Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Interactive effects of interspecific competition and microhabitat on early post-settlement survival in a coral reef fish

  • Report
  • Published:
Coral Reefs Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Microhabitat type and the competition for microhabitats can each influence patterns of abundance and mortality in coral reef fish communities; however, the effect of microhabitat on the intensity and outcome of competition is not well understood. In Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, surveys were used to quantify microhabitat use and selectivity in two live-coral specialist damselfishes (Pomacentridae), Chrysiptera parasema, and Dascyllus melanurus. A patch reef experiment was then conducted to test how intra- and interspecific competition interacts with two types of microhabitat to influence survival of recently settled C. parasema. Surveys demonstrated that C. parasema and D. melanurus recruits utilized similar coral microhabitats; 72% of C. parasema and 85% of D. melanurus used corymbose and bottlebrush growth forms of Acropora. One microhabitat type, Pocillopora sp. coral, was commonly used by D. melanurus but rarely by C. parasema. The patch reef experiment revealed that both microhabitat and interspecific competition influence abundance of recently settled C. parasema. Microhabitat had the strongest influence on survival of C. parasema. In the absence of interspecific competitors, ~85% of C. parasema survived for 5 days after transplantation to high-complexity bottlebrush Acropora reefs when compared to only 25% survival of Pocillopora reefs. In both microhabitats, interspecific competition with D. melanurus, but not intraspecific competition, significantly decreased the survival of C. parasema. Taken together, these results suggest that the observed distribution of C. parasema results from specialized microhabitat requirements and competition for space in those microhabitats. This study demonstrates that interspecific competition and microhabitat type can interact to influence early post-settlement survival in coral reef fishes, though, whether and how these factors influence survival will depend on the behavioural attributes and strength of habitat associations among potential competitors.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abramsky Z, Rosenzweig ML, Pinshow B, Brown JS, Kotler B, Mitchell WA (1990) Habitat selection - an experimental field-test with two gerbil species. Ecology 71:2358–2369

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almany GR (2003) Priority effects in coral reef fish communities. Ecology 84:1920–1935

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almany GR (2004a) Differential effects of habitat complexity, predators, and competitors on abundance of juvenile and adult coral reef fishes. Oecologia 141:105–113

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Almany GR (2004b) Does increased habitat complexity reduce predation and competition in coral reef fish assemblages? Oikos 106:275–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almany GR, Peacock LF, Syms C, McCormick MI, Jones GP (2007) Predators target rare prey in coral reef fish assemblages. Oecologia 152:751–761

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arthur AD, Pech RP, Dickman CR (2005) Effects of predation and habitat structure on the population dynamics of house mice in large outdoor enclosures. Oikos 108:562–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bay LK, Jones GP, McCormick MI (2001) Habitat selection and aggression as determinants of spatial segregation among damselfish on a coral reef. Coral Reefs 20:289–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bean K, Jones GP, Caley MJ (2002) Relationships among distribution, abundance and microhabitat specialisation in a guild of coral reef triggerfish (family Balistidae). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 233:263–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beukers JS, Jones GP (1997) Habitat complexity modifies the impact of piscivores on a coral reef fish population. Oecologia 114:50–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Booth DJ (1995) Juvenile groups in a coral-reef damselfish - density-dependent effects on individual fitness and population demography. Ecology 76:91–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr MH, Anderson TW, Hixon MA (2002) Biodiversity, population regulation, and the stability of coral-reef fish communities. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99:11241–11245

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Colwell RK, Fuentes ER (1975) Experimental studies of the niche. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 6:281–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH (1983) On the prevalence and relative importance of interspecific competition: evidence from field experiments. Am Nat 122:661–683

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danilowicz BS (1996) Choice of coral species by naive and field-caught damselfish. Copeia:735–739

  • Ebersole JP (1985) Niche separation of two damselfish species by aggression and differential microhabitat utilization. Ecology 66:14–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Futuyma DJ, Moreno G (1988) The evolution of ecological specialization. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 19:207–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardiner NM, Jones GP (2005) Habitat specialisation and overlap in a guild of coral reef cardinalfishes (Apogonidae). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 305:163–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gurevitch J, Morrow LL, Wallace A, Walsh JS (1992) A metaanalysis of competition in field experiments. Am Nat 140:539–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hixon MA (1980) Competitive interactions between California reef fishes of the genus Embiotoca. Ecology 61:918–931

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ (2002) Competition for shelter space causes density-dependent predation mortality in damselfishes. Ecology 83:2855–2868

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones GP (1991) Postrecruitment processes in the ecology of coral reef fish populations: a multifactorial perspecitve. In: Sale PF (ed) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 294–328

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones GP, Syms C (1998) Disturbance, habitat structure and the ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Aust J Ecol 23:287–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones GP, McCormick MI (2002) Numerical and energetic processes in the ecology of coral reef fishes. In: Sale PF (ed) Coral reef fishes: dynamics and diversity in a complex ecosystem. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 221–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson RJ (1980) Competition, habitat selection, and the bathymetric segregation of two rockfish (Sebastes) species. Ecol Monogr 50:221–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leis JM, Carson-Ewart BM (2002) In situ settlement behaviour of damselfish (Pomacentridae) larvae. J Fish Biol 61:325–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Limbourn AJ, Jones GP, Munday PL, Srinivasan M (2007) Niche shifts and local competition between two coral reef fishes at their geographic boundary. Mar Freshw Res 58:1120–1129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manly BFJ, McDonald LL, Thomas DL, McDonald TL, Erickson WP (2002) Resource selection by animals: statistical design and analysis for field studies. Kluwer, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • McNally RC (1995) Ecological versatility and community ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris DW (2003) Toward an ecological synthesis: a case for habitat selection. Oecologia 136:1–13

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Munday PL, Jones GP (1998) The ecological implications of small body size among coral-reef fishes. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 36:373–411

    Google Scholar 

  • Munday PL, Jones GP, Caley MJ (1997) Habitat specialisation and the distribution and abundance of coral-dwelling gobies. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 152:227–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munday PL, Jones GP, Caley MJ (2001) Interspecific competition and coexistence in a guild of coral-dwelling fishes. Ecology 82:2177–2189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohman MC, Munday PL, Jones GP, Caley MJ (1998) Settlement strategies and distribution patterns of coral-reef fishes. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 225:219–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pimm SL, Rosenzweig ML (1981) Competitors and habitat use. Oikos 37:1–6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price MV (1978) The role of microhabitat in structuring desert rodent communities. Ecology 59:910–921

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rilov G, Figueira WF, Lyman SJ, Crowder LB (2006) Complex habitats may not always benefit prey: linking visual field with reef fish behavior and distribution. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 329:225–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson DR (1996) Interspecific competition controls abundance and habitat use of territorial Caribbean damselfishes. Ecology 77:885–899

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson DR, Gaines SD (1986) Interference competition structures habitat use in a local assemblage of coral-reef surgeonfishes. Ecology 67:1372–1383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig ML (1991) Habitat selection and population interactions - the search for mechanism. Am Nat 137:S5–S28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandin SA, Pacala SW (2005) Fish aggregation results in inversely density-dependent predation on continuous coral reefs. Ecology 86:1520–1530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf FS, Manderson JP, Fabrizio MC (2006) The effects of seafloor habitat complexity on survival of juvenile fishes: species-specific interactions with structural refuge. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 335:167–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt RJ, Holbrook SJ (1999) Settlement and recruitment of three damselfish species: larval delivery and competition for shelter space. Oecologia 118:76–86

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schoener TW (1983) Field experiments on interspecific competition. Am Nat 122:240–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasan M (2003) Depth distributions of coral reef fishes: the influence of microhabitat structure, settlement, and post-settlement processes. Oecologia 137:76–84

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasan M, Jones GP, Caley MJ (1999) Experimental evaluation of the roles of habitat selection and interspecific competition in determining patterns of host use by two anemonefishes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 186:283–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steele MA (1999) Effects of shelter and predators on reef fishes. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 233:65–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson P, Fox BJ (1993) Asymmetric competition in Australian heathland rodents–a reciprocal removal experiment demonstrating the influence of size-class structure. Oikos 67:264–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tolimieri N (1995) Effects of microhabitat characteristics on the settlement and recruitment of a coral-reef fish at two spatial scales. Oecologia 102:52–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Underwood AJ (1997) Experiments in ecology: their logical design and interpretation using analysis of variance. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson SK, Burgess SC, Cheal AJ, Emslie M, Fisher R, Miller I, Polunin NVC, Sweatman HPA (2008) Habitat utilization by coral reef fish: implications for specialists vs generalists in a changing environment. J Anim Ecol 77:220–228

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Young KA (2004) Asymmetric competition, habitat selection, and niche overlap in juvenile salmonids. Ecology 85:134–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the traditional owners of Schumann Island and Tamare-Kilu reefs for allowing us access to their reefs, and to Mahonia na Dari Research and Conservation Centre for logistical support. Also thank you to J. Livingstone and K. Markey for their assistance in the field. Funding was provided by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reefs Studies and a James Cook University Competitive Research Incentive Grant to GRA.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    M. C. Bonin, G. R. Almany & G. P. Jones

  2. School of Marine & Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia

    M. C. Bonin, M. Srinivasan & G. P. Jones

Authors
  1. M. C. Bonin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. Srinivasan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. G. R. Almany
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. G. P. Jones
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. C. Bonin.

Additional information

Communicated by Environment Editor Prof. Rob van Woesik

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bonin, M.C., Srinivasan, M., Almany, G.R. et al. Interactive effects of interspecific competition and microhabitat on early post-settlement survival in a coral reef fish. Coral Reefs 28, 265–274 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-008-0451-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-008-0451-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation