The Influence of Food and Shelter on Density-dependent Processes in Coral Reef Fishes

The Influence of Food and Shelter on Density-dependent Processes in Coral Reef Fishes PDF Author: Jameal F. Samhouri
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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The Influence of Food and Shelter on Density-dependent Processes in Coral Reef Fishes

The Influence of Food and Shelter on Density-dependent Processes in Coral Reef Fishes PDF Author: Jameal F. Samhouri
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Coral Reef Fishes

Coral Reef Fishes PDF Author: Peter F. Sale
Publisher: Gulf Professional Publishing
ISBN: 9780123736093
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 574

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Book Description
Coral Reef Fishes is the successor of The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs. This new edition includes provocative reviews covering the major areas of reef fish ecology. Concerns about the future health of coral reefs, and recognition that reefs and their fishes are economically important components of the coastal oceans of many tropical nations, have led to enormous growth in research directed at reef fishes. This book is much more than a simple revision of the earlier volume; it is a companion that supports and extends the earlier work. The included syntheses provides readers with the current highlights in this exciting science. * An up-to-date review of key research areas in reef fish ecology, with a bibliography including hundreds of citations, most from the last decade * Authoritative and provocative chapters written to suggest future research priorities * Includes discussions of regulation of fish populations, dispersal or site fidelity of larval reef fishes, sensory and motor capabilities of reef fish larvae, and complexities of management of reef species and communities

Factors Affecting the Dynamics and Regulation of Coral-reef Fish Populations

Factors Affecting the Dynamics and Regulation of Coral-reef Fish Populations PDF Author: Michael Scott Webster
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Coral reef ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Ecologists have long questioned why fluctuating populations tend to persist rather than go extinct. Populations that persist indefinitely are regulated by mechanisms that cause demographic density dependence, which works to bound fluctuation above zero. In a series of studies, I have sought to determine the processes and mechanisms that regulate local populations of coral-reef fish. In the Exuma Keys, Bahamas, fairy basslets (Gramma loreto) live in aggregations on the undersides of coral-reef ledges. These aggregations often constitute local populations because movement between aggregations is rare. The largest individuals occupy prime feeding positions near the front of ledges and force smaller individuals remain near the back where they have lower feeding rates. Based on these initial observations, I designed two experimental studies of the demographic consequences of variation in basslet density. In the first study, I manipulated the density of newly-settled fish to explore the effects of high recruitment on population size. Populations with experimentally elevated recruitment converged in density with unmanipulated populations, primarily due to density-dependent mortality. I found no evidence that density dependence was caused by intraspecific competition; rather it appeared to be due to a short-term behavioral response by predators (aggregative and/or type 3 functional response). In a second study, I manipulated the densities of adults among populations with a standard average density of newly-settled fish. Two measures indicated that the intensity of competition increased at higher densities of adults, which likely made small fish more susceptible to predation, thereby causing density-dependent mortality. Long-term observations indicated that basslet populations were regulated at temporal scales exceeding two generations. At Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, I also examined how patterns of recruitment of coral-reef fishes were modified across a range of natural recruit densities in the presence and absence of resident predators. Predators decreased recruitment and increased mortality for all species, but these effects varied considerably among species. The results of each of these studies stress the importance of both competitive and predatory mechanisms in modifying patterns of abundance established at the time of larval settlement, as well as regulating local population size.

An Evaluation of Density Dependence in a Marine Temperate Reef Fish

An Evaluation of Density Dependence in a Marine Temperate Reef Fish PDF Author: Todd Wilson Anderson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fish populations
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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The Ecology of Marine Fishes

The Ecology of Marine Fishes PDF Author: Larry G. Allen
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520246535
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 672

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Book Description
“A masterful accomplishment—Allen, Pondella and Horn have assembled a talented team of experts who produce authoritative, up-to-date accounts. This book will be used as the primary text in many fish biology courses and as a valuable reference elsewhere. Here is a wealth of data waiting to be mined by legions of graduate students as they generate the new ideas that will motivate marine ecology for years.”—Peter Sale, Editor of Coral Reef Fishes: Dynamics and Diversity in a Complex Ecosystem "A copiously illustrated and comprehensive interpretation of the past, present, and future state of over 500 species of fishes in Californian waters. A compilation of virtually all the many important studies on the ecology of California marine fishes."—Bruce B. Collette, National Marine Fisheries Service and co-author of The Diversity of Fishes

Dissertation Abstracts International

Dissertation Abstracts International PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dissertations, Academic
Languages : en
Pages : 946

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Diets Shifts in Coral Reef Fishes in Response to Changes in Food Availability and Predator Density

Diets Shifts in Coral Reef Fishes in Response to Changes in Food Availability and Predator Density PDF Author: Elisabeth Gibson Cordner
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781303220401
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 59

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Book Description
Food availability and predation risk are the primary factors that influence an individual's diet composition. Reduced food availability will result in populations with broader diet breadths due to individual diet specialization. This effect can be enhanced when predators limit foraging movement of prey. Predators can also force prey to forage in lower-risk habitats. An opportunity for us to study these influences on fish diets in a natural system exists in coral reefs. The reefs of the Northern Line Islands vary in their predator biomass and the amount of food available to each trophic guild. To determine the effects of changing food availability and predator densities on the diets of fishes we quantified the diets of species from three trophic guilds from the Northern Line Islands. Populations experiencing higher predation pressure and/or lower food availability are expected to have wider diet breadths. Trends in diet breadth varied across species. The results do not offer a clear indication that fish are shifting their foraging habitats to be closer to reef refuges in response to increased predation pressure. So, changes in predator density and the amount of food available seem to influence shifts in diet breadth, but the influences vary across species. There are two factors that may also influence diets: habitat complexity and resource patchiness.

Population Ecology of a Coral Reef Fish Across Multiple Spatial Scales

Population Ecology of a Coral Reef Fish Across Multiple Spatial Scales PDF Author: J. Wilson White
Publisher: ProQuest
ISBN: 9780549152422
Category : Fish populations
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
A major goal in ecology is to understand how processes observed on single habitat patches "scale up" to predict population- or metapopulation-scale dynamics. This issue is especially critical for marine species with widely-dispersing, planktonic larvae. I addressed this question by investigating the behavior, growth, and mortality of juvenile bluehead wrasse, bifasciatum, a small planktivore, on reefs around the Caribbean island of St. Croix. At a small spatial scale (centimeters), bluehead wrasse enjoyed safety-in-numbers: per-capita mortality was substantially lower in larger groups. This effect did not scale up, however, and mortality was density-dependent at the spatial scale of entire reefs (Chapter 1). The relative safety of groups may explain why settlers occurred in groups more often than expected by chance, but group sizes may be limited by competition for prey. Grouped fish spent more time foraging than solitary fish, but dietary and otolith analyses revealed that grouped fish obtained the same number of prey and grow slower than solitary fish despite foraging more. Behavior and growth were also affected by the local abundance of copepod prey, which varied consistently across reefs (Chapter 2). Of even greater interest is spatial variation in the recruitment and abundance of a major wrasse predator, which closely followed the spatial pattern of bluehead wrasse recruitment. Presumably this occurred because larvae of both species are affected by the same oceanographic forces. This spatial correlation in recruitment is noteworthy because predator density strongly affected the form and intensity of density-dependent mortality among recently settled wrasse (Chapter 3). Since the majority of marine metapopulation models assume that density dependence is spatially homogenous, models incorporating spatially correlated settlement of predators and their prey produce strikingly different results. Populations with consistently low larval settlement experience much weaker density-dependence and are consequently far more important to the persistence of the metapopulation than high-settlement, high-predation populations (Chapter 4). Far from supporting the idea that small-scale processes scale up, I have identified several new potential sources of large-scale, oceanographically-driven variability that may affect the fate of individual fish and entire metapopulations.

Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs

Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs PDF Author: Camilo Mora
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316300145
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 389

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Book Description
The local diversity and global richness of coral reef fishes, along with the diversity manifested in their morphology, behaviour and ecology, provides fascinating and diverse opportunities for study. Reflecting the very latest research in a broad and ever-growing field, this comprehensive guide is a must-read for anyone interested in the ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Featuring contributions from leaders in the field, the 36 chapters cover the full spectrum of current research. They are presented in five parts, considering coral reef fishes in the context of ecology, patterns and processes, human intervention and impacts, conservation, and past and current debates. Beautifully illustrated in full-colour, this book is designed to summarise and help build upon current knowledge and to facilitate further research. It is an ideal resource for those new to the field as well as for experienced researchers.

Population Dynamics of Coral-reef Fishes

Population Dynamics of Coral-reef Fishes PDF Author: Karen L. Overholtzer-McLeod
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Coral reef fishes
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
Understanding the dynamics of open marine populations is difficult. Ecological processes may vary with the spatial structure of the habitat, and this variation may subsequently affect demographic rates. In a series of observational and experimental studies in the Bahamas, I examined the roles of emigration, mortality, and predation in the local population dynamics of juvenile coral-reef fishes. First, I documented mortality and emigration rates in populations of bluehead and yellowhead wrasse. Assuming that all losses were due solely to mortality would have significantly underestimated survivorship for both species on patch reefs, and for yellowheads on continuous reefs. Mortality differed between species, but emigration did not differ between species or reef types. Mortality of blueheads was density-dependent with respect to both conspecific density and total wrasse density on continuous reefs. In contrast, mortality of yellowheads varied inversely with the density of blueheads on patch reefs. Emigration rates varied inversely with distance to the nearest reef inhabited by conspecifics. In subsequent experiments, I manipulated densities of yellowhead wrasse and beaugregory damselfish, and determined that the relationship between density and mortality varied with reef spatial structure. On natural reefs, mortality rates of the wrasse were highly variable among reefs. On artificial reefs, mortality rates of both species were density-dependent on spatially isolated reefs, yet high and density-independent on aggregated reefs. Heterogeneity in the spatial structure of natural reefs likely caused variation in predation risk that resulted in high variability in mortality rates compared to artificial reefs. A final experiment demonstrated that a single resident predator caused substantial mortality of the damselfish, regardless of reef spacing. Patterns suggested that resident predators caused density-dependent mortality in their prey through a type 3 functional response on all reefs, but on aggregated reefs this density dependence was overwhelmed by high, density-independent mortality caused by transient predators. These results (1) suggest post-settlement movement should be better documented in reef-fish experiments, (2) demonstrate that the role of early post-settlement processes, such as predation, can be modified by the spatial structure of the habitat, and (3) have ramifications for the implementation of marine reserves.