Global patterns of herbivorous reef fish productivity: the role of Prionurus laticlavius in the Galápagos
Tebbett, Sterling B., Yan, Helen F., Lutzenkirchen, Lucas L., Siqueira, Alexandre C., and Bellwood, David R. (2024) Global patterns of herbivorous reef fish productivity: the role of Prionurus laticlavius in the Galápagos. Coral Reefs, 43 (2). pp. 299-305.
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Abstract
Herbivorous fishes play important roles on coral reefs, acting as key trophic conduits of primary productivity. Whilst these roles are widely appreciated on tropical reefs, the relative contribution of fishes which inhabit marginal reefs, such as Prionurus surgeonfishes, is not well understood. Here, we examine the extent to which herbivorous fish productivity varies amongst global ecoregions, specifically considering the relative contribution of Prionurus. We also compare the productivity of Prionurus to that of other herbivorous fishes in relation to water temperatures. Our analysis revealed that the Eastern Galápagos Islands support the highest levels of herbivorous fish productivity recorded to date, with Prionurus laticlavius accounting for over 94% of that productivity. Moreover, Prionurus productivity peaked at relatively cool water temperatures (~ 22–25 °C), although patterns were driven by P. laticlavius. These results highlight the exceptional herbivorous fish productivity in the Eastern Galápagos Islands and the disproportionate contribution of P. laticlavius in this locality.
| Item ID: | 87285 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1432-0975 |
| Keywords: | Algal turf, Coral reefs, Cropping surgeonfishes, Galápagos Islands, Herbivory, Marginal reef systems |
| Copyright Information: | © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Funders: | Australian Research Council (ARC) |
| Projects and Grants: | ARC FL190100062 |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Dec 2025 02:53 |
| FoR Codes: | 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences @ 100% |
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