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The Status of Coral Reef Fish Assemblages in the Chagos Archipelago, with Implications for Protected Area Management and Climate Change

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Coral Reefs of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories

Part of the book series: Coral Reefs of the World ((CORW,volume 4))

Abstract

We assess the status and structure of coral reef fish assemblages in the large remote and unfished Chagos Archipelago, comparing fish biomass and structure among atolls and across the wider western Indian Ocean. We then assess the longer term trends in reef shark abundances and the stability of fish assemblages through the 1998 climate induced habitat disturbance. Diego Garcia atoll had the lowest standing reef fish biomass estimates, while Peros Banhos and the Great Chagos Bank had the highest. Further, the biomass of larger bodied, higher trophic level, and most fishery target families was higher in the northern atolls, indicating a potential impact of the recreational fishery operating around Diego Garcia. Fish biomass in the northern atolls of Chagos was up to six times greater than estimates from even the more successful small marine protected areas elsewhere in the western Indian Ocean region. Interestingly, the biomass recorded around Diego Garcia was comparable to the highest values reported elsewhere in the region, suggesting that although the recreational fishery has had some impact at that atoll, it is far from overfished. Reef shark abundance has declined substantially since the 1970s, largely due to illegal fishing activities, however the numbers recorded in 2010 and 2012 were higher than those recorded in 1996 and 2006. The 1998 mass coral bleaching event did not have a major impact on reef fish assemblages in Chagos, with specialised coral feeding fishes being numerically dominant over less specialised coral feeders by 2012. The Chagos Archipelago provides an example of the biomass and community structure of reef fishes that many reefs likely had in the past, and also demonstrates the considerable resilience that coral reefs can exhibit when they are not otherwise stressed by chronic human pressures.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this work was provided by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Leverhulme Trust, Fisheries Society of the British Isles, Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association and research fellowships from the Australian Research Council and Queensland Smart Futures Fund. The research could not have happened without the organization of Chagos expeditions by Charles Sheppard and Heather Koldewey. Many thanks to Bob Long for help in the field around Diego Garcia and to Cindy Huchery for help with figures and analyses. The Wildlife Conservation Society through grants from the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association supported much of the larger western Indian Ocean data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, QLD 4811, Townsville, Australia

    Nicholas A. J. Graham & Morgan S. Pratchett

  2. Wildlife Conservation Society, Marine Programs, 10460, Bronx, NY, USA

    Tim R. McClanahan

  3. Department of Environment and Conservation, Marine Science Program, 6151, Kensington, WA, Australia

    Shaun K. Wilson

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  1. Nicholas A. J. Graham
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  2. Morgan S. Pratchett
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Correspondence to Nicholas A. J. Graham .

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  1. , School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Gibbit Hill Campus, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom

    Charles R.C. Sheppard

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Graham, N.A.J., Pratchett, M.S., McClanahan, T.R., Wilson, S.K. (2013). The Status of Coral Reef Fish Assemblages in the Chagos Archipelago, with Implications for Protected Area Management and Climate Change. In: Sheppard, C. (eds) Coral Reefs of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories. Coral Reefs of the World, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5965-7_19

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