Habitat biodiversity as a determinant of fish community structure on coral reefs

Ecology
Vanessa MessmerAndrew J Brooks

Abstract

Increased habitat diversity is often predicted to promote the diversity of animal communities because a greater variety of habitats increases the opportunities for species to specialize on different resources and coexist. Although positive correlations between the diversities of habitat and associated animals are often observed, the underlying mechanisms are only now starting to emerge, and none have been tested specifically in the marine environment. Scleractinian corals constitute the primary habitat-forming organisms on coral reefs and, as such, play an important role in structuring associated reef fish communities. Using the same field experimental design in two geographic localities differing in regional fish species composition, we tested the effects of coral species richness and composition on the diversity, abundance, and structure of the local fish community. Richness of coral species overall had a positive effect on fish species richness but had no effect on total fish abundance or evenness. At both localities, certain individual coral species supported similar levels of fish diversity and abundance as the high coral richness treatments, suggesting that particular coral species are disproportionately important in prom...Continue Reading

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Citations

May 15, 2015·PloS One·Sally J HolbrookGeoffrey P Jones
Jun 19, 2019·Global Change Biology·James P W RobinsonNicholas A J Graham
Aug 10, 2017·Scientific Reports·Laura E RichardsonAndrew S Hoey
Nov 25, 2016·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Adel HeenanIvor D Williams
Jan 9, 2019·Nature Ecology & Evolution·Cody S Clements, Mark E Hay
Aug 31, 2020·Conservation Physiology·Tiffany J NayAndrew S Hoey
Jan 5, 2021·Oecologia·Jamie M McDevitt-IrwinFiorenza Micheli
Jul 1, 2021·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Giovanni StronaValeriano Parravicini

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