Coral Reefs

, Volume 33, Issue 2, pp 303–311 | Cite as

Herbivorous fishes, ecosystem function and mobile links on coral reefs

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Abstract

Understanding large-scale movement of ecologically important taxa is key to both species and ecosystem management. Those species responsible for maintaining functional connectivity between habitats are often called mobile links and are regarded as essential elements of resilience. By providing connectivity, they support resilience across spatial scales. Most marine organisms, including fishes, have long-term, biogeographic-scale connectivity through larval movement. Although most reef species are highly site attached after larval settlement, some taxa may also be able to provide rapid, reef-scale connectivity as adults. On coral reefs, the identity of such taxa and the extent of their mobility are not yet known. We use acoustic telemetry to monitor the movements of Kyphosus vaigiensis, one of the few reef fishes that feeds on adult brown macroalgae. Unlike other benthic herbivorous fish species, it also exhibits large-scale (>2 km) movements. Individual K. vaigiensis cover, on average, a 2.5 km length of reef (11 km maximum) each day. These large-scale movements suggest that this species may act as a mobile link, providing functional connectivity, should the need arise, and helping to support functional processes across habitats and spatial scales. An analysis of published studies of home ranges in reef fishes found a consistent relationship between home range size and body length. K. vaigiensis is the sole herbivore to depart significantly from the expected home range–body size relationship, with home range sizes more comparable to exceptionally mobile large pelagic predators rather than other reef herbivores. While the large-scale movements of K. vaigiensis reveal its potential capacity to enhance resilience over large areas, it also emphasizes the potential limitations of small marine reserves to protect some herbivore populations.

Keywords

Home range Ecosystem function Coral reefs Functional connectivity Kyphosus vaigiensis Cross-scale interactions 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of Orpheus Island Research Station and Vemco for invaluable field support; Y Bosiger, S Brandl, C Goatley and M Kramer for field assistance; R Fox, C Goatley, J Hopf, S Hunt, C Johansson, R Rowe, S Swearer, V Udyawer and two anonymous reviewers for helpful discussions or comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. We also thank C. Simpfendorfer and M. Heupel for kindly providing data from AANIMS receivers. Financial support was provided by the Australian Research Council. Data were collected under the Great Barrier Reef Marin Park permit No: G12/34975.1 with ethical conduct approved by the James Cook University Animal Ethic Committee, application ID No: A1700.

Supplementary material

338_2014_1124_MOESM1_ESM.docx (2.3 mb)
Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 2367 kb)

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and School of Marine and Tropical BiologyJames Cook UniversityTownsvilleAustralia

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