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Broad-scale spatial distribution and microhabitat-scale substrate association of seven angelfish species (family Pomacanthidae) in an Okinawan coral reef

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Abstract

Species-specific spatial distribution in relation to environmental characteristics underpins the species diversity of coral reef fishes. This study aimed to elucidate (1) the broad-scale spatial distribution (spatial variation of fish density at intervals of several-kilometers), influenced by topographic features (exposed reef vs. inner reef), substrate characteristics and depth, and (2) the microhabitat associations (habitat association within several centimeter scale) concerning substrate availability for seven angelfish species (family Pomacanthidae) in an Okinawan coral reef. Broad-scale analysis revealed (1) Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus was primarily found in deep inner reefs with greater coverage of branching Acropora and dead coral; (2) Centropyge bicolor and C. tibicen were primarily found at shallow inner reefs with greater coverage of branching Acropora, dead coral, and sand; (3) C. ferrugata and C. vrolikii were primarily found at shallow exposed reefs with greater coverage of rock, and (4) C. heraldi and Pygoplites diacanthus were primarily found at deep exposed reefs with greater coverage of rock. Microhabitat-scale analysis revealed that three species (C. mesoleucus, C. bicolor, and C. heraldi) showed significant positive association with acroporid corals. Centropyge tibicen showed a significant positive association with living corals. The remaining three species (C. ferrugata, C. vrolikii, and P. diacanthus) did not show a positive association with living corals. This suggests that coral loss impacts angelfish population in a species-specific manner. These two spatial scale viewpoints offer valuable insight for comprehensive understandings of angelfish spatial distribution in relation to substrate characteristics.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The author express grateful thanks to Masato Sunagawa, Masamitsu Sunagawa, and Masayuki Uezato for their field guide and piloting the research boat YAEYAMA, Teppei Sagawa, Nobuo Motomiya, Kenta Oishi, Fumihiko Nakamura and Minoru Yoshida for field assistance; and the staff of Yaeyama Field Station of Fisheries Technology Institute for support during the present study. Constructive comments from three anonymous reviewers are much appreciated. I would like to thank Editage (www.editage.jp) for English language editing. The present study complies with the current laws in Japan.

Funding

This study was supported by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan [grant numbers S-15–3(4): JPMEERF16S11513]; the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science [grant number 15H02268].

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  1. Yaeyama Field Station, Coastal and Inland Fisheries Ecosystem Division, Environment and Fisheries Applied Techniques Research Department, Fisheries Technology Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

    Atsushi Nanami

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  1. Atsushi Nanami
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Atsushi Nanami conceptualized and designed the study and conducted all formal analysis, data curation and writing.

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Correspondence to Atsushi Nanami.

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No animal testing or no animal sampling was performed during the study.

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All data was obtained only by field observations, which do not require a field permit in Okinawa.

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Fig. S1

Total number of individuals for each species during the survey period (June 2016- February 2017). Red dashed line represent threshold between dominant and non-dominant species. (PNG 2901 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 16.4 mb)

Fig. S2

Workflow diagram of the present study. (PNG 4673 kb)

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Fig. S3

Relative frequency (%) of fish individuals associated with substrates (hard living coral or other substrates) and substrate availability. Numbers above bars represent the number of individuals on the focal substrate. Hard living coral included branching Acropora, corymbose Acropora, tabular Acropora, bottlebrush Acropora, branching coral, foliose coral, massive coral, Pocillopora and other coral. Other substrates included dead coral, soft coral, rock, coral rubble, sand and macroalgae. (PNG 6295 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 20241 kb)

Fig. S4

Resource selection ratio (wi ± 95% confidence interval) for seven angelfish species. Black and white arrows represent significant positive and non-positive association for the substrates. The vertical dashed line represents a selection ratio of 1 (i.e., no positive or non-positive association). Numbers above bars represent the number of individuals. Substrates with wi ± 95% confidence interval above and below 1 indicate significant positive non-positive association, respectively. Substrates with wi ± 95% confidence interval that encompasses 1 have no significant positive or non-positive association. Hard living coral included branching Acropora, corymbose Acropora, tabular Acropora, bottlebrush Acropora, branching coral, foliose coral, massive coral, Pocillopora and other coral. Other substrates included dead coral, soft coral, rock, coral rubble, sand and macroalgae. (PNG 7360 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 21567 kb)

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Nanami, A. Broad-scale spatial distribution and microhabitat-scale substrate association of seven angelfish species (family Pomacanthidae) in an Okinawan coral reef. Environ Biol Fish 106, 1851–1863 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-023-01461-7

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