Total Biomass ◽

The Status

Herbivorous reef fishes are critically important for maintaining the health and resilience of coral reefs. In the Egyptian Gulf of Aqaba (GoA), many of these herbivores are important fishery targets and little is known about their population size structure and biomass patterns. Here, we conduct a large-scale (~250 km of coastline) assessment of the status of herbivorous fish populations along a fishing pressure gradient at 30 sites and eight regions in the GoA. These regions are subjected to three levels of fishing and protection, ranging from almost no fishing (No take, NT), and moderately fished (via Gear restriction, GR) to heavily fished (Open access, OA). We found that the NT fishery reserve was the most effective to maintain herbivorous fish size, biomass, and richness across all functional groups, though numerical density was not. Total herbivore biomass was 4.3 and 2.8 times higher on NT reefs and GR reefs, respectively than on OA reefs. Among GoA regions, only Ras Mohammed and Sharm El-Sheikh (unfished), and Nabq (fished) met the global mean herbivore biomass target of ~30 kg/500 m2. Our work also highlights three important results regarding the impacts of fishing and fisheries management on herbivorous fish populations: (i) size structure was heavily skewed toward smaller individuals, with fishes less than (20 cm) accounting for 81.1% of the population in heavily fished OA reefs vs. 52.8% at unfished NT reefs, (ii) biomass of larger herbivore individuals (>35 cm) accounting for less than 1% of the total biomass in OA reefs vs. 37% at NT reefs, and (iii) large-bodied target species, Cetoscarus bicolor, Naso unicorn, and Kyphosus spp., accounting for 15.9% of the total biomass at NT reefs on average, while they were virtually absent from OA reefs. Collectively, these findings suggest that many principal fisheries species in the central northern regions of the GoA have been overexploited, which in turn can lead to reef degradation. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a participatory management approach and enforce restrictions on destructive fishing gear in order to promote recovery of herbivore biomass.

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Co-Management as a Successful Strategy for Marine Conservation

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering ◽

10.3390/jmse8070491 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 491

Author(s):

William Voorberg ◽

Reinout Van der Veer

Keyword(s):

Coral Reefs ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Coral Bleaching ◽

Management Practices ◽

Marine Conservation ◽

Fish Populations ◽

Marine Biodiversity ◽

Combining Data ◽

Governmental Support ◽

Governmental Strategy

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a primary tool for conserving marine biodiversity. The literature presents a scattered picture regarding the extent to which co-management can be considered valuable. In this study we examine, what conditions are for co-management to make a contribution to conserving marine ecosystems (e.g., stopping coral bleaching and safeguarding fish populations). By combining data on MPA management practices with a novel source of global biodata collected by citizens (ReefCheck), we demonstrate that if co-management is part of a formal governmental strategy, coral reefs show up to 86% fewer bleached colonies and up to 12.2 times larger fish populations than co-managed MPAs lacking formalized governmental support.

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Habitat zonation on coral reefs: Structural complexity, nutritional resources and herbivorous fish distributions

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0233498 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (6) ◽

pp. e0233498

Author(s):

Arun Oakley-Cogan ◽

Sterling B. Tebbett ◽

David R. Bellwood

Keyword(s):

Coral Reefs ◽

Structural Complexity ◽

Herbivorous Fish ◽

Fish Distributions

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Are we sacrificing the future of coral reefs on the altar of the “climate change” narrative?

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsz226 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 77 (1) ◽

pp. 40-45

Author(s):

Avigdor Abelson

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Climate Change Effects ◽

Social Ecological Systems ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Untreated Sewage ◽

Local Protection ◽

Mitigate Climate Change ◽

Destructive Fishing

Abstract Following a series of mass-bleaching events that have seriously degraded coral reefs, notably the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, a common narrative is now dominating the discourse, according to which “the only sure way to save the world’s coral reefs is climate change mitigation”. However, climate change is not a sole stressor. Most coral reefs around the world are threatened by a myriad of local stressors, including overfishing, destructive fishing, untreated sewage, agriculture effluents (nutrients and pesticides), and siltation due to deforestation. Reefs will not survive the severe effects of this plethora of stressors while waiting until we mitigate climate change. In order to safeguard reefs, we need to adopt a new narrative—“there are diverse ways in which we can improve the chances of saving coral reefs”—by acting now to: (i) improve their local protection and marine protected area networks, (ii) alleviate their critical local stressors, (iii) restore degraded and damaged reefs, and (iv) promote reef resilience and adaptation (e.g. adaptation networks, assisted evolution) to the changing conditions, notably climate change effects. It is time for us to move on from the impractical goals of the climate change narrative (“interventions beyond our field of expertise”) to building up resilience and adaptation of social-ecological systems of coral reefs.

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