Journal ArticleDOI
Importance of Mangroves, Seagrass Beds and the Shallow Coral Reef as a Nursery for Important Coral Reef Fishes, Using a Visual Census Technique
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Cluster analyses showed that closely related species within the families Haemulidae, Lutjanidae and Acanthuridae, and the different size classes within species in most cases had a spatial separation in biotope utilization.Abstract:
The nursery function of various biotopes for coral reef fishes was investigated on Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. Length and abundance of 16 commercially important reef fish species were determined by means of visual censuses during the day in six different biotopes: mangrove prop-roots ( Rhizophora mangle ) and seagrass beds ( Thalassia testudinum ) in Lac Bay, and four depth zones on the coral reef (0 to 3 m, 3 to 5 m, 10 to 15 m and 15 to 20 m). The mangroves, seagrass beds and shallow coral reef (0 to 3 m) appeared to be the main nursery biotopes for the juveniles of the selected species. Mutual comparison between biotopes showed that the seagrass beds were the most important nursery biotope for juvenile Haemulon flavolineatum , H. sciurus , Ocyurus chrysurus , Acanthurus chirurgus and Sparisoma viride , the mangroves for juvenile Lutjanus apodus , L. griseus , Sphyraena barracuda and Chaetodon capistratus , and the shallow coral reef for juvenile H. chrysargyreum , L. mahogoni , A. bahianus and Abudefduf saxatilis . Juvenile Acanthurus coeruleus utilized all six biotopes, while juvenile H. carbonarium and Anisotremus surinamensis were not observed in any of the six biotopes. Although fishes showed a clear preference for a specific nursery biotope, most fish species utilized multiple nursery biotopes simultaneously. The almost complete absence of juveniles on the deeper reef zones indicates the high dependence of juveniles on the shallow water biotopes as a nursery. For most fish species an (partial) ontogenetic shift was observed at a particular life stage from their (shallow) nursery biotopes to the (deeper) coral reef. Cluster analyses showed that closely related species within the families Haemulidae, Lutjanidae and Acanthuridae, and the different size classes within species in most cases had a spatial separation in biotope utilization.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The habitat function of mangroves for terrestrial and marine fauna: a review
Ivan Nagelkerken,Stephen J. M. Blaber,Steven Bouillon,P Green,Michael D. E. Haywood,Lg Kirton,Jan-Olaf Meynecke,Joseph R. Pawlik,Hm Penrose,A. Sasekumar,Pj Somerfield +10 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed the literature with regard to the degree of interlinkage between mangroves and adjacent habitats, a research area which has received increasing attention in the last decade.
Book ChapterDOI
Effects of climate -induced coral bleaching on coral -reef fishes — ecological and economic consequences
Morgan S. Pratchett,Philip L. Munday,Shaun K. Wilson,Nicholas A. J. Graham,Joshua E. Cinner,David R. Bellwood,Geoffrey P. Jones,Nicholas Polunin,Tim R. McClanahan +8 more
TL;DR: Urgent action on the fundamental causes of climate change and appropriate management of critical elements of habitat structure (coral cover and topographic complexity) are key to ensuring long-term persistence of coral-reef fishes.
Journal ArticleDOI
Habitat complexity: approaches and future directions
TL;DR: It is argued that complexity may be implicated in community persistence and ecosystem stability by acting as a decoupling mechanism in predator–prey interactions and potential application of these approaches for cross-ecosystem comparisons is discussed.
Journal ArticleDOI
How important are mangroves and seagrass beds for coral-reef fish? The nursery hypothesis tested on an island scale
Ivan Nagelkerken,Callum M. Roberts,G. van der Velde,Martijn Dorenbosch,M.C. van Riel,E. Cocheret de la Morinière,Piet H. Nienhuis +6 more
TL;DR: This study hypothesised that on islands lacking these bay nursery habitats, adults of these fish species will be absent or show low densities on the coral reef, and indicates that degradation or loss of these habitats could have impacts on reef-fish stocks in the Caribbean.
Journal ArticleDOI
Marine nurseries and effective juvenile habitats: concepts and applications
Craig P. Dahlgren,G. T. Kellison,Aaron J. Adams,Bronwyn M. Gillanders,Kendall,Craig A. Layman,J.A. Ley,Ivan Nagelkerken,Joseph E. Serafy +8 more
TL;DR: This work builds on the nursery concept by developing a framework for evaluating juvenile habitats based on their overall contribution to adult populations, and introduces the concept of Effective Juvenile Habitat (EJH) to refer to habitats that make a greater than average overall contributionto adult populations.
References
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Journal Article
A statistical method for evaluating systematic relationships
Journal ArticleDOI
Factors affecting the distribution of juvenile estuarine and inshore fish
TL;DR: It is apparent however, that juveniles of many species are probably not attracted to estuaries per se but to shallow turbid areas, and the influence of high turbidity on fish may be linked to reduced predation pressure and perhaps food supply in shallow water.
Journal ArticleDOI
Mangroves as nursery sites: comparisons of the abundance and species composition of fish and crustaceans in mangroves and other nearshore habitats in tropical Australia
Alistar Robertson,Norman C. Duke +1 more
TL;DR: The results of the present study indicate the importance of mangroves as nursery sites for commercially exploited fish stocks elsewhere in South-East Asia.
Journal ArticleDOI
Fish communities of interacting shallow-water habitats in tropical oceanic regions
TL;DR: Coral reefs occur in a variety of situations in the Atlantic, Pacific and lndian Oceans, which involve great differences in the degree of isolation from surrounding shallow-water environments, e.g. as mentioned in this paper.