Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Planktivorous damselfish support significant nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes to Mediterranean reefs

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In an ecosystem, which is apparently very limited in N and P, the planktivorous damselfish Chromis chromis acts as an important vector in transferring nutrients from the pelagic into littoral food webs. C. chromis are more efficient at absorbing nutrients from their diet than herbivorous Pomacentridae, and excrete more faeces in the spring when their plankton food is more abundant. Faeces released in the water column sink rapidly to the substratum and are consumed by herbivorous and omnivorous fish. Faeces released into night-shelters are rapidly consumed by invertebrate detritivores, and particularly mobile scavengers, such as shrimps and hermit crabs. Night-time accrual of Chromis faeces represents a very important flux of N and P. Such fluxes are predictable in time and space and have thus far been ignored in studies of the western Mediterranean.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Atkinson MJ, Smith SV (1983) C:N:P ratios of benthic marine plants. Limnol Oceanogr 28:568–574

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Båmstedt U (1986) Chemical composition and energy content. In: Corner EDS, O’Hara SCM (eds) The biology of marine copepods. Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp 1–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Berland BR, Bonin DJ, Maestrini SY (1980) Azote ou phosphore? Considérations sur le “paradoxe nutritionnel” de la mer Méditerranée. Oceanol Acta 3:135–142

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bjorndal KA (1985) Use of ash as an indigestible dietary marker. Bull Mar Sci 36:224–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Bray RN (1981) Influence of water current and zooplankton densities on daily foraging movements of blacksmith, Chromis punctipinnis, a planktivorous reef fish. Fish Bull US 78:829–841

    Google Scholar 

  • Bray RN, Miller AC (1985) Planktivorous fishes: their potential as nutrient importers to artificial reefs (Abstract). Bull Mar Sci 37:396

    Google Scholar 

  • Bray RN, Miller AC, Geesey GG (1981) The fish connection: a trophic link between planktonic and rocky reef communities? Science 214:204–205

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brohee M, Goffart A, Frankignoulle M, Henri V, Mouchet A, Hecq JH (1989) Variations printanières des communautés planctoniques en Baie de Calvi (Corse) en relation avec les contraintes physiques locales. Cah Biol Mar 30:321–328

    Google Scholar 

  • Conover RJ (1966) Assimilation of organic matter by zooplankton. Limnol Oceanogr 11:338–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dauby P (1980) Cycle annuel du zooplancton de surface de la baie de Calvi (Corse). Biomasse tatale et plancton copépodien. Oceanol Acta 3:403–407

    Google Scholar 

  • Dauby P, Bale A J, Bloomer N, Canon C, Ling RD, Norro A, Robertson JE, Simon A, Theate JM, Watson AJ, Frankignoulle M (1995) Partical fluxes over a Mediterranean seagrass bed: a one-year sediment trap experiment. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 126:233–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Loma L, Harmelin-Vivien M, Naim O, Fontaine MF (2000) Algal food processing by Stegastes nigricans, an herbivorous damselfish: differences between an undisturbed and a disturbed coral reef site (La Réunion, Indian Ocean). Oceanol Acta 23:793–804

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deschuyteneer M, Jangoux M (1978) Feeding behaviour and digestive structures of Ophiderma longicauda (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea). Annales Institut Océanographique 54:127–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Duka LA, Shevenko NF (1988) Morphology and nutrition of Chromis chromis (Linne) in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Ehkol Morya 3:26–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Durbin EG, Durbin AG (1981) Assimilation efficiency and nitrogen excretion of a filter-feeding planktivore, the Atlantic Menhaden, Brevootia tyrannus (Pisces: Clupeidae). Fish Bull US 79:601–616

    Google Scholar 

  • Esaiassen M, Myrnes B, Olsen RL (1996) Isolation and substrate specificities of five chitinases from the hepatopancreas of northern shrimp Pandalus borealis. Comp Biochem Physiol B 717:717–725

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fasola M, Canova L, Foschi F, Novelli O, Bressan M, (1997) Resource use by a Mediterranean rocky slope fish assemblage. PSZN Mar Ecol 18:51–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faulkner D., Chester R (1979) Living corals. Crown Publishers, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira CEL, Gonclaves JEA, Coutinho R, Peret AC (1998) Herbivory by the dusky damselfish Stegastes fuscus in a tropical rocky shore: effects on the benthic community. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 229:241–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frangoulis C (2002) Mesozooplankton outfluxes in coastal areas. PhD Thesis, Universite de Liege, Belgium, p 237

  • Frankenberg D, Smith KL (1967) Coprophagy in marine animals. Limnol Oceanogr 12:442–450

    Google Scholar 

  • Galetto MJ, Bellwood DR (1994) Digestion of algae by Stegastes nigricans and Amphiprion akindynos (Pisces: Pomacentridae), with an evaluation of methods used in digestibility studies. J Fish Biol 44:415–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geesey GG, Alexander GV, Bray RN, Miller AC (1984) Fish faecal pellets are a source of minerals for inshore reef communities. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 15:19–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gervasi E, Jeuniaux C, Dauby P (1988) Production de chitine par les crustacés du zooplankton de la Baie de Calvi (Corse). In: Le Gal Y, Van Wormhoudt A (eds) Aspects Récents de la Biologie des Crustacés, vol. 8. Actes de Colloques, IFREMER, pp 33–38

  • Gorsky G, Dallot S, Sardou J, Fenaux R, Carre C, Palazzoli I (1988) C and N composition of some northwestern Mediterranean zooplankton and micronekton species. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 124:133–144

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hamner WM, Jones MS, Carleton JH, Hauri IR, Williams DM (1988) Zooplankton, planktivorous fish and water currents on a windward reef face, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Bull Mar Sci 42:459–479

    Google Scholar 

  • Harmelin JG (1987) Structure et variabilité de l’ichtyofaune d’une zone rocheuse protégée en Méditerranée (Parc national de Port-Cros, France). PSZNI Mar Ecol 8:263–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harmelin JG (1990) Ichtyofaune des fonds rocheux de Méditerranée: structure du peuplement du coralligène de l’ile de Port-Cros (Parc National, France). Mesogée 50:23–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobson ES, Chess JR (1976) Trophic interactions among fishes and zooplankters near shore at Santa Catalina Island, California. Fish Bull US 74:567–598

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobson ES, Chess JR (1978) Trophic relationships among fishes and plankton in the lagoon at Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands. Fish Bull US 76:133–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann L, Renard R, Demoulin V (1992) Phenology, growth and biomass of Cystoseira balearica in Calvi (Corsica). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 80:249–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaccarini V, Schembri PJ (1977) Feeding and particle selection in the echiuran Bonellia viridis. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 28:163–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James AG, Probyn T, Seiderer LJ (1989) Nitrogen excretion and absorption efficiencies of the Cape anchovy Engraulis capensis fed on a variety of plankton diets. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 131:101–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeuniaux C, Vossfoucart MF (1991) Chitin biomass and production in the marine environment. Biochem System Ecol 19:347–356

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johannes RE, Satomi M (1966) Composition and nutritive value of faecal pellets of a marine crustacean. Limnol Oceanogr 11:191–197

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kirchner M (1995) Microbial colonization of copepod body surfaces and chitin degradation in the sea. Helgol Meeresunter 49:202–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klump DW, Polunin NVC (1989) Partitioning among grazing of food resources within damselfish territories on a coral reef. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 125:145–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krom MD, Kress N, Brenmer S, Gordan LI (1991) Phosphorus limitation of primary productivity in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Limnol Oceanogr 36:424–432

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lassuy DR (1984) Diet, intestinal morphology, and nitrogen assimilation efficiency in the damselfish, Stegastes lividus, in Guam. Env Biol Fish 10:183–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lobel PS (1981) Trophic biology of herbivorous reef fishes: alimentary pH and digestive capabilities. J Fish Biol 19:365–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClanahan TR, Sala E (1997) A Mediterranean rocky-bottom ecosystem fisheries model. Ecol Mod 104:145–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery WL, Gerking SD (1980) Marine macroalgae as foods for fishes: an evaluation of potential food quality. Env Biol Fish 5:143–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noda M, Kawabata K, Gushima K, Kakuda S (1992) Importance of zooplankton patches in the foraging ecology of the planktivorous reef fish Chromis chrysurus (Pomacentridae) at Kuchinoerabu Island, Japan. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 87:251–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owens NJP, Rees AP, Woodward EMS, Mantoura RFC (1989) Size fractioned primary productivity and nitrogen assimilation in the North-West Mediterranean Sea during January 1989. In: Martin JMB (ed) EROS 2000 (European River-Ocean System) first project work shop. Commission of the European Communities Water Pollution Research Reports, Paris, pp 126–134

  • Pandian T.J, Marian MP (1985) Nitrogen content of food as an index of absorption efficiency in fishes. Mar Biol 85:301–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patzner RA (1982) Lysmata seticaudata (Decapoda, Crustacea) as cleaner shrimp in the Mediterranean. Helgol Meeresun 35:227–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinnegar JK, Polunin NVC (2000) Contributions of stable-isotope data to elucidating food webs of Mediterranean rocky littoral fishes. Oecologia 122:399–409

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Polunin NVC (1988) Efficient uptake of algal production by a single resident herbivorous fish on the reef. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 123:61–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polunin NVC, Koike I (1987) Temporal focusing of nitrogen release by a periodically feeding herbivorous reef fish. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 111:285–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redfield AC, Ketchum BH, Richards FA (1963) The influence of organisms on the composition of sea-water. In: Hill MN (ed) The sea, vol 2. Interscience, New York, pp 26–77

  • Robertson DR (1982) Fish faeces as fish food on a Pacific coral reef. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 7:253–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robison BH, Bailey TG (1981) Sinking rates and dissolution of midwater fish fecal matter. Mar Biol 65:135–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothans TC, Miller AC (1991) A link between biologically imported particulate organic nutrients and the detritus food web in reef communities. Mar Biol 110:145–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell-Hunter WD (1970) Aquatic Productivity. Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Schimmelmann A, Wintsch RP, Lewan MD, DeNiro MJ (1998) Chitin: ‘forgotten’ source of nitrogen—from modern chitin to thermally mature kerogen: lessons from nitrogen isotope ratios. ACS Symp Ser 707:226–242

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spyker KA, van den Berghe EP (1995) Diurnal abundance patterns of Mediterranean fishes assessed on fixed transects by scuba divers. Trans Am Fish Soc 124:216–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevcic Z (1979) Autoecological investigations of the crab Xantho poressa. Biol Vestn 27:189–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Swerdloff SN (1970) Behavioural observations on Eniwetok damselfishes (Pomacentridae: Chromis) with special reference to the spawning of Chromis caeruleus. Copeia 1970:371–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verlaque M (1985) Note préliminaire sur le comportement alimentaire de Sarpa salpa (Sparidae) en Méditerranée. Rapp Comm Int Mer Medit 29:193–196

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Lingen CD (1998) Nitrogen excretion and absorption efficiencies of sardine Sardinops sagax fed phytoplankton and zooplankton diets. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 175:67–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wirtz P (1997) Crustacean symbionts of the sea anemone Telmatactis cricoides at Madeira and the Canary Islands. J Zool 242:799–811

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zar JH (1984) Biostatistical analysis, 2nd edn. Prentice Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, p 718

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of STARESO (Station de Recherche Sous-Marine et Océanographiques) for their hospitality and assistance in the field, also Dr. Costas Frangoulis for lending me his thesis and providing additional zooplanton data. Two anonymous reviewers provided constructive comments and have contributed significantly to improving this manuscript. J.K. Pinnegar was supported by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles 1996 studentship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Fisheries Laboratory, NR33 0HT, Lowestoft, UK

    John K. Pinnegar

  2. School of Marine Science and Technology, University of Newcastle, NE1 7RU, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Nicholas V. C. Polunin

Authors
  1. John K. Pinnegar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nicholas V. C. Polunin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John K. Pinnegar.

Additional information

Communicated by J. P. Thorpe, Port Erin

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pinnegar, J.K., Polunin, N.V.C. Planktivorous damselfish support significant nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes to Mediterranean reefs. Marine Biology 148, 1089–1099 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0141-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0141-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation