Non-bleached colonies of massive Porites may attract fishes for selective grazing during mass bleaching events.

Akira Iguchi,Yoshikazu Ohno,Takashi Nakamura,Eri Ikeuchi

doi:10.7717/peerj.3470

Abstract

In this study we investigated the variation in grazing scar densities between bleached and non-bleached colonies of massive Porites species in Sekisei Lagoon (Okinawa, southwestern Japan) during a mass bleaching event in 2016. The grazing scar densities and bleaching susceptibility varied among neighboring colonies of massive Porites spp. However, non-bleached colonies had significantly more surface scars than bleached colonies. One explanation for these variations is that corallivorous fishes may selectively graze on non-bleached, thermally tolerant colonies. This is the first report of a relationship between grazing scars and the bleaching status of massive Porites spp. colonies during a mass bleaching event.

Highlights

Reef fishes belonging to the families Chaetodontidae, Labridae (Bonaldo & Bellwood, 2011), and Tetraodontidae (Jayewardene et al, 2009) make scars on the skeletons of corals when they graze on algae, epifauna and endofauna
Six massive Porites species are known from marine waters of southwestern Japan (Nishihira & Veron, 1995)
In shallow coral reef habitats around Okinawa Island, feeding scars are commonly observed on the surface of massive Porites colonies (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

Reef fishes belonging to the families Chaetodontidae, Labridae (Bonaldo & Bellwood, 2011), and Tetraodontidae (Jayewardene et al, 2009) make scars on the skeletons of corals when they graze on algae, epifauna and endofauna. How to cite this article Ikeuchi et al (2017), Non-bleached colonies of massive Porites may attract fishes for selective grazing during mass bleaching events.

Results

Conclusion