Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T04:01:43.912Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Foraging activity of roving herbivorous reef fish (Acanthuridae and Scaridae) in eastern Brazil: influence of resource availability and interference competition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2009

Ronaldo Bastos Francini-Filho ,
Camilo Moitinho Ferreira ,
Ericka Oliveira Cavalcanti Coni ,
Rodrigo Leão De Moura  and
Les Kaufman
Ronaldo Bastos Francini-Filho*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Avenida das Baraúnas 351, 58109-753 Campina Grande, PB, Brazil Conservation International Brazil, Marine Program, Rua das Palmeiras 451, 45900-000 Caravelas, BA, Brazil
Camilo Moitinho Ferreira
Affiliation:
Centro de Pesquisa e Conservação dos Ecossistemas Aquáticos–BIOTA Aquática, Rua Almirante Ernesto Jr, 41810-400 Salvador, BA, Brazil
Ericka Oliveira Cavalcanti Coni
Affiliation:
Centro de Pesquisa e Conservação dos Ecossistemas Aquáticos–BIOTA Aquática, Rua Almirante Ernesto Jr, 41810-400 Salvador, BA, Brazil
Rodrigo Leão De Moura
Affiliation:
Conservation International Brazil, Marine Program, Rua das Palmeiras 451, 45900-000 Caravelas, BA, Brazil
Les Kaufman
Affiliation:
Boston University Marine Program, 5 Cummington Street, Boston, MA 02215, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: R.B. Francini-Filho, Departamento de Biologia Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Avenida das Baraúnas 351, 58109-753 Campina Grande, PB, Brazil email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Foraging activity of roving herbivorous reef fish (RHs) from families Acanthuridae (surgeonfish; three species) and Scaridae (parrotfish; five species), and its relationship to resource availability and interference competition, was studied in the largest South Atlantic Reef complex (Abrolhos Bank, eastern Brazil). Observations were undertaken at four sites differing in resource availability and competitors' abundance (i.e. RHs and territorial herbivores from genus Stegastes). Turf algae (TA) were selected by most species in most sites, while other food items were generally avoided. Surgeonfish had higher feeding rates than parrotfish, the former grazing more frequently on fleshy algae (FA) and the latter on crustose calcareous algae (CCA). Both surgeonfish and parrotfish interacted agonistically most frequently with damselfish, followed by confamilial interactions. Despite these consistent patterns, feeding rates, food selection and frequency of agonistic interactions differed significantly between sites for most species. Bite rates on CCA and FA were disproportionally higher in sites where such items were more available, leading to significant spatial variation in grazing selectivity (i.e. positive rather than negative selection of CCA and ‘lower avoidance’ of FA). Although agonistic interactions were more frequent at sites where herbivorous fish (both roving and territorial) were most abundant, there was no clear relationship between interference competition and foraging patterns. These results indicate that the scarcity of other food may induce RHs to consume the dominant resources. They also support the hypotheses that RHs are unable to clear large tracts of reef surface of FA once these have proliferated, and that territorial herbivores do not limit the access of RHs to particular resources.

Keywords

parrotfishsurgeonfishfeeding ratesgrazing selectivityStegastesinterference competition
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 90 , Issue 3 , May 2010 , pp. 481 - 492
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adey, W.H., Adey, P.J., Burke, R. and Kaufman, L.S. (1977) The Holocene reefs of eastern Martinique, French West Indies. Atoll Research Bulletin 218, 1–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellwood, D.R. and Choat, J.H. (1990) A functional analysis of grazing in parrotfish (family Scaridae): the ecological implications. Environmental Biology of Fishes 28, 189–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellwood, D.R., Hoey, A.S. and Choat, J.H. (2003) Limited functional redundancy in high diversity systems: resilience and ecosystem function on coral reefs. Ecology Letters 6, 281–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellwood, D.R., Hughes, T.P., Folke, C. and Nÿstrom, M. (2004) Confronting the coral reef crisis. Nature 429, 827–833.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellwood, D.R., Hughes, T.P. and Hoey, A.S. (2006) Sleeping functional group drives coral reef recovery. Current Biology 16, 2434–2439.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bonaldo, R.M. and Bellwood, D.R. (2008) Size-dependent variation in the functional role of the parrotfish Scarus rivulatus on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 360, 237–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonaldo, R.M., Krajewski, J.P., Sazima, C. and Sazima, I. (2005) Foraging activity and resource use by three parrotfish species at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, tropical West Atlantic. Marine Biology 149, 423–433.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruggemann, J.H., Kuyper, M.W.M. and Breeman, A.M. (1994a) Comparative analysis of foraging and habitat use by the sympatric Caribbean parrotfish Scarus vetula and Sparisoma viride (Scaridae). Marine Ecology Progress Series 112, 51–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruggemann, J.H., Oppen, M.J.H. van and Breeman, A.M. (1994b) Foraging by the stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride. 1. Food selection in different, socially determined habitats. Marine Ecology Progress Series 106, 41–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruno, J.F. and Selig, E.R. (2007) Regional decline of coral cover in the Indo-Pacific: timing, extent, and subregional comparisons. PLoS One 2, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ceccarelli, D.M., Hughes, T.P. and McCook, L.J. (2006) Impacts of simulated overfishing on the territoriality of coral reef damselfish. Marine Ecology Progress Series 309, 255–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ceccarelli, D.M., Jones, G.P. and McCook, L.J. (2001) Territorial damselfishes as determinants of the structure of benthic communities on coral reefs. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 39, 355–389.Google Scholar
Ceccarelli, D.M., Jones, G.P. and McCook, L.J. (2005) Foragers versus farmers: contrasting effects of two behavioural groups of herbivores on coral reefs. Oecologia 145, 445–453.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Choat, J.H., Clements, K.D. and Robbins, W.D. (2002) The trophic status of herbivorous fishes on coral reefs. I. Diet analyses. Marine Biology 140, 613–623.Google Scholar
Choat, J.H., Clements, K.D. and Robbins, W.D. (2004) The trophic status of herbivorous fishes on coral reefs. II. Food processing modes and trophodynamics. Marine Biology 145, 445–454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. (1994) Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. Plymouth: Plymouth Marine Laboratory.Google Scholar
Crossman, D.J., Choat, J.H. and Clements, K.D. (2005) Nutritional ecology of nominally herbivorous fishes on coral reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series 296, 129–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dias, T., Rosa, I.L. and Feitoza, B.M. (2001) Food resource and habitat sharing by the three western South Atlantic surgeonfishes (Teleostei: Acanthuridae: Acanthurus) off Paraiba Coast, northeastern Brazil. Aqua Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 5, 1–10.Google Scholar
Edmunds, P.J. and Carpenter, R.C. (2001) Recovery of Diadema antillarum reduces macroalgal cover and increases abundance of juvenile corals on a Caribbean reef. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 98, 5067–5071.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferreira, C.E.L. and Gonçalves, E.A. (2006) Community structure and diet of roving herbivorous reef fishes in the Abrolhos Archipelago, south-western Atlantic. Journal of Fish Biology 69, 1533–1551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, R.J. and Bellwood, D.R. (2007) Quantifying herbivory across a coral reef depth gradient. Marine Ecology Progress Series 339, 49–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Francini-Filho, R.B. and Moura, R.L. (2008) Dynamics of fish assemblages on coral reefs subjected to different management regimes in the Abrolhos Bank, eastern Brazil. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 18, 1166–1179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Francini-Filho, R.B., Moura, R.L., Ferreira, C.M. and Coni, E.O.C. (2008a) Live coral predation by parrotfishes (Perciformes: Scaridae) in the Abrolhos Bank, eastern Brazil, with comments on the classification of species into functional groups. Neotropical Ichthyology 6, 191–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Francini-Filho, R.B., Moura, R.L., Thompson, F.L., Reis, R.D., Kaufman, L., Kikuchi, R.K.P. and Leão, Z.M.A.N. (2008b) Diseases leading to accelerated decline of reef corals in the largest South Atlantic reef complex (Abrolhos Bank, eastern Brazil). Marine Pollution Bulletin 56, 1008–1014.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gardner, T.A., Côté, I.M. and Gill, J.A. (2003) Long-term region-wide declines in Caribbean corals. Science 301, 958–960.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gasparini, J.L., Floeter, S.R. and Joyeux, J.C. (2004) Sparisoma tuiupiranga, a new species of parrotfish (Perciformes: Labroidae: Scaridae) from Brazil, with comments on the evolution of the genus. Zootaxa 384, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hay, M.E. (1991) Fish–seaweed interactions on coral reefs: effects of herbivorous fishes and adaptations of their prey. In Sale, P.F. (ed.) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. San Diego: Academic Press, pp. 96–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hay, M.E. (1997) The ecology and evolution of seaweed–herbivore interactions on coral reefs. Coral Reefs 16, 67–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hixon, M.A. and Brostoff, W.N. (1996) Succession and herbivory: effects of differential fish grazing on Hawaiian coral-reef algae. Ecological Monographs 66, 67–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoey, A.S. and Bellwood, D.R. (2008) Cross-shelf variation in the role of parrotfishes on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 27, 37–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horn, M.H. (1989) Biology of marine herbivorous fishes. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 27, 167–272.Google Scholar
Hughes, T.P., Rodrigues, M.J., Bellwood, D.R., Ceccarelli, D., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., McCook, L., Moltschaniwskyj, N., Pratchett, M.S., Steneck, R.S. and Willis, B. (2007) Phase shifts, herbivory, and the resilience of coral reefs to climate change. Current Biology 17, 360–365.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ivlev, V.S. (1961) Experimental ecology of the feeding of fishes. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Klumpp, D.W. and McKinnon, A.D. (1992) Community structure, biomass and productivity of epilithic algal communities on the Great Barrier Reef: dynamics at different spatial scales. Marine Ecology Progress Series 86, 77–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klumpp, D.W., McKinnon, D. and Daniel, P. (1987) Damselfish territories: zones of high productivity on coral reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series 40, 41–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohler, K.E. and Gill, S.M. (2006) Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe): a Visual Basic program for the determination of coral and substrate coverage using random point count methodology. Computers and Geosciences 32, 1259–1269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leão, Z.M.A.N. and Kikuchi, R.K.P. (2001) The Abrolhos Reefs of Brazil. In Seeliger, U. and Kjerfve, B. (eds) Coastal marine ecosystems of Latin America. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, pp. 83–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ledlie, M.H., Graham, N.A.J., Bythell, J.C., Wilson, S.K., Jennings, S., Polunin, N.V.C. and Hardcastle, J. (2007) Phase shifts and the role of herbivory in the resilience of coral reefs. Coral Reefs 26, 641–653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClanahan, T.R. (1997) Primary succession of coral-reef algae: differing patterns on fished versus unfished reefs. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 218, 77–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCook, L.J., Jompa, J. and Diaz-Pulido, G. (2001) Competition between corals and algae on coral reefs: a review of evidence and mechanisms. Coral Reefs 19, 400–417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCook, L.J. and Price, I.R. (1997) Macroalgal distributions on the Great Barrier Reef: a review of patterns and causes. In Proceedings of the Great Barrier Reef: science, use and management, a national conference, Townsville, pp. 37–46.Google Scholar
Minte-Vera, C.V., Moura, R.L. and Francini-Filho, R.B. (2008) Nested sampling: an improved visual-census technique for studying reef fish assemblages. Marine Ecology Progress Series 367, 283–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moura, R.L., Figueiredo, J.L. and Sazima, I. (2001) A new parrotfish (Scaridae) from Brazil, and revalidation of Sparisoma amplum (Ranzani, 1842), Sparisoma frondosum (Agassiz, 1831), Sparisoma axillare (Steindachner, 1878) and Scarus trispinosus Valenciennes, 1840. Bulletin of Marine Science 68, 505–524.Google Scholar
Moura, R.L. and Francini-Filho, R.B. (2006) Reef and shore fishes of the Abrolhos region, Brazil. In Dutra, G.F. et al. (eds) A rapid marine biodiversity assessment of the Abrolhos Bank, Bahia, Brazil. Washington DC: Conservation International, pp. 40–55. [RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment no. 38.]Google Scholar
Mumby, P.J. (2006) The impact of exploiting grazers (Scaridae) on the dynamics of Caribbean coral reefs. Ecological Applications 16, 747–769.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nugues, M.M., Smith, G.W., Van Hooindonk, R.J., Seabra, M.I. and Bak, R.P.M. (2004) Algal contact as a trigger for coral disease. Ecology Letters 7, 919–923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osório, R., Rosa, I.L. and Cabral, H. (2006) Territorial defence by the Brazilian damselfish Stegastes fuscus (Teleostei: Pomacentridae). Journal of Fish Biology 69, 233–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paddack, M.J., Cowen, R.K. and Sponaugle, S. (2006) Grazing pressure of herbivorous coral reef fishes on low coral-cover reefs. Corals Reefs 25, 461–472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purcell, S.W. and Bellwood, D.R. (1993) A functional analysis of food procurement in two surgeonfish species, Acanthurus nigrofuscus and Ctenochaetus striatus (Acanthuridae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 37, 139–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Randall, J.E. (1955) An analysis of the genera of surgeon fishes (Family Acanthuridae). Pacific Science 19, 359–367.Google Scholar
Risk, A. (1998) The effects of interactions with reef residents on the settlement and subsequent persistence of ocean surgeonfish, Acanthurus bahianus. Environmental Biology of Fishes 51, 377–389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, D.R. and Gaines, S.D. (1986) Interference competition structures habitat use in a local assemblage of coral reef surgeonfishes. Ecology 67, 1372–1383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, D.R., Karg, F., Moura, R.L., Victor, B.C. and Bernardi, G. (2006) Mechanisms of speciation and faunal enrichment in Atlantic parrotfishes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40, 795–807.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robertson, D.R., Polunin, N.V.C. and Leighton, K. (1979) The behavioural ecology of three Indian Ocean surgeonfishes (Acanthurus lineatus, A. leucosternon and Zebrasoma scopas): their feeding strategies and social mating systems. Environmental Biology of Fishes 4, 125–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, D.R., Sweatman, H.P.A., Fletcher, E.A. and Cleland, M.G. (1976) Schooling as a mechanism for circumventing the territoriality of competitors. Ecology 57(6), 1208–1220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, D.R. and Warner, R.R. (1978) Sexual patterns in the labroid fishes of the western Caribbean. II. The parrotfishes (Scaridae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 255, 1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rotjan, R.D. and Lewis, S.A. (2008) Impact of coral predators on tropical reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series 367, 73–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steneck, R.S. and Dethier, M.N. (1994) A functional group approach to the structure of algal-dominated communities. Oikos 69, 476–498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Streelman, J.T., Alfaro, M., Westneat, M.W., Bellwood, D.R. and Karl, S.A. (2002) Evolutionary history of the parrotfishes: biogeography, ecomorphology, and comparative diversity. Evolution 56, 961–971.Google ScholarPubMed
Van Rooij, J.M., Videler, J.J. and Bruggemann, J.H. (1998) High biomass and production but low energy transfer efficiency of Caribbean parrotfish: implications for trophic models of corals reefs. Journal of Fish Biology 53, 154–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, S.K., Bellwood, D.R., Choat, J.H. and Furnas, M.J. (2003) Detritus in the epilithic algal matrix and its use by coral reef fishes. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 41, 279–309.Google Scholar
Zar, J.H. (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar