Abstract
Predators have important effects on coral reef fish populations, but their effects on community structure have only recently been investigated and are not yet well understood. Here, the effect of predation on the diversity and abundance of young coral reef fishes was experimentally examined in Moorea, French Polynesia. Effects of predators were quantified by monitoring recruitment of fishes onto standardized patch reefs in predator-exclosure cages or uncaged reefs. At the end of the 54-day experiment, recruits were 74% less abundant on reefs exposed to predators than on caged ones, and species richness was 42% lower on reefs exposed to predators. Effects of predators varied somewhat among families, however, rarefaction analysis indicated that predators foraged non-selectively among species. These results indicate that predation can alter diversity of reef fish communities by indiscriminately reducing the abundance of fishes soon after settlement, thereby reducing the number of species present on reefs.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Three Seas Program at Northeastern University and a French American Cultural Exchange Grant to A. Stier. We thank B. Focht, M. Johnson, and Z. Boudreau for field assistance, and S. Genovese and the UC Berkeley Gump Research Station for logistical support. C. Stallings and three anonymous reviewers provided helpful feedback on the manuscript. This is Contribution No. 185 of the UC Berkeley Gump Research Station.
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Heinlein, J.M., Stier, A.C. & Steele, M.A. Predators reduce abundance and species richness of coral reef fish recruits via non-selective predation. Coral Reefs 29, 527–532 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-010-0592-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-010-0592-7