Habitat degradation increases functional originality in highly diverse coral reef fish assemblages
Brandl, Simon J., Emslie, Michael J, Ceccarelli, Daniela M., and Richards, Zoe T. (2016) Habitat degradation increases functional originality in highly diverse coral reef fish assemblages. Ecosphere, 7 (11). e01557. pp. 1-19.
|
PDF (Published Version)
- Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (921kB) | Preview |
Abstract
As anthropogenic and natural disturbances intensify, there is mounting concern about the loss of functionally important or unique species. Functional redundancy, or the presence of several different species occupying similar functional niches, can provide insurance against diversity loss, but evidence for this effect is rare. Likewise, the ways in which functional redundancy patterns respond to disturbances are poorly known, impeding a thorough understanding of community-level dynamics post disturbance. Here, we use an extensive reduction of hard coral cover following a tropical cyclone to explore the response of a highly diverse reef fish assemblage to habitat degradation. We demonstrate that despite clear trait value-specific susceptibility of fishes to the disturbance, five of six functional indices (including functional richness and evenness) showed no relationship with habitat degradation. In contrast, functional originality, which quantifies the average functional uniqueness of species within an assemblage, increased post disturbance, exhibiting a negative, albeit weak, relationship with decreasing coral cover. The increase in functional originality is simultaneously driven by the loss of functionally similar species in susceptible groups (predominantly small planktivorous and omnivorous species that associate with live coral habitat) and the addition of functionally unique species in groups that benefit from the disturbance (large, non-territorial species feeding on algal turfs, detritus, and invertebrates). Our findings suggest that coral reefs with high coral cover can foster fish assemblages with low functional originality (i.e., high functional redundancy), therefore preventing detectible changes in some of the most commonly applied functional indices post disturbance. However, we caution that the limited resolution of trait-based approaches may mask the loss of functionally unique species and that, with an increase in functional originality, post disturbance assemblages may be less suited to adequately maintain certain ecosystem functions in the face of future disturbances. Thus, there is an urgent need for further exploration of the dynamics between disturbances, functional redundancy, and ecosystem functioning.
Item ID: | 47345 |
---|---|
Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
ISSN: | 2150-8925 |
Keywords: | biodiversity, climatic disturbance, coral cover, coral reef fish, Cyclone Ita, functional redundancy, functional richness, functional traits, habitat loss, niche partitioning, response diversity, tropical storm |
Additional Information: | This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Funders: | Australian Museum (AM), Isobel Bennett Marine Biology 2015 Fellowship |
Date Deposited: | 15 Feb 2017 07:38 |
FoR Codes: | 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410401 Conservation and biodiversity @ 40% 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 60% |
SEO Codes: | 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960507 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments @ 100% |
Downloads: |
Total: 1065 Last 12 Months: 8 |
More Statistics |