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Microhabitat use of juvenile coral reef fish in Palau

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Abstract

While relationships between adult fish density and structural habitat features are well established, relatively little is known about the habitat associations of juvenile reef fish. In a reserve system in Palau, we quantified microhabitat association with juvenile reef fish community structure, and determined the influence of foraging space, predator size and confamilial attraction on juvenile and adult pomacentrid abundance. Habitat structure and juvenile reef fish communities differed significantly among microhabitats with one exception: no difference was found between foliose and consolidated rubble microhabitats. Overall, pomacentrids characterised the juvenile community structure of each microhabitat. The abundance of early juvenile pomacentrids is simultaneously determined by microhabitat structure and predator size, with little evidence for settlement selection near adults. The results also suggest that the influence of habitat structure become weaker with ontogeny which in part, drives large predators to negatively influence the abundance of adult pomacentrids. The results have important implications on management, specifically in prioritizing areas for protection, and in modeling the impacts of habitat loss on reef fish communities.

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Acknowledgments

We thank David Idip, Yannek Meunier, Anders Knudby, Alan Lim, the staff of the Palau International Coral Reef Center for their support in the conduct of the study, and to the reviewers who generously shared their insights on the study. The study was funded by the World Bank/Global Environment Facility Coral Reef Targeted Research Project. Additional funding was provided by Natural Environment Research Council and an Australian Research Council fellowship. The study was conducted in accordance to the existing laws of the Republic of Palau.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ocean Color and Coastal Oceanography Lab, Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines, Velasquez St., Diliman, Quezon City, 1101, Philippines

    Victor S. Ticzon & Laura T. David

  2. Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Goddard Building, St. Lucia Campus, Brisbane, QLD4072, Australia

    Peter J. Mumby & Sonia Bejarano-Chavarro

  3. School of Environmental Science and Management, University of the Philippines-Los Banos College, Laguna, 4030, Philippines

    Badi R. Samaniego

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  1. Victor S. Ticzon
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Correspondence to Victor S. Ticzon.

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Ticzon, V.S., Mumby, P.J., Samaniego, B.R. et al. Microhabitat use of juvenile coral reef fish in Palau. Environ Biol Fish 95, 355–370 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0010-9

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