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The influence of multiple factors upon reef fish abundance and species richness in a tropical coral complex

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Abstract

The present study was conducted on Tamandaré reefs, northeast Brazil and aimed to analyse the importance of different factors (e.g. tourism activity, fishing activity, coral abundance and algal abundance) on reef fish abundance and species richness. Two distinct reef areas (A ver o mar and Caieiras) with different levels of influence were studied. A total of 8239 reef fish individuals were registered, including 59 species. Site 1 (A ver o mar) presented higher reef fish abundance and richness, with dominance of roving herbivores (29.9 %) and mobile invertebrate feeders (28.7 %). In contrast, at Site 2 (Caieiras) territorial herbivores (40.9 %) predominated, followed by mobile invertebrate feeders (24.6 %). Concerning the benthic community, at Site 1 macroalgae were recorded as the main category (49.3 %); however, Site 2 was dominated by calcareous algae (36.0 %). The most important variable explaining more than 90 % of variance on reef fish abundance and species richness was macroalgae abundance, followed by fishing activity. Phase shifts on coral reefs are evident, resulting in the replacement of coral by macroalgae and greatly influencing reef fish communities. In this context, it is important to understand the burden of the factors that affect reef fish communities and, therefore, influence the extinction vulnerability of coral reef fishes.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the Reef Conservation Project (Projeto Conservação Recifal - PCR)” staff and volunteers for help with the field work. We also would like to thank “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior” (CAPES), “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico” (CNPq), Rufford Small Grants (RSG) and Idea Wild for the financial and logistical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, 1 James Cook Dr, Townsville, QLD, 4810, Australia

    Pedro Henrique Cipresso Pereira

  2. Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Oceanography Department, CTG. Av. Arquitetura, s/n, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil

    Rodrigo Lima Moraes, Marcus Vinicius Bezerra dos Santos, Daniel Lino Lippi & João Lucas Leão Feitosa

  3. Reef Conservation Project, Projeto Conservação Recifal (PCR), Manoel Brandão street, 192, Cajueiro, Recife, PE, 38400-194, Brazil

    Pedro Henrique Cipresso Pereira & Manoel Pedrosa

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  1. Pedro Henrique Cipresso Pereira
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  2. Rodrigo Lima Moraes
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  3. Marcus Vinicius Bezerra dos Santos
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Correspondence to Pedro Henrique Cipresso Pereira.

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Pereira, P.H.C., Moraes, R.L., dos Santos, M.V.B. et al. The influence of multiple factors upon reef fish abundance and species richness in a tropical coral complex. Ichthyol Res 61, 375–384 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-014-0409-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-014-0409-8

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