Herbivore cross‐scale redundancy supports response diversity and promotes coral reef resilience

Journal of Applied Ecology - Tập 53 Số 3 - Trang 646-655 - 2016
Kirsty L. Nash1, Nicholas A. J. Graham1, Simon Jennings2,3, Shaun K. Wilson4,5, David R. Bellwood1,6
1Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
2Lowestoft Laboratory, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Lowestoft, NR33 0HT UK
3School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
4Department of Environment and Conservation, Marine Science Program, Kensington, WA, 6151 Australia
5The Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009 Australia
6School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia

Tóm tắt

Summary Functional redundancy contributes to resilience if different species in the same functional group respond to disturbance in different ways (response diversity). If species in a functional group perform their functional role at different spatial scales (cross‐scale redundancy), they are expected to respond differently to scale‐specific disturbance. Consequently, variance in the spatial scales over which species perform their functional role may provide a proxy for resilience. Coral reefs are diverse systems that provide key ecosystem services and are subject to increasing anthropogenic disturbances. Algal grazing by herbivorous fish contributes to the maintenance of coral‐dominated reefs. To date, there has been little evaluation of the traits driving response diversity among herbivorous fish and how this relates to coral recovery following acute disturbances. Using body size as a proxy for the spatial scale at which fish function, we tested whether cross‐scale redundancy in herbivores was an effective indicator of response diversity and coral recovery on 21 reefs monitored through a climate‐induced disturbance that caused coral bleaching and widespread coral mortality. When herbivorous fish assemblages that operated over a broader range of spatial scales were present on reefs prior to disturbance, the reefs were more likely to recover to coral‐dominated states after the disturbance. After the temperature‐induced disturbance, the loss of small herbivores was compensated for through increases in large herbivores. This was indicative of high response diversity and drove the overall increase in herbivore biomass at recovering sites. These compensatory mechanisms were not found at sites where herbivores operated over a narrower range of spatial scales. Synthesis and applications. Cross‐scale redundancy provides managers with an indicator of coral reef resilience, although the contribution of cross‐scale redundancy to resilience will vary among sites. Maintaining high cross‐scale redundancy at a given site requires that no size classes of reef herbivores are disproportionately depleted by fishing. Balanced harvesting, where species are all fished in proportion to their potential production, would help achieve this.

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Journal of Applied Ecology

Tập 53 Số 3

646-655

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