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Abiotic and biotic controls of cryptobenthic fish assemblages across a Caribbean seascape

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Abstract

The majority of fish studies on coral reefs consider only non-cryptic species and, despite their functional importance, data on cryptic species are scarce. This study investigates inter-habitat variation in Caribbean cryptobenthic fishes by re-analysing a comprehensive data set from 58 rotenone stations around Buck Island, U.S. Virgin Islands. Boosted regression trees were used to associate the density and diversity of non-piscivorous cryptobenthic fishes, both in the entire data set and on reef habitats alone, with 14 abiotic and biotic variables. The study also models the habitat requirements of the three commonest species. Dead coral cover was the first or second most important variable in six of the eight models constructed. For example, within the entire data set, the number of species and total fish density increased approximately linearly with increasing dead coral cover. Dead coral was also important in multivariate analyses that discriminated 10 assemblages within the entire data set. On reef habitats, the number of species and total fish density increased dramatically when dead coral exceeded ~55 %. Live coral cover was typically less important for explaining variance in fish assemblages than dead coral, but live corals were important for maintaining high fish diversity. Coral species favoured by cryptobenthic species may be particularly susceptible to mortality, but dead coral may also provide abundant food and shelter for many fishes. Piscivore density was a key variable in the final models, but typically increased with increasing cryptobenthic fish diversity and abundance, suggesting both groups of fishes are responding to the same habitat variables. The density of territorial damselfishes reduced the number of cryptobenthic fish species on reef habitats. Finally, habitats delineated by standard remote sensing techniques supported distinct cryptobenthic fish assemblages, suggesting that such maps can be used as surrogates of general patterns of cryptic fish biodiversity in conservation planning.

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Acknowledgments

ARH is grateful to the Marine Spatial Ecology Laboratory for discussions which improved the paper, especially Y.-M. Bozec and P. Sutcliffe. We thank N. Wolff for preparation of Fig. 1 and Figure E4.1 in the ESM. ARH was supported by Fellowship NE/F015704/1 from the Natural Environment Research Council. We are grateful to NOAA/NOS, C. Caldow, J. Christensen, M. Monaco and Z. Hillis-Starr for generous assistance with the original study and permitting process (permit # BUIS-2001-SCI-0003). Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Spatial Ecology Laboratory, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hatherly Laboratory, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK

    A. R. Harborne

  2. Marine Spatial Ecology Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Goddard Building, St. Lucia Campus, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    A. R. Harborne

  3. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, University of Queensland, Goddard Building, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    A. R. Harborne

  4. Southeast Ecological Science Center, US Geological Survey, 7920 NW 71st Street, Gainesville, FL, 32653, USA

    H. L. Jelks

  5. Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    W. F. Smith-Vaniz

  6. Section of Ichthyology, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA, 94118, USA

    L. A. Rocha

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  1. A. R. Harborne
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  2. H. L. Jelks
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  3. W. F. Smith-Vaniz
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  4. L. A. Rocha
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Correspondence to A. R. Harborne.

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Harborne, A.R., Jelks, H.L., Smith-Vaniz, W.F. et al. Abiotic and biotic controls of cryptobenthic fish assemblages across a Caribbean seascape. Coral Reefs 31, 977–990 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0938-4

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