Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Damselfish territories as a refuge for macroalgae on coral reefs

  • Report
  • Published:
Coral Reefs Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Herbivory is widely accepted as a key process determining the benthic community structure and resilience of coral reefs. Recent studies have mostly focused on the importance of roving herbivorous fishes in ecosystem processes. Here, we examine the role of territorial damselfish in shaping patterns of macroalgal distribution based on benthic surveys and macroalgal bioassays. The territory composition and effect of resident damselfish on the removal of Sargassum bioassays were quantified for six species of damselfish on Lizard Island, a mid-shelf reef in the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The functional composition of algal communities within territories varied markedly among species. The territories of four species (Dischistodus perspicillatus, Dischistodus pseudochrysopoecilus, Plectroglyphidodon lacrymatus, and Stegastes nigricans) were characterized by algal turfs, while the territories of two species (Dischistodus prosopotaenia and Hemiglyphidodon plagiometopon) were characterized by foliose and leathery brown macroalgae. Sargassum, a generally rare alga on mid-shelf reefs, was a particularly common alga within D. prosopotaenia territories on the leeward side of the island but absent within their territories on the windward side of the island. D. prosopotaenia was the only species to retain the transplanted Sargassum, with only a minimal reduction in Sargassum biomass (1.1%) being recorded within their territories at both leeward and windward sites over a 24-h period. In contrast, reductions in Sargassum biomass were high in areas adjacent to D. prosopotaenia territories (83.8%), and within and adjacent to the territories of the five remaining damselfish species (76.2–92.5%). Overall, only one of the six damselfish species provided a refuge for leathery brown macroalgae and may facilitate the development of this macroalgae on mid-shelf reefs of the GBR.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

References

  • Bay LK (1999) Interactions among the territorial behaviour, spatial distribution and habitat use of four congeneric damselfishes (Dischistodus: Pomacentridae). Hons thesis, James Cook University, p 113

  • Bellwood DR (1995) Carbonate transport and within-reef patterns of bioerosion and sediment release by parrotfish (family Scaridae) on the Great Barrier Reef. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 117:127–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood DR, Hughes TP, Folke C, Nyström M (2004) Confronting the coral reef crisis. Nature 429:827–833

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brawley SH, Adey WH (1977) Territorial behavior of threespot damselfish (Eupomacentrus planifrons) increase algal biomass and productivity. Environ Biol Fish 2:45–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ceccarelli DM (2007) Modification of benthic communities by territorial damselfish: a multi-species comparison. Coral Reefs 26:853–866

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ceccarelli DM, Jones GP, McCook LJ (2001) Territorial damselfishes as determinants of the structure of benthic communities on coral reefs. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 39:355–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Ceccarelli DM, Jones GP, McCook LJ (2005a) Effects of territorial damselfish on an algal-dominated coastal reef. Coral Reefs 24:606–620

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ceccarelli DM, Jones GP, McCook LJ (2005b) Foragers versus farmers: contrasting effects of two behavioural groups of herbivores on coral reefs. Oecologia 145:445–453

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ceccarelli DM, Hughes TP, McCook LJ (2006) Impacts of simulated overfishing on the territoriality of coral reef damselfish. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 309:255–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deysher I, Norton TA (1982) Dispersal and colonization in Sargassum muticum (Yendo) Fensholt. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 56:179–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ebersole JP (1977) The adaptive significance of interspecific territoriality in the reef fish Eupomacentrus leucostictus. Ecology 58:914–920

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox RJ, Bellwood DR (2008) Remote video bioassays reveal the potential feeding impact of the rabbitfish Siganus canaliculatus (f. Siganidae) on an inner-shelf reef on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 27:605–615

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fulton CJ, Bellwood DR (2005) Wave-induced water motion and the functional implications for coral reef fish assemblages. Limnol Oceanogr 50:255–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham NAJ, Wilson SK, Jennings S, Polunin NVC, Pijous JP, Robinson J (2006) Dynamic fragility of oceanic coral reef systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:8425–8429

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Green AL (1994) The early life history of labroid fishes at Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef. Ph.D. thesis, James Cook University, p 111

  • Hata H, Kato K (2003) Demise of monocultural algal farms by exclusion of territorial damselfish. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 263:159–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hata H, Kato K (2004) Monoculture and mixed-species algal farms on a coral reef are maintained through intensive and extensive management by damselfishes. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 313:285–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hay ME (1981) Spatial patterns of grazing intensity on a Caribbean barrier reef: herbivory and algal distribution. Aquat Bot 11:97–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hixon MA, Brostoff WN (1996) Succession and herbivory: effects of differential fish grazing on Hawaiian coral-reef algae. Ecol Monogr 66:67–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoey AS, Bellwood DR (2009) Limited functional redundancy in a high diversity system: single species dominates key ecological process on coral reefs. Ecosystems. doi: 10.1007/s10021-009-9291-z

  • Hoey AS, Bellwood DR (2010) Among habitat variation in herbivory on Sargassum spp. on a mid-shelf reef in the northern Great Barrier Reef. Mar Biol. doi: 10.1007/s00227-009-1309-8

  • Hourigan TF (1986) An experimental removal of a territorial pomacentrid: effects on the occurrence and behavior of competitors. Environ Biol Fish 15:161–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP (1994) Catastrophes, phase shifts, and large-scale degradation of a Caribbean coral reef. Science 265:1547–1551

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP, Rodrigues MJ, Bellwood DR, Ceccarelli D, Hoegh-Guldberg O, McCook L, Moltschaniwskyj N, Pratchett MS, Steneck RS, Willis B (2007) Phase shifts, herbivory, and the resilience of coral reefs to climate change. Curr Biol 17:360–365

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter CL, Evans CW (1995) Coral reefs in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii: two centuries of western influence and two decades of data. Bull Mar Sci 57:501–515

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones GP, Santana L, McCook LJ, McCormick MI (2006) Resource use and impact of three herbivorous damselfishes on coral reef communities. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 328:215–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kendrick GA, Walker DI (1995) Dispersal of propagules of Sargassum spp. (Sargassaceaea: Phaeophyta): observations of local patterns of dispersal and consequences for recruitment and population structure. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 192:273–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klumpp DW, McKinnon D, Daniel P (1987) Damselfish territories: zones of high productivity on coral reefs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 40:41–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lassuy DR (1980) Effects of “farming” behavior by Eupomacentrus lividus and Hemiglyphidodon plagiometopon on algal community structure. Bull Mar Sci 30:304–312

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis SM (1985) Herbivory on coral reefs: algal susceptibility to herbivorous fishes. Oecologia 65:370–375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney BM (1981) An examination of interspecific territoriality in the dusky damselfish, Eupomacentrus dorsopunicans Poey. Bull Mar Sci 31:141–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez E, Maamaatuaiahutapu K, Payri C, Ganachaud A (2007) Turbinaria ornata invasion in the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia: ocean drift connectivity. Coral Reefs 26:79–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClanahan TR, Muthiga NA, Mangi S (2001) Coral and algal changes after the 1998 coral bleaching: interaction with reef management and herbivores on Kenyan reefs. Coral Reefs 19:380–391

    Google Scholar 

  • McCook LJ (1996) Effects of herbivores and water quality on Sargassum distribution on the central Great Barrier Reef: cross-shelf transplants. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 139:179–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCook LJ (1997) Effects of herbivory on zonation of Sargassum spp. within fringing reefs of the central Great Barrier Reef. Mar Biol 129:713–722

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCook LJ (1999) Macroalgae, nutrients and phase shifts on coral reefs: scientific issues and management consequences for the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 18:357–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCook LJ, Price IR (1997) The state of the algae of the Great Barrier Reef: what do we know? In: Wachenfeld D, Oliver J, Davis K (eds) State of the GBR World Heritage Area report. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, pp 194–204

    Google Scholar 

  • Meekan MG, Steven ADL, Fortin MJ (1995) Spatial patterns in the distribution of damselfishes on a fringing coral reef. Coral Reefs 14:151–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mumby PJ, Steneck RS (2008) Coral reef management and conservation in light of rapidly evolving ecological paradigms. Trends Ecol Evol 23:555–563

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mumby PJ, Dahlgren CP, Harborne AR, Kappel CV, Micheli F, Brumbaugh DR, Holmes KE, Mendes JM, Broad K, Sanchirico JN, Buch K, Box S, Stoffle RW, Gill AB (2006) Fishing, trophic cascades, and the process of grazing on coral reefs. Science 311:98–101

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Polunin NVC, Klumpp DW (1992) Algal food supply and grazer demand in a very productive coral-reef zone. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 164:1–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Polunin NVC (1988) Efficient uptake of algal productivity by a single resident herbivorous fish on the reef. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 123:61–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randall JE, Allen GR, Steene RC (1997) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House, Bathurst

    Google Scholar 

  • Reinthal PN, MacIntyre IG (1994) Spatial and temporal variations in grazing pressure by herbivorous fishes: Tobacco Reef, Belize. Atoll Res Bull 425:1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson DR (1984) Cohabitation of competing territorial damselfishes on a Caribbean coral reef. Ecology 65:1121–1135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russ GR (1987) Is rate of removal of algae by grazers reduced inside territories of tropical damselfishes? J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 110:1–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer M, Carpenter SR, Foley J, Folke C, Walker BH (2001) Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems. Nature 413:591–596

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seber GAF (1984) Multivariate observations. Wiley, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sluka RD, Miller MW (2001) Herbivorous fish assemblages and herbivory pressure on Laamu Atoll, Republic of Maldives. Coral Reefs 20:255–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steneck RS (1988) Herbivory on coral reefs: a synthesis. Proceedings 6th International Coral Reef Symposium 1:37–49

  • Stiger V, Payri C (1999) Spatial and temporal patterns of settlement of the brown macroalgae Turbinaria ornata and Sargassum mangarevense in a coral reef on Tahiti. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 191:91–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson SK, Bellwood DR (1997) Cryptic dietary components of territorial damselfishes (Pomacentridae, Labroidei). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 153:299–310

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson SK, Bellwood DR, Choat JH, Furnas M (2003) Detritus in coral reef ecosystems and its use by coral reef fishes. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 41:279–309

    Google Scholar 

  • Wismer S, Hoey AS, Bellwood DR (2009) Cross-shelf benthic community structure on the Great Barrier Reef: relationships between macroalgal cover and herbivore biomass. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 376:45–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank J. Hoey, C. Lefèvre, P. Cowman, H. Francourt-Sims, and M. Young for field assistance. Comments by J. Hoey and two anonymous reviewers greatly improved the manuscript. We thank the staff at the Lizard Island Research Station—a facility of the Australian Museum for invaluable field support. Financial support was provided by The Ian Potter Doctoral Fellowship at Lizard Island (ASH) and the Australian Research Council (DRB).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    A. S. Hoey & D. R. Bellwood

Authors
  1. A. S. Hoey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. R. Bellwood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. S. Hoey.

Additional information

Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Philip Munday

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 262 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hoey, A.S., Bellwood, D.R. Damselfish territories as a refuge for macroalgae on coral reefs. Coral Reefs 29, 107–118 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-009-0567-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-009-0567-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation