Habitat degradation alters trait-based survival in a coral reef fish
Moad, Claire M., Fakan, Eric P., Brooker, Rohan M., and McCormick, Mark I. (2025) Habitat degradation alters trait-based survival in a coral reef fish. Scientific Reports, 15 (1). 38631.
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Abstract
This study investigates the effect of habitat degradation on the interrelationships between morphological, performance, and behavioural traits and their influence on the survival of juvenile Ambon damselfish (Pomacentrus amboinensis). The research combined laboratory measurements with field observations on live or dead-degraded coral reef patches. Fish behavioural traits emerged as key predictors of survival across habitats. Specifically, boldness, bite rate, and maximum distance ventured from the patch reef were key factors. However, the relative importance of specific traits differed between habitats. On live coral, relative lateralization was a significant predictor of survival. In contrast, for fish on dead-degraded coral, routine swimming speed and fast-start response latency were more important. Damselfish in dead-degraded habitats experienced significantly higher mortality. These results indicate that habitat degradation alters the selective pressures on phenotypic traits. This study highlights the importance of considering context-dependent trait selection when predicting how fish communities will respond to changing habitat conditions. Additionally, our findings provide insights for restocking and restoration interventions, suggesting that behavioural conditioning that promotes risk-averse behaviours and predator recognition could improve the survival of reseeded fishes, although further testing within this applied context is required.
| Item ID: | 89893 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| Keywords: | Behaviour, Climate change, Coral reef fish, Habitat degradation, Reef restoration, Survival |
| Copyright Information: | © Crown 2025. 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/. |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Jul 2026 01:06 |
| FoR Codes: | 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180504 Marine biodiversity @ 100% |
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