Natural nutrient subsidies alter demographic rates in a functionally important coral-reef fish.

ABSTRACT: By improving resource quality, cross-ecosystem nutrient subsidies may boost demographic rates of consumers in recipient ecosystems, which in turn can affect population and community dynamics. However, empirical studies on how nutrient subsidies simultaneously affect multiple demographic rates are lacking, in part because humans have disrupted the majority of these natural flows. Here, we compare the demographics of a sex-changing parrotfish (Chlorurus sordidus) between reefs where cross-ecosystem nutrients provided by seabirds are available versus nearby reefs where invasive, predatory rats have removed seabird populations. For this functionally important species, we found evidence for a trade-off between investing in growth and fecundity, with parrotfish around rat-free islands with many

SUBMITTER: Benkwitt CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8206227 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature