Abstract
Surgeonfish (Acanthuridae) are prominent, herbivorous members of coral reef communities that occur as dispersed individuals and small, loose groups ('non-schooling fish') or as members of large, highly aggregated, mixed-species schools ('schooling fish'). We examined the relationships among fish size, habitat use and schooling in two species of surgeonfish on a fringing reef in Barbados, West Indies. Both ocean surgeonfish, Acanthurus bahianus, and blue tangs, A. coeruleus, appeared to show ontogenetic habitat shifts. The density of juvenile ocean surgeonfish was highest in the back reef (inshore), lower on the reef crest (intermediate) and lowest in the spurs and grooves (offshore) zone, but schooling adults were most abundant in the spurs and grooves zone. In a multiple regression considering the effects of depth, algal cover, rugosity and distance from shore, the density of non-schooling ocean surgeonfish was positively associated with percent algal cover on the substratum and negatively with distance from shore. Newly settled blue tangs occurred only in the reef crest and spurs and grooves zones, but larger juveniles were more common in the back reef, while adults were more evenly distributed across zones. The density of non-schooling blue tang was positively associated with rugosity, distance from shore, and percent algal cover. In both species, schooling occurred primarily in adults; small juveniles never participated in the large, dense schools. The proportion of adults that were schooling increased from the back reef to the reef crest to the spurs and grooves zone. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that schooling permits adult surgeonfish access to higher quality food in the territories of damselfish (Pomacentridae) that predominate on the reef crest and spurs.
Similar content being viewed by others
References cited
Alevizon, W.S. 1976. Mixed schooling and its possible significance in a tropical western Atlantic parrotfish and surgeonfish. Copeia 1976: 796–798.
Allard, P. 1994. Changes in coral community structure in Barbados: effects of eutrophication and reduced grazing pressure. M. Sc. Thesis, McGill University, Montreal. 49 pp.
Alleyne, S. 1996. The severity and aetiology of a mass mortality of reef fish on fringing reefs on the west coast of Barbados in 1994. M. Sc. Research Paper, University of West Indies, Cave Hill. 78 pp.
Barlow, G.W. 1974. Extraspecific imposition of social grouping among surgeonfishes (Pisces: Acanthuridae). J. Zool., Lond. 174: 333–340.
Bartels, P.J. 1984. Extra-territorial movements of a perennially territorial damselfish, Eupomacentrus dorsopunicans Poey. Behaviour 91: 312–321.
Brock, R.E. 1982. A critique of the visual census method for assessing coral reef fish populations. Bull. Mar. Sci. 32: 269–276.
Brock, V.E. 1954. A preliminary report on a method of estimating reef fish populations. J. Wildl. Manage. 18: 297–308.
Chapman, M. 1997. Coral reef fish movements and the effectiveness of the Barbados Marine Reserve. M.Sc. Thesis, McGill University, Montreal. 67 pp.
Choat, J.H. & D.R. Bellwood. 1991. Reef fishes: their history and evolution, pp. 39–66. In: P.F. Sale (ed.) The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs, Academic Press, San Diego.
Clarke, R.D. 1977. Habitat distribution and species diversity of chaetodontid and pomacentrid fishes near Bimini, Bahamas. Mar. Biol. 40: 277–289.
Collette, B.B. & F.H. Talbot. 1972. Activity patterns of coral reef fishes with emphasis on nocturnal-diurnal changeover. Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Los Angeles County 14: 98–124.
Foster, S.A. 1985a. Group foraging by a coral reef fish: a mechanism for gaining access to defended resources. Anim. Behav. 33: 782–792.
Foster, S.A. 1985b. Size-dependent territory defense by a damselfish: a determinant of resource use by group-foraging surgeonfishes. Oecologia 67: 499–505.
Fretwell, S.D. 1972. Populations in a seasonal environment. Princeton University Press, Princeton. 217 pp.
Gladfelter, W.B., J.C. Ogden & E.H. Gladfelter. 1980. Similarity and diversity among coral reef fish communities: a comparison between tropical western Atlantic (Virgin Islands) and tropical central Pacific (Marshall Islands) patch reefs. Ecology 61: 1156–1168.
Hay, M.E. 1984. Patterns of fish and urchin grazing on Caribbean coral reefs: are previous results typical? Ecology 65: 446–454.
Hay, ME & P.R. Taylor. 1985. Competition between herbivorous fishes and urchins on Caribbean reefs. Oecologia 65: 591–598.
Humann, P. 1994. Reef fish identification. New World Publications, Jacksonville. 396 pp.
Hunte, W., I. Côt'e & T. Tomascik. 1986. On the dynamics of the mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in Barbados. Coral Reefs 4: 135–139.
Itzkowitz, M. 1974. A behavioural reconnaissance of some Jamaican reef fishes. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 55: 87–118.
Janson, C.H. 1988. Food competition in brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella): quantitative effects of group size and tree productivity. Behaviour 105: 1–17.
Jones, R.S. 1968. Ecological relationships in Hawaiian and Johnston Island Acanthuridae (surgeonfishes). Micronesica 4: 309–361.
Kaufman, L. 1976. Feeding behaviour and functional coloration of the Atlantic trumpetfish, Aulostomus maculatus. Copeia 1976: 377–378.
Kaufman, L. 1977. The three spot damselfish: effects on benthic biota of Caribbean coral reefs. Proc. Third Int. Coral Reef Symp., Miami: 559–564.
Klumpp, D.W., D. McKinnon & P. Daniel. 1987. Damselfish territories: zones of high productivity on coral reefs. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 40: 41–51.
Kramer, D.L., R.W. Rangeley & L.J. Chapman. 1997. Habitat selection: patterns of spatial distribution from behavioural decisions. pp. 37–80. In: J.-G.J. Godin (ed.) Behavioural Ecology of Teleost Fishes, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Lessios, H.A., D.R. Robertson & J.D. Cubit. 1984. Spread of Diadema mass mortality through the Caribbean. Science 226: 335–337.
Lewis, S.M. & P.C. Wainwright. 1985. Herbivore abundance and grazing intensity on a Caribbean coral reef. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 87: 215–228.
Lirman, D. 1994. Ontogenetic shifts in habitat preferences in the three-spot damselfish, Stegastes planifrons (Cuvier), in Roatan Island, Honduras. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 180: 71–81.
Lobel, P.S. 1981. Trophic biology of herbivorous reef fishes: alimentary pH and digestive capabilities. J. Fish Biol. 19: 365–397.
Longley, W.H. & S.F. Hildebrand. 1941. Systematic catalogue of the fishes of Tortugas, Florida. With observations on color, habits, and local distribution. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 535. 331 pp.
Luckhurst, B.E. & K. Luckhurst. 1978. Analysis of the influence of the substrate variables on coral reef fish communities. Mar. Biol. 49: 317–323.
Mahon, R. & S.D. Mahon. 1994. Structure and resilience of a tidepool fish assemblage at Barbados. Env. Biol. Fish. 41: 171–190.
McAfee, S.T. & S.G. Morgan. 1996. Resource use by five sympatric parrotfishes in the San Blas Archipelago, Panama. Mar. Biol. 125: 427–437.
Munro, J.L. 1974. The mode of operation of Antillean fish traps and the relationships between ingress, escapement, catch and soak. J. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer 35: 337–350.
Ogden, J.C. 1976. Some aspects of herbivore-plant relationships on Caribbean reefs and seagrass beds. Aquat. Bot. 2: 103–116.
Pastorok, R.A. & G.T. Bilyard. 1985. Effects of sewage pollution on coral reef communities. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 21: 175–189.
Pitcher, T.J. & J.K. Parrish. 1993. Functions of shoaling behaviour in teleosts. pp. 363–439. In: T.J. Pitcher (ed.) The Behavior of Teleost Fishes, Chapman & Hall, London.
Potts, D.C. 1977. Suppression of coral populations by filamentous algae within damselfish territories. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 28: 207–216.
Power, M.E. 1984. Habitat quality and the distribution of algae-grazing catfish in a Panamanian stream. J. Anim. Ecol. 53: 357–374.
Rakitin, A. & D.L. Kramer. 1996. Effect of a marine reserve on the distribution of coral reef fishes in Barbados. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 131: 97–113.
Randall, J.E. 1967. Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami No. 5: 665–847.
Randall, J.E. 1968. Caribbean reef fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City. 318 pp.
Reeson, P.H. 1983. The biology, ecology and bionomics of the surgeonfishes, Acanthuridae. pp. 178–190. In: J.L. Munro (ed.) Caribbean Coral Reef Fishery Resources, ICLARM, Manila.
Reinthal P.N. & S.M. Lewis. 1986. Social behaviour, foraging efficiency and habitat utilization in a group of tropical herbivorous fish. Anim. Behav. 34: 1687–1693.
Risk, A. 1998a. Effects of habitat on the settlement and post-settlement success of the ocean surgeonfish, Acanthurus bahianus. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. (in press).
Risk, A. 1998b. The effects of interactions with reef residents on the settlement and subsequent persistence of ocean surgeonfish, Acanthurusbahianus. Env. Biol. Fish. 51:377–389.
Robertson, D.R. 1988. Abundances of surgeonfishes on patchreefs in Caribbean Panama: due to settlement, or post-settlement events? Mar. Biol. 97: 495–501.
Robertson, D.R. 1991. Increases in surgeonfish populations after mass mortality of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum in Panam'a indicate food limitation. Mar. Biol. 111: 437–444.
Robertson, D.R. & S.D. Gaines. 1986. Interference competition structures habitat use in a local assemblage of coral reef surgeonfishes. Ecology 67: 1372–1383.
Robertson, D.R., H.P.A. Sweatman, E.A. Fletcher & M.G. Cleland. 1976. Schooling as a mechanism of circumventing the territoriality of competitors. Ecology 57: 1208–1220.
Russ, G.R. 1987. Is the rate of removal of algae by grazers reduced inside territories of tropical damselfishes? J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 110: 1–17.
Sale, P.F. 1968. Influence of cover availability on depth preference of the juvenile manini, Acanthurus triostegus sandvicensis. Copeia 1968: 802–807.
Sale, P.F. 1969. Pertinent stimuli for habitat selection by the juvenile manini, Acanthurus triostegus sandvicensis. Ecology 50: 616–623.
Sponaugle, S. & R.K. Cowen. 1996. Larval supply and patterns of recruitment for two Caribbean reef fishes, Stegastes partitus and Acanthurus bahianus. Mar. Freshwater Res. 47: 433–447.
Stearn, C.W., T.P. Scoffin & W. Martindale. 1977. Calcium carbonate budget of a fringing reef on the west coast of Barbados. Bull. Mar. Sci. 27: 479–510.
Sweatman, H. & D.R. Robertson. 1994. Grazing halos and predation on juvenile Caribbean surgeonfishes. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 111: 1–6.
Thresher, R.E. 1984. Reproduction in reef fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City. 399 pp.
Tomascik, T. & F. Sander. 1987. Effects of eutrophication on reef-building corals II. Structure of scleractinian coral communities on fringing reefs, Barbados, West Indies. Mar. Biol. 94: 53–75.
Took, I.F. 1978. Fishes of the Caribbean reefs. MacMillan Education, London. 92 pp.
Wilkinson, L. 1990. SYSTAT: The system for statistics. SYSTAT, Inc., Evanston. 677 pp.
Williams, D.McB. 1991. Patterns and processes in the distribution of coral reef fishes. pp. 437–474. In: P.F. Sale (ed.) The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs, Academic Press, San Diego.
Wolf, N.G. 1985. Odd fish abandon mixed-species groups when threatened. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 17: 47–52.
Wolf, N.G. 1987. Schooling tendency and foraging benefit in the ocean surgeonfish. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 21: 59–63.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lawson, G.L., Kramer, D.L. & Hunte, W. Size-related habitat use and schooling behavior in two species of surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus and A. coeruleus) on a fringing reef in Barbados, West Indies. Environmental Biology of Fishes 54, 19–33 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007477527663
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007477527663