Fishes

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20 pages, 4343 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Multi-Scale Coral Reef and Seascape Habitat Variables Combine to Influence Reef Fish Assemblages

by Katie T. Sievers, Eva C. McClure, Rene A. Abesamis and Garry R. Russ

Fishes 2024, 9(4), 137; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes9040137 - 15 Apr 2024

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While benthic characteristics of coral reef habitats are a major driver of the structure of coral reef fish assemblages, non-reef habitats adjacent to coral reefs (e.g., mangroves, seagrass beds, and macroalgal beds) can affect reef fish assemblages. Here, we investigate how reef fish [...] Read more.

While benthic characteristics of coral reef habitats are a major driver of the structure of coral reef fish assemblages, non-reef habitats adjacent to coral reefs (e.g., mangroves, seagrass beds, and macroalgal beds) can affect reef fish assemblages. Here, we investigate how reef fish assemblages respond to local-scale benthic habitats within a coral reef and larger-scale adjacent seascape features (habitats within 500 m of coral reefs) on Siquijor Island in the Philippines. We examined an abundance of species for the entire reef fish assemblage and within the assemblages of parrotfishes (subfamily Scarinae) and wrasses (family Labridae). Five distinct habitat types were identified in a cluster analysis, which incorporated benthic characteristics within coral reefs and habitats adjacent to coral reefs. We found that the diversity and structure of coral reef fish assemblages were affected by benthic characteristics within coral reefs and also by benthic habitat types adjacent to coral reefs. Individual species responses and juveniles of certain species demonstrated uniquely high abundances in habitat clusters characterized by the non-reef habitats surrounding coral reefs. Considering coral reef habitats and adjacent non-reef habitats as a holistic, interconnected seascape will provide better estimations of the drivers of the structures of coral reef fish assemblages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing the Spatial, Population and Ecological Dynamics of Coral Reef Fish)

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18 pages, 855 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Relationship between Mean Length at Maturity and Maximum Length in Coral Reef Fish

by Elaine Chu and Daniel Pauly

Fishes 2024, 9(4), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes9040130 - 09 Apr 2024

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Abstract

This article proposes a mechanism that triggers first maturation and spawning in coral reef (bony) fish, which allows for predicting their length at first maturity. Thus, mean lengths at first maturity (L_m) and the corresponding maximum lengths (L_max) in [...] Read more.

This article proposes a mechanism that triggers first maturation and spawning in coral reef (bony) fish, which allows for predicting their length at first maturity. Thus, mean lengths at first maturity (L_m) and the corresponding maximum lengths (L_max) in 207 populations of 131 species of coral reef fish were assembled and used to test the hypotheses that (a) there is, in coral reef fish, a single value of a size-related parameter acting as a trigger for their maturation and eventual spawning, and (b) that this single value is statistically the same as that published previously for other bony fish. The results, based on the assembled L_m and L_max data and on estimates of the parameter D, which link the length of fish with the relative surface of their gills, covered 44 families and L_max values ranging from 1.8 to 181.6 cm and confirmed that the threshold in (a) exists. Also, we assessed (in b) that this threshold value, i.e., L_max^D/L_m^D = 1.35 (±0.02), is not statistically different from similar estimates for other groups of teleosts, notably semelparous salmonids, cichlids, sturgeons and Chinese and Turkish freshwater and marine fish. One implication is that given ocean warming and deoxygenation, coral reef fish will not only be smaller than they currently are, but also mature and spawn at smaller sizes, and thus produce fewer, smaller eggs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing the Spatial, Population and Ecological Dynamics of Coral Reef Fish)

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19 pages, 5752 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Habitat Use of Two Coral-Associated Cryptobenthic Gobiid Fishes (Family: Gobiidae) in the Southern Caribbean

by Ann-Christin Ziebell, Maite L. Vogel, Niklas Kjell Ratajczak and Bert W. Hoeksema

Fishes 2023, 8(10), 531; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes8100531 - 23 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1715

Abstract

Cryptobenthic fishes make up more than half of coral reef fish fauna and contribute greatly to coral reef trophodynamics and diversity. Because of their small size, they are easily overlooked and understudied. Some of them use corals as their habitat, but this association [...] Read more.

Cryptobenthic fishes make up more than half of coral reef fish fauna and contribute greatly to coral reef trophodynamics and diversity. Because of their small size, they are easily overlooked and understudied. Some of them use corals as their habitat, but this association is not well understood. In the Caribbean, two common cryptobenthic gobies, Elacatinus evelynae and Coryphopterus lipernes, are usually observed residing on corals. In order to compare their habitat use, we investigated their distributions on a range of scleractinian host-coral species at three different depths (5, 10, and 15 m) at Curaçao, southern Caribbean. The numbers of both species were relatively low at 5 m. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship between fish size and depth and found that adult E. evelynae individuals were most common at 5 m depth and juveniles at 15 m depth. Novel host corals were found for both fish species. Taking host size into account, the gobies were most abundant on large coral colonies of two host species: E. evelynae on both Colpophyllia natans and Montastraea cavernosa, and C. lipernes only on C. natans. In summary, depth, host species, and host-colony size were found to be environmental factors that may determine the occurrence of both fish species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing the Spatial, Population and Ecological Dynamics of Coral Reef Fish)

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