Abstract
Chaetodontidae is among the most conspicuous families of fishes in tropical and subtropical coral and rocky reefs. Most ecological studies focus in the genus Chaetodon, while Prognathodes remains poorly understood. Here we provide the first account on the ecology of Prognathodesobliquus, a butterflyfish endemic to St. Peter and St. Paul’s Archipelago (SPSPA), Mid-Atlantic Ridge. We studied the depth distribution and foraging behaviour of P.obliquus through technical diving, remote-operated vehicles and submarines. Also, we characterized its diet by analysing stomach contents. Prognathodesobliquus is mostly found below 40 m, with abundance peaking between 90 and 120 m and deepest record to date at 155 m. It forages mostly over sediment, epilithic algal matrix and complex bottoms formed by fused polychaete tubes, preying mostly upon polychaetes, crustaceans, hydroids and bryozoans. Branching black corals were rarely consumed and used mostly as refuge. In conclusion, P. obliquus is a generalist invertebrate feeder typical of mesophotic ecosystems of SPSPA.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Berumen ML, Pratchett MS, Goodman BA (2011) Relative gut lengths of coral reef butterflyfishes (Pisces: Chaetodontidae). Coral Reefs 30:1005. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-011-0791-x
Beukema JJ (1997) Caloric values of marine invertebrates with an emphasis on the soft parts of marine bivalves. In: Ansell AD, Gibson RN, Barnes M (eds) Oceanography and marine biology: an annual review. UCL Press, London, pp 387–414
Birkeland C, Neudecker S (1981) Foraging behaviour of two Caribbean chaetodontids: Chaetodon capistratus and C. aculeatus. Copeia 1:169–178. https://doi.org/10.2307/1444051
Copus JM, Pyle RL, Greene BD, Randall JE (2019) Prognathodes geminus, a new species of butterflyfish (Teleostei, Chaetodontidae) from Palau. Zookeys 835:125–137. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.835.32562
Francini-Filho RB, Asp NE, Siegle E, Hocevar J, Lowyck K, D'Avila N, Vasconcelos AA, Baitelo R, Rezende CE, Omachi CY, Thompson CC (2018) Perspectives on the Great Amazon Reef: Extension, biodiversity, and threats. Frontiers Mar Sci 5:142. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00142
Francini-Filho RB, Velásquez VM, Silva MB, Rosa MR, Sumida PYG, Pinheiro HT, Rocha LA, Ferreira CEL, Francini CLB, Rosa RS (2019) Brazil. In: Loya Y, Puglise KA, Bridge TCL (eds) Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, pp 163–198 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92735-0
Froese R, Pauly D (2019) FishBase: Chaetodontidae Family. https://fishbase.org/Summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=343
Hynes HBN (1950) The food of fresh-water sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus and Pygosteus pungitius), with a review of methods used in studies of the food of fishes. J Anim Ecol 19:36–58. https://doi.org/10.2307/1570
Hyslop EJ (1980) Stomach contents analysis: a review of methods and their application. J Fish Biol 17:411–429. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1980.tb02775.x
Ivar do Sul JA, Costa MF, Barletta M, Cysneiros FJA (2013) Pelagic microplastics around an archipelago of the Equatorial Atlantic. Mar Poll Bull 75:305–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.07.040
Kawakami E, Vazzoler G (1980) Método gráfico e estimativa de índice alimentar aplicado no estudo de alimentação de peixes. Boletim Instituto Oceanográfico 29:205–207
Leray M, Meyer CP, Mills SC (2015) Metabarcoding dietary analysis of coral dwelling predatory fish demonstrates the minor contribution of coral mutualists to their highly partitioned, generalist diet. PeerJ 3:e1047. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1047
Liedke AMR, Barneche DR, Ferreira CEL, Segal B, Nunes LT, Burigo APC, Carvalho JA, Buck S, Bonaldo R, Floeter SR (2016) Abundance, diet, foraging and nutritional condition of the banded butterflyfish (Chaetodon striatus) along the western Atlantic. Mar Biol 163:5–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-015-2788-4
Liedke AMR, Bonaldo RM, Segal B, Ferreira CEL, Nunes LT, Burigo AP, Buck S, Oliveira-Santos LGR, Floeter SR (2018) Resource partitioning by two syntopic sister-species of butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae). J Mar Biol Assoc U.K. 98:1767–1773 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315417001321
Luiz OJ, Mendes TC, Barneche DR, Ferreira CGW, Noguchi R, Villaça RC, Rangel CA, Gasparini JL, Ferreira CEL (2015) Community structure of reef fishes on a remote oceanic island (St Peter and St Paul’s Archipelago, equatorial. Atlantic): The relative influence of abiotic and biotic variables. Mar Fresh Res 66:739–749. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF14150
Lubbock R, Edwards A (1980) A new butterflyfish (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae) of the genus Chaetodon from Saint Paul’s Rocks. Rev Française Aquariol 7:13–16
Magalhães GM, Amado-Filho GM, Rosa MR, Moura RL, Brasileiro PS, Moraes FC, Francini-Filho RB, Pereira-Filho GH (2015) Changes in benthic communities along a 0–60 m depth gradient in the remote St. Peter and St. Paul Archipelago (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Brazil). Bull Mar Sci 91:377–396. https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.2014.1044
Nalbant TT (1995) The genus Prognathodes (Pisces: Chaetodontidae) in Eastern Pacific Ocean (Baja California - Galapagos) with a discussion on the phylogeny of the group. Trav Mus Natl Hist Nat Grigore Antipa 35:497–526
Pinheiro HT, Mazzei E, Moura RL, Amado-Filho GM, Carvalho-Filho A, Braga AC, Costa PAS, Ferreira BP, Ferreira CEL, Floeter SR, Francini-Filho RB, Gasparini JL, Macieira RM, Martins AS, Olavo G, Pimentel CR, Rocha LA, Sazima I, Simon T, Teixeira JB, Xavier LB, Joyeux J-C (2015) Fish biodiversity of the Vitória-Trindade Seamount Chain, southwestern Atlantic: an updated database. PLoS One 10:e0118180. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118180
Pratchett MS (2005) Dietary overlap among coral-feeding butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae) at Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef. Mar Biol 148:373–382. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0084-4
Pratchett MS, Berumen ML, Kapoor BG (2014) Biology of Butterflyfishes. CRC Press, New York
Pyle RL, Chave EH (1994) First record of the chaetodontid genus Prognathodes from the Hawaiian Islands. Pacific Science 48:90–93 https://hdl.handle.net/10125/2200
Pyle RL, Kosaki RK (2016) Prognathodes basabei, a new species of butterflyfish (Perciformes, Chaetodontidae) from the Hawaiian Archipelago. Zookeys 614:137–152. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.614.10200
Randall JE (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the west indies. Stud Trop Oceanogr 5:665–847
R Core Team (2019) R: a language and environment for statistical computing.
Reese ES (1975) A comparative field study of the social behavior and related ecology of reef fishes of the family Chaetodontidae. Z Tierpsychol 37:37–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1975.tb01126.x
Rocha LA, Pinheiro HT, Shepherd B, Papastamatiou YP, Luiz OJ, Pyle RL, Bongaerts P (2018) Mesophotic coral ecosystems are threatened and ecologically distinct from shallow water reefs. Science 361:281–284. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaq1614
Rosa MR, Alvez AC, Medeiros DV, Coni EOC, Ferreira CM, Ferreira BP, Rosa RS, Amado-Filho GM, Pereira-Filho GH, Moura RL, Thompson FL, Sumida PYG, Francini-Filho RB (2016) Mesophotic reef fish assemblages of the remote St. Peter and St. Paul’s Archipelago, Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Brazil. Coral Reefs 35:113–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-015-1368-x
Simon T, Pinheiro HT, Moura RL, Carvalho-Filho A, Rocha LA, Martins AS, Mazzei E, Francini-Filho RB, Amado-Filho GM, Joyeux JC (2016) Mesophotic fishes of the Abrolhos Shelf, the largest reef ecosystem in the South Atlantic. J Fish Biol 89:990–1001. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12967
Stampar SN, Maronna MM, Vermeij MJ, Silveira FL, Morandini AC (2012) Evolutionary diversification of banded tube-dwelling anemones (Cnidaria; Ceriantharia; Isarachnanthus) in the Atlantic Ocean. PLoS One 7:e41091. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0041091
Webb M (1969) An evolutionary concept of some sessile and tubicolous animals. Sarsia 38:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/00364827.1969.10411145
Acknowledgements
We thank Caio Ribeiro, Gilberto Amado-Filho (In memoriam), Mauritius Bell, Moyses Barbosa and Renato Morais for assisting in field work. We thank Bárbara Segal and Alberto Lindner for assistance on food items identification. We thank ICMBio for permission to sample individuals of P. obliquus (SISBIO nº 41327-12). We thank the Brazilian Navy, SECIRM and the crew of the MV Alucia for logistical support. The Alucia expedition (2017) was funded by the generous support of donors to the California Academy of Sciences’ Hope for Reefs Initiative. Other expeditions were funded by the projects: Fontes Hipertérmicas do Arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo (SISBIO nº 58069-1), Programa de Monitoramento de Longa Duração das Comunidades Recifais de Ilhas Oceânicas—PELD/ILOC (CNPq 403740/2012-6; CELF-PI) and Programa Arquipélago (CNPq 557185/2009-2 and 405386/2012-5; RBFF-PI). SNS is supported by a grant from FAPESP 2015/24408-4. LTN received a scholarship from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brazil (CAPES).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
We declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Topic Editor Morgan S. Pratchett
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nunes, L.T., Cord, I., Francini-Filho, R.B. et al. Ecology of Prognathodes obliquus, a butterflyfish endemic to mesophotic ecosystems of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Archipelago. Coral Reefs 38, 955–960 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-019-01822-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-019-01822-8