Temporal comparison and predictors of fish species abundance and richness on undisturbed coral reef patches

Dominique G. Roche,Elena L.E.S. Wagner,Redouan Bshary,Sharon Wismer,Sandra A. Binning

doi:10.7717/peerj.1459

Abstract

Large disturbances can cause rapid degradation of coral reef communities, but what baseline changes in species assemblages occur on undisturbed reefs through time? We surveyed live coral cover, reef fish abundance and fish species richness in 1997 and again in 2007 on 47 fringing patch reefs of varying size and depth at Mersa Bareika, Ras Mohammed National Park, Egypt. No major human or natural disturbance event occurred between these two survey periods in this remote protected area. In the absence of large disturbances, we found that live coral cover, reef fish abundance and fish species richness did not differ in 1997 compared to 2007. Fish abundance and species richness on patches was largely related to the presence of shelters (caves and/or holes), live coral cover and patch size (volume). The presence of the ectoparasite-eating cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, was also positively related to fish species richness. Our results underscore the importance of physical reef characteristics, such as patch size and shelter availability, in addition to biotic characteristics, such as live coral cover and cleaner wrasse abundance, in supporting reef fish species richness and abundance through time in a relatively undisturbed and understudied region.

Highlights

Coral reefs and the biodiversity they support are declining globally as a result of natural and anthropogenic stressors (e.g., Bellwood et al, 2004; Gardner et al, 2005; De’ath et al, 2012)
Seven predictor variables were included in each model: survey year, depth below surface, patch volume, percent live coral cover, percent caves, percent holes and cleaner wrasse abundance
There was no difference in percent live coral cover on the 47 patches surveyed in 1997 and 2007 (t46 = 1.48, p = 0.15; Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Coral reefs and the biodiversity they support are declining globally as a result of natural and anthropogenic stressors (e.g., Bellwood et al, 2004; Gardner et al, 2005; De’ath et al, 2012). How to cite this article Wagner et al (2015), Temporal comparison and predictors of fish species abundance and richness on undisturbed coral reef patches. Few studies explicitly include cleaner wrasse abundance alongside other biotic and abiotic factors when evaluating predictors of reef fish species richness and abundance.

Results

Conclusion