Latitudinal gradients in Atlantic reef fish communities: trophic structure and spatial use patterns

Trophic strategies and spatial use habits were investigated in reef fish communities. The results supported the hypothesis of differential use of food resources among tropical and higher latitude reef fishes, i.e. the number of species and relative abundance of fishes relying on relatively low-quality food significantly decreased from tropical to temperate latitudes. The species: genus ratio of low-quality food consumers increased toward the tropics, and was higher than the overall ratio considering all fishes in the assemblages. This supports the view that higher speciation rates occurred among this guild of fishes in warm waters. It was also demonstrated that density of herbivorous fishes (the dominant group relying on low-quality food resources) in the western Atlantic decreased from tropical to temperate latitudes. Spatial use and mobility varied with latitude and consequently reef type and complexity. Fishes with small-size home ranges predominated on tropical coral reefs. (C) 2004 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

[1]  John C. Briggs,et al.  Oceanic Islands, Endemism, and Marine Paleotemperatures , 1966 .

[2]  R. Carpenter.  PARTITIONING HERBIVORY AND ITS EFFECTS ON CORAL REEF ALGAL COMMUNITIES , 1986 .

[3]  T. Brey,et al.  Energy content of macrobenthic invertebrates: general conversion factors from weight to energy , 1988 .

[4]  S. R. Floeter,et al.  The southwestern Atlantic reef fish fauna: composition and zoogeographic patterns , 2000 .

[5]  P. Motta.  Dentition patterns among Pacific and Western Atlantic butterflyfishes (Perciformes, Chaetodontidae): relationship to feeding ecology and evolutionary history , 1989, Environmental Biology of Fishes.

[6]  T. Targett,et al.  The nutritional role of seagrass in the diet of the omnivorous pinfish Lagodon rhomboides (L.) , 1992 .

[7]  J. H. Bruggemann.  Parrotfish grazing on coral reefs: A trophic novelty , 1995 .

[8]  M. Ilan,et al.  Comparison of anti-predatory defenses of Red Sea and Caribbean sponges. II. Physical defense , 2003 .

[9]  G. Russ,et al.  Grazer biomass correlates more strongly with production than with biomass of algal turfs on a coral reef , 2003, Coral Reefs.

[10]  M. Harmelin-Vivien.  CHAPTER 12 – Energetics and Fish Diversity on Coral Reefs , 2002 .

[11]  S. Gaines,et al.  A Unified Approach to Marine Plant-Herbivore Interactions. I. Populations and Communities , 1981 .

[12]  L. McCook,et al.  TERRITORIAL DAMSELFISHES AS DETERMINANTS OF THE STRUCTURE OF BENTHIC COMMUNITIES ON CORAL REEFS , 2001 .

[13]  J. Cebrian.  Variability and control of carbon consumption, export, and accumulation in marine communities , 2002 .

[14]  Pawlik,et al.  Defenses of Caribbean sponges against predatory reef fish. II. Spicules, tissue toughness, and nutritional quality , 1995 .

[15]  G. Vermeij,et al.  Giving and Receiving - the Tropical Atlantic As Donor and Recipient Region for Invading Species , 1993 .

[16]  W. Cooper,et al.  Distribution, extent, and evolution of plant consumption by lizards , 2002 .

[17]  A. Brito,et al.  Structure of and relationships within and between the littoral, rock-substrate fish communities off four islands in the Canarian Archipelago , 1996 .

[18]  M. Hay.  The ecology and evolution of seaweed-herbivore interactions on coral reefs , 1997, Coral Reefs.

[19]  J. Pawlik,et al.  Video-monitored predation by Caribbean reef fishes on an array of mangrove and reef sponges , 1996 .

[20]  U. Båmstedt,et al.  Energy contents in benthic and planktonic invertebrates of Kosterfjorden, Sweden. A comparison of energetic strategies in marine organism groups , 1984 .

[21]  P. Wirtz,et al.  Food and gut length of 14 Adriatic blenniid fish (Blenniidae; Percomorpha; Teleostei) , 1984 .

[22]  E. Hobson,et al.  Influence of Trophic Relations on Form and Behavior Among Fishes and Benthic Invertebrates in Some California Marine Communities , 2001, Environmental Biology of Fishes.

[23]  David R. Bellwood,et al.  Assembly rules and functional groups at global biogeographical scales , 2002 .

[24]  S. Bortone,et al.  A visual assessment of the inshore and fishery resources off El Hierro, Canary Islands: A baseline survey , 1991 .

[25]  J. G. Charton,et al.  Correlation between habitat structure and a rocky reef fish assemblage in the Southwest Mediterranean , 1998 .

[26]  D. Bellwood.  A phylogenetic study of the parrotfish family Scaridae (Pisces: Labroidea), with a revision of genera , 1994 .

[27]  J. Choat.  CHAPTER 6 – The Biology of Herbivorous Fishes on Coral Reefs , 1991 .

[28]  M. Fasola,et al.  Resource use by a Mediterranean rocky slope fish assemblage , 1997 .

[29]  E. Munn,et al.  Feeding and Digestion , 2002 .

[30]  K. Clements,et al.  Daily feeding rates in herbivorous labroid fishes , 1993 .

[31]  R. Reisz,et al.  Origins and early evolution of herbivory in tetrapods. , 1998, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[32]  M. Hixon.  Effects of Reef Fishes on Corals and Algae , 1997 .

[33]  Joseph R. Pawlik.  Marine invertebrate chemical defenses , 1993 .

[34]  M. Wells.  Feeding and digestion , 1978 .

[35]  J. Pawlik,et al.  A reappraisal of the chemical and physical defenses of Caribbean gorgonian corals against predatory fishes , 2002 .

[36]  D. R. Robertson,et al.  INTERSPECIFIC COMPETITION CONTROLS ABUNDANCE AND HABITAT USE OF TERRITORIAL CARIBBEAN DAMSELFISHES , 1996 .

[37]  S. Holbrook,et al.  Biogenic habitat structure and characteristics of temperate reef fish assemblages , 1990 .

[38]  J. Hatfield.  Experiments in Ecology: Their Logical Design and Interpretation Using Analysis of Variance , 1998 .

[39]  J. Bohnsack,et al.  A stationary visual census technique for quantitatively assessing community structure of coral reef fishes , 1986 .

[40]  J. E. N. Veron,et al.  Corals in space and time : biogeography and evolution of the Scleractinia , 1995 .

[41]  L. Rocha,et al.  Geographic variation in reef-fish assemblages along the Brazilian coast , 2001 .

[42]  M. Dethier,et al.  Spatial Patterns in Macroalgal Chemical Defenses , 2001 .

[43]  V. Paul.  Ecological Roles of Marine Natural Products , 2020 .

[44]  G. Barlow,et al.  Fishes of the world , 2004, Environmental Biology of Fishes.

[45]  M. Harmelin-Vivien.  Reef Fish Community Structure: An Indo-Pacific Comparison , 1989 .

[46]  D. Bellwood,et al.  The history and biogeography of fishes on coral reefs , 2002 .

[47]  R. Toonen,et al.  Defenses of Caribbean sponges against predatory reef fish. I. Chemical deterrency , 1995 .

[48]  David R. Bellwood,et al.  Ecomorphology of feeding in coral reef fishes , 2002 .

[49]  R. Coutinho,et al.  Seasonal grazing rates and food processing by tropical herbivorous fishes , 1998 .

[50]  M. Samoilys,et al.  Determining Methods of Underwater Visual Census for Estimating the Abundance of Coral Reef Fishes , 2000, Environmental Biology of Fishes.

[51]  R. Galzin,et al.  Influence of live coral cover on coral-reef fish communities , 1984 .

[52]  M. Girolamo,et al.  Littoral fish community of the Island Lampedusa (Italy): A visual census approach , 1998 .

[53]  K. Clements,et al.  The trophic status of herbivorous fishes on coral reefs , 2002 .

[54]  G. Jones.  CHAPTER 7 – Fish Predation and Its Impact on the Invertebrates of Coral Reefs and Adjacent Sediments , 1991 .

[55]  C. Braak,et al.  Canonical correspondence analysis and related multivariate methods in aquatic ecology , 1995, Aquatic Sciences.

[56]  B. Luckhurst,et al.  Diurnal space utilization in coral reef fish communities , 1978 .

[57]  D. Bellwood,et al.  Alimentary tract morphology and diet in three coral reef fish families , 2003 .

[58]  S. Lewis.  Herbivory on coral reefs: algal susceptibility to herbivorous fishes , 1985, Oecologia.

[59]  T. J. Willis,et al.  Visual census methods underestimate density and diversity of cryptic reef fishes , 2001 .

[60]  James Parrish,et al.  Habitat characteristics affecting fish assemblages on a Hawaiian coral reef , 1998 .

[61]  J. Joyeux,et al.  Trophic structure patterns of Brazilian reef fishes: a latitudinal comparison , 2004 .

[62]  E. Sala.  The role of fishes in the organization of a Mediterranean sublittoral community: II: Epifaunal communities , 1997 .

[63]  R. A. Epifanio,et al.  Chemical Defenses Against Fish Predation in Three Brazilian Octocorals: 11β,12β-Epoxypukalide as a Feeding Deterrent in Phyllogorgia dilatata , 1999, Journal of Chemical Ecology.

[64]  L. Mawdesley-Thomas.  THE FISHERIES SOCIETY OF THE BRITISH ISLES , 1970 .

[65]  D. Bellwood,et al.  Detritus in the epilithic algal matrix and its use by coral reef fishes , 2003 .

[66]  E. Hobson,et al.  Relationships among fishes and their prey in a nearshore sand community off southern California , 2013, Environmental Biology of Fishes.

[67]  S. Wilson,et al.  Nutritional value of detritus and algae in blenny territories on the Great Barrier Reef , 2002 .

[68]  J. E. Randall.  Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies , 1967 .

[69]  M. Meekan,et al.  Latitudinal variation in abundance of herbivorous fishes: a comparison of temperate and tropical reefs , 1997 .

[70]  J. Pawlik.  Coral reef sponges: Do predatory fishes affect their distribution? , 1998 .

[71]  Alfred W. Ebeling,et al.  CHAPTER 18 – Tropical and Temperate Reef Fishes: Comparison of Community Structures , 1991 .

[72]  K. Clements,et al.  Hindgut Fermentation in Three Species of Marine Herbivorous Fish , 2002, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[73]  R. Coutinho,et al.  Herbivory by the Dusky Damselfish Stegastes fuscus (Cuvier, 1830) in a tropical rocky shore: effects on the benthic community , 1998 .

[74]  M. Hay,et al.  Fish-Seaweed Interactions on Coral Reefs : Effects of Herbivorous Fishes and Adaptations of Their Prey , 2022 .

[75]  S. Bowen,et al.  Dietary Protein and Energy as Determinants of Food Quality: Trophic Strategies Compared , 1995 .

[76]  K. Clements,et al.  VERTEBRATE HERBIVORES IN MARINE AND TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS: A Nutritional Ecology Perspective , 1998 .

[77]  R. Coutinho,et al.  Community Structure of Fishes and Habitat Complexity on a Tropical Rocky Shore , 2001, Environmental Biology of Fishes.

[78]  D. Bellwood.  Origins and escalation of herbivory in fishes: a functional perspective , 2003, Paleobiology.

[79]  J. Hajagos,et al.  A visual survey of the inshore fish communities of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands). , 2001 .

[80]  E. Sala.  The role of fishes in the organization of a Mediterranean sublittoral community , 1997 .

[81]  M. Hay.  CHAPTER 5 – Fish—Seaweed Interactions on Coral Reefs: Effects of Herbivorous Fishes and Adaptations of Their Prey , 1991 .

[82]  M. Hill.  Spongivory on Caribbean reefs releases corals from competition with sponges , 1998, Oecologia.

[83]  G. Jones.  Ecology of rocky reef fish of north‐eastern New Zealand: A review , 1988 .

[84]  M. Horn.  Biology of marine herbivorous fishes , 1989 .

[85]  P. Verburg,et al.  Foraging by the stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride. 11.: Intake and assimilation of food, protein and energy , 1994 .

[86]  Á. Pérez-Ruzafa,et al.  Spatial pattern and the habitat structure of a Mediterranean rocky reef fish local assemblage , 2001 .

[87]  H. Wennhage,et al.  Structure and diversity of fish assemblages on rocky and soft bottom shores on the Swedish west coast , 2002 .

[88]  E. Hobson.  Ecological relations in the evolution of acanthopterygian fishes in warm-temperate communities of the northeastern Pacific , 1994, Environmental Biology of Fishes.

[89]  O. Aburto‐Oropeza,et al.  Community Structure of Reef Fish in Several Habitats of a Rocky Reef in the Gulf of California , 2001 .