Dynamic interplay: disentangling the temporal variability of fish effects on coral recruitment.

ABSTRACT: Ecosystems around the world are continuously undergoing recovery from anthropogenic disturbances like climate change, overexploitation, and habitat destruction. Coral reefs are a prime example of a threatened ecosystem and coral recruitment is a critical component of reef recovery from disturbances. Reef fishes structure this recruitment by directly consuming macroalgae and coral recruits or by indirectly altering the substrate to facilitate coral settlement (e.g., grazing scars). However, how these direct and indirect mechanisms vary through time remains largely unknown. Here, we quantified coral recruitment on settlement tiles with divots that mimic grazing scars and caging treatments to exclude or allow fish feeding over 3 years at Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. We found that the p

SUBMITTER: McDevitt-Irwin JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10684556 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature