Reef Fish Communities Research Articles

Monitoring the effects of spatial protection on the reef fish communities of the Pondoland Marine Protected Area, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Monitoring marine protected areas (MPAs) is critical for evaluating their effectiveness and for improving management. In this study, a single-camera baited remote underwater video system (mono-BRUVS) was deployed quarterly at four sites (10–30-m depths) to quantify the reef fish communities in protected (no-take) and adjacent exploited areas of the Pondoland MPA on the east coast of South Africa (Indian Ocean). To assess size (biomass) of the fish communities, we used 10 years of research linefishing data (2006–2016) from the same areas. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare abundance and biomass of the fish communities between protected and exploited areas. Significant differences were detected between fish communities in protected and exploited areas based on their abundance and biomass. These differences are primarily ascribed to linefishing and the removal of larger, predatory species such as yellowbelly rockcod Epinephelus marginatus, Scotsman Polysteganus praeorbitalis and black musselcracker Cymatoceps nasutus in the adjacent exploited areas. Removal of such predators may have caused trophic cascading or prey release, resulting in very different fish communities. These results highlight the importance of investigating the entire fish community and not only target fishery species when evaluating MPA effectiveness.

Are fish communities on coral reefs becoming less colourful?

An organism's colouration is often linked to the environment in which it lives. The fishes that inhabit coral reefs are extremely diverse in colouration, but the specific environmental factors that support this extreme diversity remain unclear. Interestingly, much of the aesthetic and intrinsic value humans place on coral reefs (a core ecosystem service they provide) is based on this extreme diversity of colours. However, like many processes on coral reefs, the relationship between colouration and the environment is likely to be impacted by global environmental change. Using a novel community-level measure of fish colouration, as perceived by humans, we explore the potential links between fish community colouration and the environment. We then asked if this relationship is impacted by human-induced environmental disturbances, e.g. mass coral bleaching events, using a community-level dataset spanning 27years on the Great Barrier Reef. We found that the diversity of colours found within a fish community is directly related to the composition of the local environment. Areas with a higher cover of structurally complex corals contained fish species with more diverse and brighter colourations. Most notably, fish community colouration contracted significantly in the years following the 1998global coral bleaching event. Fishes with colouration directly appealing to human aesthetics are becoming increasingly rare, with the potential for marked declines in the perceived colour of reef fish communities in the near future. Future reefs may not be the colourful ecosystems we recognize today, representing the loss of a culturally significant ecosystem service.

Reef Location and Client Diversity Influence the Skin Microbiome of the Caribbean Cleaner Goby Elacatinus evelynae.

Fish-associated microorganisms are known to be affected by the environment and other external factors, such as microbial transfer between interacting partners. One of the most iconic mutualistic interactions on coral reefs is the cleaning interactions between cleaner fishes and their clients, during which direct physical contact occurs. Here, we characterized the skin bacteria of the Caribbean cleaner sharknose goby, Elacatinus evelynae, in four coral reefs of the US Virgin Islands using sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. We specifically tested the relationship between gobies' level of interaction with clients and skin microbiota diversity and composition. Our results showed differences in microbial alpha- and beta-diversity in the skin of gobies from different reef habitats and high inter-individual variation in microbiota diversity and structure. Overall, the results showed that fish-to-fish direct contactand specifically, access to a diverse clientele, influences the bacterial diversity and structure of cleaner gobies' skin. Because of their frequent contact with clients, and therefore, high potential for microbial exchange, cleaner fish may serve as models in future studies aiming to understand the role of social microbial transfer in reef fish communities.

Limited human access is linked to higher effectiveness in a marine sanctuary

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a widely used tool for coral reefs conservation, but massive tourism activities inside MPAs worldwide can challenge their effectiveness. This study investigated the role of different levels of protection strictness (no-entry, low and high tourism-allowed zones) set for a marine sanctuary in shaping benthic cover and reef fish community structure in the richest and largest coral reef system of the Southwestern Atlantic. Reef fish community structure and benthic cover differed between protection levels. No-entry zones showed significant higher coral coverage and biomass of piscivores and herbivores than tourism-allowed zones. Highest differences were found between no-entry and high tourism intensity zones. Despite the fact that protection from fishing by itself can ensure conservation benefits, we show here that the establishment of no-entry zones improve MPAs effectiveness.

Tropicalization of temperate reef fish communities facilitated by urchin grazing and diversity of thermal affinities

AbstractAimGlobal declines in structurally complex habitats are reshaping both land‐ and seascapes in directions that affect the responses of biological communities to warming. Here, we test whether widespread loss of kelp habitats through sea urchin overgrazing systematically changes the sensitivity of fish communities to warming.LocationGlobal temperate latitudes.Time periodModern.Major taxa studiedFishes.MethodsCommunity shifts in thermal affinity related to habitat were assessed by simulating and comparing fish communities from 2271 surveys across 15 ecoregions.ResultsWe found that fishes in kelp and urchin barrens differed in realized thermal affinities and range sizes, but only in regions where species pools had high variability in the thermal affinities of species. Barrens on warm temperate reefs host relatively more warm‐affinity fish species than neighbouring kelp beds, highlighting the acceleration of tropicalization processes facilitated by urchin grazing. In contrast, proportionally more cool‐affinity fishes colonize barrens at high temperate latitudes, contributing to community lags with ocean warming in these regions.Main conclusionsOur findings implicate urchins as drivers of ecological change, in part by affecting ecological resilience to warming.

Functional diversity of reef fish assemblages in the Galapagos Archipelago

The Galapagos Archipelago's unique reef biodiversity and distribution patterns are relatively well understood compared to the study of local functional diversity processes. We investigated functional diversity patterns in coastal reef fish communities using stereo Baited Remote Underwater Videos systems (stereo-BRUVs). We collected relative abundance data based on 41,594 individual fish belonging to 121 reef fish species and assessed functional diversity using seven functional traits and a combination of functional alpha-diversity and beta-diversity indices. We found differences between bioregions; however, we observed no differences in reef fish assemblages between the geographic strata (distinct habitat types) within regions. Low functional alpha-diversity within assemblages but high environmental variability at small spatial scales has resulted in a consistent moderate functional beta-diversity between assemblages and high functional diversity at an archipelago-wide scale. While there is a low diversity of functional roles, the most abundant species represent a few distinct and supportive functional roles in Galapagos reef ecosystems. Such functional roles likely have redundancy; however, many other functional roles are likely under-represented and vulnerable. The variable functional diversity between Galapagos bioregions facilitates an ecological interpretation that supplements traditional species diversity indices. Therefore, we suggest a combination of species compositions and functional diversity metrics be used in the future management of Galapagos marine communities.

The Amazon River plume, a barrier to animal dispersal in the Western Tropical Atlantic

The dispersal of marine organisms can be restricted by a set of isolation mechanisms including hard barriers or hydrological features. In the Western Atlantic Ocean, the Amazon River discharge has been shown to act as a biogeographical barrier responsible for the differences in reef fish communities between Caribbean Sea and Northeast Brazil continental shelves. Here, we compare the diversity of all Animalia phyla from biogeographic ecoregions along the Tropical Western Atlantic continental shelf to test the hypothesis that the Amazon River plume spatially structures species diversity. For that, we used beta diversity estimators and multivariate ecological analysis on a database of species occurrence of the whole animal kingdom including 175,477 occurrences of 8,375 species from six ecoregions along the Western Tropical Atlantic. Results of the whole animal kingdom and the richest phyla showed that the Caribbean Sea and Tropical Brazil ecoregions are isolated by the Amazon River Plume, broadening and confirming the hypothesis that it acts as a soft barrier to animal dispersal in the Western Tropical Atlantic. Species sharing is larger northwestwards, in direction of the Caribbean than the opposite direction. Beyond species isolation due to local characteristics such as low salinity and high turbidity, our results suggest the dominant northwestward currents probably play a major role in animal dispersion: it enhances the flux of larvae and other planktonic organisms with reduced mobility from Brazil to Caribbean and hinders their contrary movement. Thus, the Amazon area is a strong barrier for taxa with reduced dispersal capacity, while species of pelagic taxa with active swimming may transpose it more easily.

Diversity of reef fish on Lembeh Island as an indicator of the coral reef health condition

Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi is one of the areas included in the world’s coral triangle. Coral reef structures provide a habitat for reef fish. Herbivorous and invertivorous fish were essential to determine the direction of coral reef succession. This study aims to examine the health of coral reefs based on the presence of reef fish. Observations were conducted on January 16-19, 2019, with a total of 22 observation points. Observation of reef fish communities using the underwater visual census (UVCs) and belt transect method. At the observation site, it was found that there were 260 species of reef fish. The resilience of coral reefs based on the presence of reef fish has a high value on the parameters of the abundance of herbivorous fish, taxonomic diversity, and abundance of coral reef fish.

Reef fish community structure along the southeastern US Atlantic continental shelf break and upper slope appears resistant to increasing lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) density

Temperate reefs host diverse fish communities along the southeast United States Atlantic coast (SEUS), yet the sustainable management of reef fishes faces myriad challenges. One challenge has been the introduction of Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles; hereafter "lionfish"), which have spread quickly throughout the SEUS since their introduction in the late 1900s. We analyzed long- term (2001–2019) video data along the continental shelf break and upper slope (45–125 m deep) of the SEUS to assess changes in lionfish densities over time, characterize reef fish community structure, and determine if native reef fish community structure has changed due to lionfish. Lionfish densities increased substantially during the study, from zero individuals observed in 2001 to approximately 1.2 individuals observed per 100 m 3 (and present in all included transects) by 2019, yet no fish community metrics were negatively related to lionfish density. Demersal habitat influenced fish community structure more than any other variable examined, with more individuals and different fish communities occurring on high-relief compared to low-relief hardbottom habitats. The effects of latitude, depth, and bottom temperature on reef fish community structure were generally weak or nonexistent. Although previous empirical work has found that lionfish negatively affect native fishes at small scales (<30 km2), it is unclear why we did not find similar results in our larger- scale study. It may be related to vagaries of the spatial scale of observation, lionfish effects being primarily limited to high- relief habitats, time lags, or lionfish densities not being high enough yet to cause observable ecological effects.

Rocky reef biodiversity survey: Punta Pardelas, Argentina.

BackgroundTemperate rocky reefs in the SW Atlantic are productive areas that support highly diverse communities of invertebrates, algae and fishes. Rocky outcrops form complex structures which offer a diversity of microhabitats that lead to a great variety of co-existing species. Subtidal biodiversity within the Natural Protected Area Península Valdés is largely unexplored and studies are mainly limited to fish. A total of 560 high definition photoquadrats from seven rocky reefs (1-25 m depth) at Punta Pardelas were obtained during March 2019. In total, 4491 occurrences were recorded and identified to phyla (n = 2), superclasses (n = 1), classes (n = 5), subclasses (n = 2), orders (n = 2), families (n = 1), subfamilies (n = 1), genera (n = 10) and species (n = 43) levels. This dataset was developed to provide a baseline inventory of Punta Pardelas inside the Natural Protected Area, that was only partially reported more than 50 years ago. Such data represent the first step towards monitoring these less-accessible ecosystems.New informationMost of the available information about Atlantic Patagonian marine biodiversity is related to rocky intertidal communities or rocky reef fish communities. Despite having more than 4000 km of coastline, in the last 20 years only four studies have focused on subtidal benthic communities from shallow rocky reefs in Argentina (Genzano et al. 2011, Rechimont et al. 2013, Bravo et al. 2015, Bravo et al. 2020a). However, none of them described the epi-benthic community of different surface orientations on the rocky reefs. This dataset includes several surface orientations (i.e. horizontal, vertical, overhang and cave floor) and their microhabitats. We found almost double the number of taxa previously reported for the area. Through stratified sampling of different surface orientations, we recorded species that are often overlooked and thus registered as part of the existing biodiversity. For example, overhang surfaces in our study showed a unique assemblage and a great diversity of sponges. This work will be valuable as baseline information that is currently out of date in Nuevo Gulf rocky reefs.

Reef fish community on Sabira Island, Kepulauan Seribu Regency, DKI Jakarta

Sabira Island is an island close to Jakarta Province but still has good water conditions and a coral reef ecosystem with a high level of diversity. The condition of the coral reef ecosystem affects the community structure of the reef fish there. This study aims to determine the community structure of the reef fish on Sabira Island. The research was conducted in August 2019 on Sabira Island, Kepulauan Seribu Regency, DKI Jakarta Province. Observations of reef fish were carried out using the Underwater Visual Census method at four observation stations. There were 47 species of reef fish found on Sabira Island from 12 families. The total reef fish found were 1315 individuals, consisting of 79 indicator fish, 417 individual target fish, and 819 major fish. The highest diversity index value on Sabira Island was found at the South Station, with a diversity index value of 2.39. Based on the community structure index at the four observation stations, the reef fish community’s condition on Sabira Island is still good ranging from unstable to stable condition with moderate diversity and low dominance index values.

Decadal shifts in traits of reef fish communities in marine reserves

Marine reserves are known to impact the biomass, biodiversity, and functions of coral reef fish communities, but the effect of protective management on fish traits is less explored. We used a time-series modelling approach to simultaneously evaluate the abundance, biomass, and traits of eight fish families over a chronosequence spanning 44 years of protection. We constructed a multivariate functional space based on six traits known to respond to management or disturbance and affect ecosystem processes: size, diet, position in the water column, gregariousness, reef association, and length at maturity. We show that biomass increased with a log-linear trend over the time-series, but abundance only increased after 20 years of closure, and with more variation among reserves. This difference is attributed to recovery rates being dependent on body sizes. Abundance-weighted traits and the associated multivariate space of the community change is driven by increased proportions over time of the trait categories: 7–15 cm body size; planktivorous; species low in the water column; medium-large schools; and species with high levels of reef association. These findings suggest that the trait compositions emerging after the cessation of fishing are novel and dynamic.

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

Changing 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.

Reef fish community structure and its association with Lifeform coral in the core zone of the Anambas islands Marine Tourism Park (MTP)

Reef fish are one of the biotas that live in coral reef ecosystems, and their lives depend on the condition of coral reefs. Reef fish communities have a close relationship with coral reefs as their habitat. Collecting data on reef fish and coral growth forms using the underwater visual census (UVS) method and methods point intercept transect (PIT). The results of the identification of coral growth forms found 10 growth forms. The most abundant group of fish in the core zone waters of the Anambas Islands was the omnivorous group of fish found as many as 14,924 ind/250m2. The uniformity index value is obtained by the criteria for a stable uniformity index. The cluster analysis results showed that the similarity index of 43% was found in three groups of entities. The correspondence analysis results found three groupings of reef fish based on their association with coral growth forms.

Implications of Community-Based Management of Marine Reserves in the Philippines for Reef Fish Communities and Biodiversity

Overfishing and destructive fishing practices are major threats to marine biodiversity in the Philippines, where over 1.9 million small-scale fishers are supported by these biodiverse marine communities. Nearly 50% of all marine fish capture in the Philippines is from artisanal fisheries, with much of it not reported or under-reported. Marine reserves, where fishing is prohibited have been created in many local government units to help restore and preserve this biodiversity. The success of these marine reserves is still under serious debate with effective management still representing a significant challenge. The lack of a governance system to centrally managed marine reserves has resulted in non-governmental organizations developing community-based management schemes. Using independent fisheries data from Rare’s Fish Forever program, we applied PERMANOVA, SIMPER and biodiversity index analyses to evaluate the community structure of reef fish in 20 sites within the Philippines. We analyzed the differences in fish assemblage inside and outside of these marine reserves, before and after community-based management had been implemented. We provide evidence that: (i) fish community structure changes within marine reserves after community-based management strategies are implemented; and (ii) community-based management of marine fisheries resources protects and promotes biodiversity inside, and in some cases, outside marine reserves. Variability across sites suggests that other social or ecological factors may be influencing the ability of marine reserves to fully protect biodiversity and marine resources. Small-scale fishers in the Philippines participate in mixed-catch harvests and depend on biodiversity and reef community structure for their livelihoods. Thus, this work has implications on how community-based management strategies for marine reserves and adjacent waters may be beneficial for the sustainability of small-scale fishers.

STRUKTUR KOMUNITAS IKAN TARGET DI EKOSISTEM TERUMBU KARANG PADA ZONA TRADISIONAL PULAU BUNAKEN, TAMAN NASIONAL BNAKEN

This study aims to determine the structure of the target fish community, including species composition, type of research and to analyze the ecological index in which the diversity index, uniformity index, dominance index, and community similarity index. Data collection was carried out in coral reef ecosystems in the traditional zones of Madolin, Alung Banua, Sachiko, Muka Kampung, and East Bunaken areas, all data collection areas were included in the Bunaken National Park area. Data was taken using the Underwater Visual Census method, also equipped with a documentation search for underwater photography and videography carried out at the Marine Biology laboratory, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, UNSRAT. There are 3 families, 21 species and 130 individuals at the Madolin area, 5 families, 24 species, and 72 individuals at the Alung Banua area, 5 families, 23 species, and 77 individuals at the Sachiko area, 2 families, 11 species and 129 individuals at the Sachiko area. Muka Kampung, and 4 families, 18 species, and 160 individuals at the East Bunaken location. The calculated ecological index values obtained are H' 2.11 (Madolin), 2.90 (Alung Banua), 2.65 (Sachiko), 1.57 (Muka Kampung), 1.67 (East Bunaken) indicating the ecological condition of the ecosystem. coral reefs are still stable even though diversity is classified as moderate but inversely proportional to low dominance ranging from 0.07 to 0.33 on average. The results of the community similarity analysis using the Sorense index (<50%) showed that there was no similarity in reef fish communities between the 4 stations, namely (Madolin & Alung Banua), (Madolin & Muka Kampung), and (Muka Kampung & East Bunaken). Keywords : target fish community, diversity, dominance, community similarity

Coral reef benthic composition and its influence on reef fish communities in Buton Islands

Benthic communities in coral reef ecosystems are very dynamic and influenced by environmental conditions and human factors. Unfortunately, changes in benthic communities can impact reef fish communities which are essential to support fishery industries. This study investigates the change and relationships between coral reef benthic and fish communities in Buton Islands from 2016 to 2018. The methods used were underwater photo quadrat to estimate percent covers of benthic communities and belt transect to observe the reef fish communities. The result shows that, based on an ordination analysis, the majority of reefs within the years were characterized by Dead Coral with Algae (DCA) and hard coral (HC), indicating that the reef conditions, in general, remained stable during the period. In this case, DCA covers were 42.13 ± 3.66% (SE) in 2016, 42.97 ± 2.21% (SE) in 2017, and 28.46 ± 4.27% (SE) in 2018, whereas, percent covers of hard corals were 28.83 ± 3.92% (SE), 30.16 ± 3.49% (SE) and 35.76 ± 4.41% (SE) for 2016, 2017, and 2018 respectively Although not significantly changing, this stable condition was correlated significantly with overall fish diversity. Furthermore, corallivore species richness and diversity were subject to change when the benthic gradients changed. Although not all fish functional groups were affected (probably due to low percent covers of algae, sponges, soft corals, and others), the change in benthic communities requires more attention, especially when the reefs shift to non-reef building corals-dominated reefs. Continuous monitoring and local communities’ participation need to be improved to maintain the current reef condition and provide better insight regarding coastal ecosystem management.

Reef fish community structure in the islands of Paraja Bay, Pandeglang District, Banten, Indonesia

Abstract. Mujiyanto, Sugianti Y, Afandy YA, Rahayu R, Bidikusuma RA, Nasriri AS, Syam AR, Purnaningtyas SE. 2021. Reef fish community structure in the islands of Paraja Bay, Pandeglang District, Banten, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 4402-4413. Paraja Bay waters have five small islands that coexist with Ujung Kulon National Marine Park and act as a buffer zone for the diversity of fishery resources. This study aimed to assess the reef fishes community structure at small islands in Paraja Bay. Observations were made in 20 locations during August and September 2019 in the five small islands. Reef fishes community structure showed 106 species as included major group (54 species), indicator group (24 species) and target group (28 species), among five small islands, i.e. Badul, Mangir, Oar, Sumur and Umang Islands. The highest reef fishes abundance was founded in Umang Island waters. Several target fish species recorded during the study were mature fish (such as those targeted by fishermen). Only a small proportion were juveniles. Reef fish community structure was categorized as stress community to stable community with its indication was low diversity value, high evenness index, and low dominance. The low diversity index value illustrates that the level of uniformity of reef fish species in Paraja Bay waters is high. This condition is evidenced by each coral fish group's evenness index included in the main species group around 0.93 to 0.98. The target species is 0.88 to 0.99.

Impact of marine protected areas on economical important coral reef fish communities: An evaluation of the biological monitoring of coral reef fish in Anambas Islands, Indonesia

Abstract. Putra RD, Siringiringo RM, Suryanti A, Sari NWP, Sinaga M, Hidayati NV, Hukom FD, Abrar M, Makatipu PC, Sianturi R, Ilham Y. 2021. Impact of marine protected areas on economical important coral reef fish communities: An evaluation of the biological monitoring of coral reef fish in Anambas Islands, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 4169-4181. The use of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is the core strategy to reduce the impact of the anthropogenic stressor on marine fisheries, especially in reducing the overexploitation of fisheries resources and destructive fishing in which this plays a significant role in the conservation of marine biodiversity and populations. We conducted a study over 4 years to evaluate and assess the impact of MPAs on economically important reef fish in the Anambas Islands. We compared density, size, biomass, and diversity indices from the seven families of coral reef fish (Acanthuridae, Haemulidae, Lethrinidae, Lutjanidae, Scaridae, Siganidae, and Serranidae) using Underwater Visual Census (UVC) with a total of 12 MPAs stations (70-m transect). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to evaluate and assess reserve protection on the coral reef fish, and several ecological indices were used to compare the potential change of economically coral reef fish diversity. We also measured the rate of change in coral cover to identify the effectiveness of the MPAs. After 4 years of studies, our result showed that there was an increase of economical reefs. Fish diversity, density, and biomass increased by 244%, 257%, and 179% respectively. There was no significant difference in the rate of coral cover change among MPAs stations. Economical coral reef fish in Anambas Islands were restored in marine reserve overtimes after fisheries restriction protection, but this does not change the rate of coral cover through time. In addition, the government managed and increased community awareness that significantly influenced decreasing destructive fishing practices and overexploited reef fish species in Anambas Islands but no change in coral cover. The MPAs environmental condition and natural disturbance, including thermal stress and high sedimentation, play a key role in coral cover recovery besides fisheries restriction in the MPAs area.

Environmental biomonitoring of reef fish community structure with eDNA metabarcoding in the Coral Triangle

Environmental biomonitoring of reef fish community structure with eDNA metabarcoding in the Coral Triangle