Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Seascape Configuration Leads to Spatially Uneven Delivery of Parrotfish Herbivory across a Western Indian Ocean Seascape
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia, Brazil.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1222-2033
Show others and affiliations
Number of Authors: 72020 (English)In: Diversity, E-ISSN 1424-2818, Vol. 12, no 11, article id 434Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Spatial configuration of habitat types in multihabitat seascapes influence ecological function through links of biotic and abiotic processes. These connections, for example export of organic matter or fishes as mobile links, define ecosystem functionality across broader spatial scales. Herbivory is an important ecological process linked to ecosystem resilience, but it is not clear how herbivory relates to seascape configuration. We studied how herbivory and bioerosion by 3 species of parrotfish were distributed in a multi-habitat tropical seascape in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). We surveyed the abundance of three species with different life histories-Leptoscarus vaigiensis (seagrass species), Scarus ghobban (juvenile-seagrass/adults-reefs) and Scarus rubroviolaceus (reef species) -in seagrass meadows and on reefs and recorded their selectivity of feeding substrate in the two habitats. Herbivory rates for L. vaigiensis and S. ghobban and bioerosion for S. rubroviolaceus were then modelled using bite rates for different size classes and abundance and biomass data along seascape gradients (distance to alternative habitat types such as land, mangrove and seagrass). Bioerosion by S. rubroviolaceus was greatest on reefs far from seagrass meadows, while herbivory rates by S. ghobban on reefs displayed the opposite pattern. Herbivory in seagrass meadows was greatest in meadows close to shore, where L. vaigiensis targeted seagrass leaves and S. ghobban the epiphytes growing on them. Our study shows that ecological functions performed by fish are not equally distributed in the seascape and are influenced by fish life history and the spatial configuration of habitats in the seascape. This has implications for the resilience of the system, in terms of spatial heterogeneity of herbivory and bioerosion and should be considered in marine spatial planning and fisheries management.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2020. Vol. 12, no 11, article id 434
Keywords [en]
herbivorous fish, coral reefs, seagrass, seascape ecology, ecosystem function, environmental gradients
National Category
Biological Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-188896DOI: 10.3390/d12110434ISI: 000592827200001OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-188896DiVA, id: diva2:1517808
Available from: 2021-01-14 Created: 2021-01-14 Last updated: 2024-01-30Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full text

Authority records

Eggertsen, LindaCordeiro, César A. M. M.Mendes, Thiago C.Berkström, Charlotte

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Eggertsen, LindaCordeiro, César A. M. M.Mendes, Thiago C.Berkström, Charlotte
By organisation
Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences
In the same journal
Diversity
Biological Sciences

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 96 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf