Habitat zonation on coral reefs: Structural complexity, nutritional resources and herbivorous fish distributions.

ABSTRACT: Distinct zonation of community assemblages among habitats is a ubiquitous feature of coral reefs. The distribution of roving herbivorous fishes (parrotfishes, surgeonfishes and rabbitfishes) is a particularly clear example, with the abundance of these fishes generally peaking in shallow-water, high-energy habitats, regardless of the biogeographic realm. Yet, our understanding of the factors which structure this habitat partitioning, especially with regards to different facets of structural complexity and nutritional resource availability, is limited. To address this issue, we used three-dimensional photogrammetry and structure-from-motion technologies to describe five components of structural complexity (rugosity, coral cover, verticality, refuge density and field-of-view) and nutritional

SUBMITTER: Oakley-Cogan A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7272040 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature