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Implications of feeding specialization on the recruitment processes and community structure of butterflyfishes

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When settling on coral reefs, fish larvae generally change from zooplanktivory to diverse forms of benthic feeding. Whereas food has not been reported to directly influence settlement, it is hypothesized that food resource might play a major role in the recruitment processes of butterflyfishes. Benthic feeding was found to occur immediatly after settlement, and was related to the degree of specialization of adult diets. Among obligate coral feeders scleractinian polyps were the exclusive diet of new recruits. In non-obligate corallivorous chaetodontids tentacles of sedentarian polychaetes were the preferred prey of juveniles for all the species studied, and represented on average 36.2% of their prey by weight. They formed a transitional food resource for these species which mainly fed on scleratinian polyps when adults (51.6% by weight). Among the chaetodontids studies, some recruited within adult home sites, whereas others exhibited size-specific distributions. The different patterns observed were not closely related to food specialization of the adults. The importance of food resources to the community structure of butterflyfishes on coral reefs is discussed.

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  1. Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Station marine d'Endoume, CNRS UA 41, F-13007, Marseille, France

    Mireille L. Harmelin-Vivien

  2. Centre de l'Environnement d' Opunohu, MNHN-EPHE, BP 1013, Papetoai, Moorea, Polynesie Française

    Mireille L. Harmelin-Vivien

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Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. Implications of feeding specialization on the recruitment processes and community structure of butterflyfishes. Environ Biol Fish 25, 101–110 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002204

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