Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
Title
Temporal variation in macroalgal removal: insights from an impacted equatorial coral reef system
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-4-2021
Publication Title
Marine Biology
ISSN
0025-3162
Volume
168
Issue/No.
2
Abstract
Macroalgal removal is a critical ecosystem function yet few studies have considered its temporal variability, especially on impacted reefs with limited herbivorous fish biodiversity. To address this, we quantified macroalgal removal and mass-standardised bite rates of herbivorous fishes monthly from July 2016 to June 2017 using a series of transplanted Sargassum ilicifolium assays and underwater video cameras on three degraded coral reefs in Singapore: Pulau Satumu, Kusu Island, and Terumbu Pempang Tengah. Our results revealed a distinct temporal pattern in macroalgal herbivory (proportion of biomass removed and mass-standardised bite rates) rates across all sites, increasing from July and decreasing from January, with the highest rates recorded in December (28.10 ± 3.05 g 3.5 h−1; 208.24 ± 29.99 mass-standardised bites 3.5 h−1) and the lowest in May (0.86 ± 0.17 g 3.5 h−1; 9.55 ± 3.19 mass-standardised bites 3.5 h−1). These coincided with the S. ilicifolium growth cycle, confirming previous evidence that herbivory rates are closely linked to macroalgal condition. Video analyses revealed nine species feeding over a year (31,839 bites; 8702.89 mass-standardised bites), with Siganus virgatus responsible for ∼ 80% of the total mass-standardised bites. Siganus virgatus took the largest proportion of bites monthly, except between April and June, when Scarus rivulatus was dominant, suggesting temporal constraints in functional roles.
Additional Comments
This research is supported by the AXA Fellowship (154-000-649-507), Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund, and the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under its Marine Science Research and Development Program (Award Nos. MSRDP-P03).
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
NSUWorks Citation
Jovena C. L. Seah, Andrew G. Bauman, and Peter A. Todd. 2021. Temporal variation in macroalgal removal: insights from an impacted equatorial coral reef system .Marine Biology , (2) . https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facarticles/1256.
ORCID ID
0000-0001-9260-2153
DOI
10.1007/s00227-020-03806-7
Comments
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.Supplementary file1 (PDF 158 KB)