Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The functional importance of Acropora austera as nursery areas for juvenile reef fish on South African coral reefs

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

Abstract

Many coral reef fish species use mangrove and seagrass beds as nursery areas. However, in certain regions, the absence or scarcity of such habitats suggests that juvenile coral reef fish may be seeking refuge elsewhere. The underlying biogenic substratum of most coral reefs is structurally complex and provides many types of refuge. However, on young or subtropical coral reefs, species may be more reliant on the living coral layer as nursery areas. Such is the case on the high-latitude coral reefs of South Africa where the coral communities consist of a thin veneer of coral overlaying late Pleistocene bedrock. Thus, the morphology of coral species may be a major determinant in the availability of refuge space. Acropora austera is a branching species that forms large patches with high structural complexity. Associated with these patches is a diverse community of fish species, particularly juveniles. Over the past decade, several large (>100 m2) A. austera patches at Sodwana Bay have been diminishing for unknown reasons and there is little evidence of their replacement or regrowth. Seven patches of A. austera (AP) and non-A. austera (NAP) were selected and monitored for 12 months using visual surveys to investigate the importance of AP as refugia and nursery areas. There were significant differences in fish communities between AP and NAP habitats. In total, 110 species were recorded within the patches compared to 101 species outside the patches. Labrids and pomacentrids were the dominant species in the AP habitats, while juvenile scarids, acanthurids, chaetodons and serranids were also abundant. The diversity and abundance of fish species increased significantly with AP size. As the most structurally complex coral species on the reefs, the loss of APs may have significant implications for the recruitment and survival of certain fish species.

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
Fig. 7

References

  • Agudo-Adriani EA, Cappelletto J, Cavada-Blanco F, Croquer A (2016) Colony geometry and structural complexity of the endangered species Acropora cervicornis partly explains the structure of their associated fish assemblage. PeerJ 4:e1861

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • AIMS (Australian Institute of Marine Science) (2013) Coral fact sheets – Acropora austera. www.coral.aims.gov.au/factsheet.jsp?speciesCode=0561

  • Almany GR (2004) Differential effects of habitat complexity, predators and competitors on abundance of juvenile and adult coral reef fishes. Oecologia 141:105–113

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alvarez-Filip L, Dulvy NK, Gill JA, Côté IM, Watkinson AR (2009) Flattening of Caribbean coral reefs: region-wide declines in architectural complexity. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 276:3019–3025

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck MW, Heck KL, Able KW, Childers DL, Eggleston DB, Gillanders BM, Halpern B, Hays CG, Hoshino K, Minello TJ, Orth RJ (2001) The identification, conservation, and management of estuarine and marine nurseries for fish and invertebrates. BioScience 51:633–641

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell JD, Galzin R (1984) Influence of live coral on coral-reef fish. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 15:265–274

    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 

  • Bergman KC, Öhman MC, Svensson S (2000) Influence of habitat structure on Pomacentrus sulfureus, a western Indian Ocean reef fish. Environ Biol Fish 59:243–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behrents KC (1987) The influence of shelter availability on recruitment and early juvenile survivorship of Lythrypnus dalli Gilber (Pisces: Gobidae). J Exp Mar Bio Ecol 107:45–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonin MC (2012) Specializing on vulnerable habitat: Acropora selectivity among damselfish recruits and the risk of bleaching-induced habitat loss. Coral Reefs 31:287–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bohnsack JA, Bannerot SP (1986) A stationary visual census technique for quantitatively assessing community structure of coral reef fishes. NOAA Technical Report 41, National Marine Fisheries Service, US Department of Commerce. 15 pp

  • Cabaitan PC, Gomez ED, Alino PM (2008) Effects of coral transplantation and giant clam restocking on the structure of fish communities on degraded patch reefs. J Exp Mar Bio Ecol 357:85–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Celliers L, Schleyer MH (2001) Acropora hyacinthus and Acropora austera dominance on a high-energy reef top at Kosi Bay. South Africa. Coral Reefs 20:244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Celliers L, Schleyer MH (2008) Coral community structure and risk assessment of high-latitude reefs at Sodwana Bay, South Africa. Biodivers Conserv 17:3097–3117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chabanet P, Ralambondrainy H, Amanieu M, Faure G, Galzin R (1997) Relationships between coral reef substrata and fish. Coral Reefs 16:93–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR, Gorley RN (2006) User manual/tutorial. Primer-E Ltd, Plymouth, UK 93 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Coker DJ, Pratchett MS, Munday PL (2009) Coral bleaching and habitat degradation increase susceptibility to predation for coral-dwelling fishes. Behav Ecol 20:1204–1210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coker DJ, Graham NAJ, Pratchett MS (2012) Interactive effects of live coral and structural complexity on the recruitment of reef fishes. Coral reefs 31:919–927

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coker DJ, Wilson SK, Pratchett MS (2014) Importance of live coral habitat for reef fishes. Rev Fish Biol Fish 24:89–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole AJ, Pratchett MS, Jones GP (2008) Diversity and importance of coral-feeding fishes on tropical coral reefs. Fish Fish 9:286–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeMartini EE, Anderson TW (2007) Habitat associations and aggregation of recruit fishes on Hawaiian coral reefs. Bull Mar Sci 81:139–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorenbosch M, Grol MGG, Christianen MJA, Nagelkerken I, van der Velde G (2005) Indo-Pacific seagrass beds and mangroves contribute to fish density and diversity on adjacent coral reefs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 302:63–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emslie M, Cheal A, Sweatman H, Delean J (2008) Recovery from disturbance of coral and reef fish communities on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 371:177–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feary DA, Almany GR, McCormick MI, Jones GP (2007) Habitat choice, recruitment and the response of coral reef fishes to coral degradation. Oecologia 153:727–737

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Friedlander AM, Parrish JD (1998) Habitat characteristics affecting fish assemblages on a Hawaiian coral reef. J Exp Mar Bio Ecol 224:1–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garpe KC, Öhman MC (2007) Non-random habitat use by coral reef fish recruits in Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania. Afr J Mar Sci 29:187–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garpe KC, Yahya SAS, Lindahl U, Öhman MC (2006) Long-term effects of the 1998 bleaching event on reef fish assemblages. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 315:237–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham NAJ, Nash KL (2013) The importance of structural complexity in coral reef ecosystems. Coral Reefs 32:315–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham NAJ, Wilson SK, Jennings S, Polunin NVC, Bijoux J, Robinson J (2006) Dynamic fragility of oceanic coral reef ecosystems. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 13:8425–8429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gratwicke B, Speight MR (2005) Effects of habitat complexity on Caribbean marine fish assemblages. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 292:301–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimmer A (2011) Accretion versus bioerosion on the Maputaland reefs in South Africa – the major processes. MSc thesis, Oceanographic Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 79 p

  • Hixon MA, Menge BA (1991) Species diversity: prey refuges modify the interactive effects of predation and competition. Theor Popul Biol 39:178–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huijbers C, Nagelkerken I, Debrot AO, Jongejans E (2013) Geographic coupling of juvenile and adult habitat shapes spatial population dynamics of a coral reef fish. Ecology 94:1859–1870

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MK, Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ, Brooks AJ (2011) Fish communities on staghorn coral: effects of habitat characteristics and resident farmerfishes. Environ Biol Fish 91:429–448

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones DL, Walter JF, Brooks EN, Serafy JE (2010) Connectivity through ontogeny: fish population linkages among mangrove and coral reef habitats. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 401:245–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones GP, McCormick MI, Srinivasan M, Eagle JV (2004) Coral decline threatens fish biodiversity in marine reserves. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101:8251–8253

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Laegdsgaard P, Johnson CR (2001) Why do juvenile fish utilise mangrove habitats? J Exp Mar Bio Ecol 257:229–253

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb JB, True JD, Piromvaragorn S, Willis BL (2014) Scuba diving damage and intensity of tourist activities increases coral disease prevalence. Biol Conserv 178:88–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loya Y, Sakai K, Yamazato K, Nakano Y, Sambali H, Van Woesik R (2001) Coral bleaching: the winners and the losers. Ecol Lett 4:122–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luckhurst BE, Luckhurst K (1978) Analysis of the influence of substrate variable on coral reef fish communities. Mar Biol 49:317–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutjeharms JRE (2006) The Agulhas Current. Springer, Berlin 330 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • McCormick MI (1995) Fish feeding on mobile benthic invertebrates: influence of variability in habitat associations. Mar Biol 121:627–637

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McManus JW, Reyes RB Jr, Nañola CL Jr (1997) Effects of some destructive fishing methods on coral cover and potential rates of recovery. Environ Manage 21:69–78

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mumby PJ (2006) Connectivity of reef fish between mangroves and coral reefs: algorithms for the design of marine reserves at seascape scales. Biol Conserv 128:215–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mumby PJ, Edwards AJ, Arias-Gonzalez JE, Lindeman KC, Blackwell PG, Gall A, Gorczynska MI, Harborne AR, Pescod CL, Renken H, Wabnitz CCC, Llewellyn G (2004) Mangroves enhance the biomass of coral reef fish communities in the Caribbean. Nature 427:533–536

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nagelkerken I, van der Velde G (2002) Do non-estuarine mangroves harbour higher densities of juvenile fish than adjacent shallow-water and coral reef habitats in Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles)? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 245:191–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagelkerken I, van der Velde G, Gorissen MW, Meijer GJ, van’t Hof T, den Hartog C (2000) Importance of mangroves, seagrass beds and the shallow coral reef as a nursery for important coral reef fishes, using a visual census technique. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 51:31–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagelkerken I, Roberts CM, Van der Velde G, Dorenbosch M, van Riel MC, Cocheret de la Morinière E, Nienhuis PH (2002) How important are mangroves and seagrass beds for coral-reef fish? The nursery hypothesis tested on an island scale. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 244:299–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura Y, Sano M (2004) Overlaps in habitat use of fishes between a seagrass bed and adjacent coral and sand areas at Amitori Bay, Iriomote Island, Japan: importance of the seagrass bed as juvenile habitat. Fish Sci 70:788–803

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Obura DO (2001) Can differential bleaching and mortality among coral species offer useful indicators for assessment and management of reefs under stress? Bull Mar Sci 69:421–442

    Google Scholar 

  • Öhman MC, Rajasuriya A, Ólafsson E (1997) Reef fish assemblages in north-western Sri Lanka: distribution patterns and influences of fishing practises. Environ Biol Fish 49:45–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rajasuriya A, Öhman MC, Johnstone RW (1998) Coral and sandstone reef-habitats in southern Sri Lanka: patterns in the distribution of coral communities. Ambio 27:726–728

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramsay PJ, Mason TR (1990) Development of a type zoning model for Zululand coral reefs, Sodwana Bay, South Africa. J Coast Res 6:829–852

    Google Scholar 

  • Riegl B (2001) Inhibition of reef framework by frequent disturbance: examples from the Arabian Gulf, South Africa, and the Cayman Islands. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 175:79–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz-Moreno D, Willis BL, Page AC, Weil E, Croquer A, Vargas-Angel B, Jordan-Garza AG, Jordan-Dahlgren E, Raymundo L, Harvell CD (2012) Global coral disease prevalence associated with sea temperature anomalies and local factors. Dis Aquat Organ 100:249–261

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scheibling RE, Metaxas A (2009) Mangroves and fringing reefs as nursery habitats for the endangered Caribbean sea star Oreaster reticulatus. Bull Mar Sci 86:133–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry, 3rd edn. Freeman and Company, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Syms C, Jones GP (2000) Disturbance, habitat structure, and the dynamics of a coral-reef fish community. Ecology 81:2714–2729

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ticzon VS, Mumby PJ, Samaniego BR, Bejarano-Chavarro S, David LT (2012) Microhabitat use of juvenile coral reef fish in Palau. Environ Biol Fishes 95:355–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verweij MC, Nahelkerken I, Hans I, Rusler SM (2008) Seagrass nurseries contribute to coral reef fish populations. Limnol Oceanogr 53:1540–1547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willis TJ, Anderson MJ (2003) Structure of cryptic reef fish assemblages: relationships with habitat characteristics and predator density. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 257:209–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson SK, Burgess SC, Cheal AJ, Emslie M, Fisher R, Miller I, Polunin NVC, Sweatman HPA (2008a) Habitat utilization by coral reef fish: implications for specialists vs. generalists in a changing environment. J Anim Ecol 77:220–228

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson SK, Fisher R, Pratchett MS, Graham NAJ, Dulvy NK, Turner RA, Cakacakas A, Polunin NVC, Rushton SP (2008b) Exploitation and habitat degradation as agents of change within coral reef fish communities. Glob Chang Biol 14:2796–2809

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson SK, Depczynski M, Fisher R, Holmes TH, O’Leary RA, Tinkler P (2010) Habitat associations of juvenile fish at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia: the importance of coral and algae. PLoS One 5:e15185

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zar JH (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edn. Prentice Hall, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the staff of the Oceanographic Research Institute for assistance in the field and logistical support. Funding was provided by the South African Association for Marine Biological Research. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oceanographic Research Institute, 1 King Shaka Avenue, Durban, 4056, South Africa

    C. Floros & M. H. Schleyer

Authors
  1. C. Floros
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. H. Schleyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Floros.

Additional information

Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Mark J.A. Vermeij

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 25 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Floros, C., Schleyer, M.H. The functional importance of Acropora austera as nursery areas for juvenile reef fish on South African coral reefs. Coral Reefs 36, 139–149 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-016-1499-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-016-1499-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation