Hoey, Andrew S., Dubuc, Alexia, Donelson, Jennifer M., McClure, Eva C., and Pratchett, Morgan S. (2025) Vulnerability of Rabbitfishes to Environmental Change. In: Hoey, Andrew Scott, and McCully Taylor, Brett, (eds.) Biology of Rabbitfishes. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp. 143-169.

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Abstract

Anthropogenic activities are altering the physical, chemical, and/or biological environments of many of the world’s ecosystems and are becoming a major driver of ecological communities, and the good and services they provide. This chapter explores the species-specific vulnerabilities of rabbitfishes to environmental change, considering both the direct effects of changes in the physico-chemical environment, and the indirect effects of the degradation of benthic habitats. Assessing the tolerance of rabbitfishes to environmental conditions (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen), and resource requirements (diet, habitat) reveals these species are tolerant to a broad range of environmental conditions, and display a high degree of flexibility in resource use. Although rabbitfish are often considered to be coral reef fish or reef-associated fish as adults, the vast majority of species appear to settle to and/or associate with various macrophyte habitats during their early life stages. This tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions, coupled with their lack of association with live corals is predicted to make rabbitfishes less susceptible to environmental change. The chapter concludes by testing this prediction using published data on the species-specific vulnerability of rabbitfishes to habitat degradation.

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