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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Short-term changes of fish assemblages observed in the near-pristine reefs of the Phoenix Islands
Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, Volume 24, No. 2, Year 2014
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Description
Climate change-related disturbances are increasingly recognized as critical threats to biodiversity and species abundance. On coral reefs, climate disturbances have known consequences for reef fishes, but it is often difficult to isolate the effect of coral bleaching from preceding or simultaneous disturbances such as fishing, pollution, and habitat loss. In this study, pre-bleaching surveys of fish family assemblages in the remote Phoenix Islands in 2002 are compared to post-bleaching in 2005, following severe thermal stress. Post-bleaching, total coral cover decreased substantially, as did the combined abundance of all fish families. Yet, changes in abundance for specific fish families were not uniform, and varied greatly from site to site. Of the 13 fish families examined, 3 exhibited significant changes in abundance from 2002 to 2005, regardless of site (Carangidae, Chaetodontidae, and serranid subfamily Epinephelinae). For these families, we explored whether changes in abundance were related to island type (island vs atoll) and/or declining coral cover (percent change). Carangidae on islands experienced larger changes in abundance than those on atolls, though declines in abundance over time were not associated with changes in live coral cover. In contrast, for Chaetodontidae, declines in abundance over time were most dramatic on atolls, and were also associated with changes in live coral cover. The remoteness of the Phoenix Islands excludes many typical local anthropogenic stressors as drivers of short-term changes; observed changes are instead more likely attributed to natural variation in fish populations, or associated with coral loss following the 2002-2003 major thermal stress event. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
Authors & Co-Authors
Mangubhai, Sangeeta
Fiji, Suva
Iucn Oceania Regional Office
United States, Boston
John H. Prescott Marine Laboratory
Strauch, Ayron M.
United States, Boston
John H. Prescott Marine Laboratory
Obura, David Obare
United States, Boston
John H. Prescott Marine Laboratory
Kenya, Mombasa
Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean East Africa
Stone, Gregory S.
United States, Boston
John H. Prescott Marine Laboratory
United States, Arlington
Global Marine Division
Rotjan, Randi D.
United States, Boston
John H. Prescott Marine Laboratory
Statistics
Citations: 5
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1007/s11160-013-9327-5
ISSN:
09603166
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study