Abstract
The composition and functionality of ecologically important herbivorous fish assemblages were examined throughout much of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Diversity and abundance of surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae), parrotfishes (Labridae) and rabbitfishes (Siganidae) were strongly associated with position on the continental shelf, whilst effects of latitude were weaker and inconsistent. Species distributions varied considerably amongst taxonomic groups; parrotfishes were mostly widespread whilst distributions of surgeonfishes were often restricted. Most inshore environments supported depauperate herbivore assemblages dominated by different taxa and functional groups compared with assemblages in offshore environments. There were also strong cross-shelf transitions in the main taxa performing each functional role. Overall, this study show that the functional contributions of herbivorous fish assemblages to important ecosystem processes and the contributing taxa vary considerably amongst different GBR environments. Additionally, the two most numerically dominant herbivores actively select detritus, not algae, supporting increasing evidence for the importance of detritus in coral reef ecology.
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Acknowledgments
We thank members of the AIMS long-term monitoring team and the crew of research vessels, past and present, for their various contributions to the collection of data used in this study. The helpful comments of three anonymous reviewers are also appreciated. The study was supported by AIMS, the CRC Reef Research Centre and the Australian Governments’s Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility.
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Communicated by D. Goulet.
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Cheal, A., Emslie, M., Miller, I. et al. The distribution of herbivorous fishes on the Great Barrier Reef. Mar Biol 159, 1143–1154 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1893-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1893-x