Herbivore functions in the hot-seat: Resilience of Acanthurus triostegus to marine heatwaves.

ABSTRACT: Herbivorous fishes play a crucial role in the conservation of coral reefs threatened by thermal stress (e.g., marine heatwaves and long-term ocean warming) by helping to maintain reefs in a coral-dominated state via the removal of algae. However, as thermally sensitive ectotherms, rising thermal stress may also pose a serious threat to these fishes and the critical ecosystem functions they deliver. Here we evaluate the consequences of thermal stress on the capacity of a common herbivorous coral reef fish (Acanthurus triostegus) to control finely filamentous matrices of Caulerpa sertularioides and C. verticillata algae in Hawai'i, by characterizing in-vivo changes in metabolic demands, diurnal foraging rates, activity patterns and individual condition in a laboratory setting during winter (

SUBMITTER: Souza T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11785343 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature