Coral use among fish and correlation coefficients (r) between fish metrics (abundance, biomass and species richness) and percent coral cover. a, Coral-associated damselflies (Dascyllus aruanus) shelter in branched hard corals. b, An obligate coral-feeding butterflyfish (Chaetodon meyeri) attacking coral polyps. c, Location of each correlation coefficient (r) (n = 723), mapped using an Eckert IV projection. Panels a and b reproduced with the permission of François Libert. Credit: Ecology and evolution of nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02334-7
A team of international and North Queensland researchers from James Cook University have discovered the connection between fish and coral may not be as strong as scientists had always assumed. The study is published in Ecology and evolution of nature.
Lead author, JCU Ph.D. candidate Pooventhran Muruga, reviewed more than 4,600 reports on relationships between fish and corals.
“Undeniably, coral reefs provide a key habitat for reef fishes, providing them with both shelter and food. It is therefore not surprising that for more than four decades there has been broad consensus that reef fishes are associated with reef-building corals”, Muruga. said.
“But looking more closely at the literature, we found a lot of variability within and between fish and places and, globally, there were only weak associations between fish and corals.”
Co-author Professor David Bellwood said the findings challenged assumptions about the strength and pervasiveness of fish-coral associations.
“I caution you against assuming a direct and pervasive relationship between the two,” Professor Bellwood said.
Co-author Dr Alexandre Siqueira highlighted the apparent weakness of fish-coral associations, combined with the stability of some fish populations in the context of catastrophic coral loss, and stressed the need to recognize that coral cover alone cannot influence fish as strongly as we thought.
Muruga said that rather than critical interdependence, fish and corals could be two co-occupying entities within a much more complex ecosystem.
“The results do not downplay the importance of corals on reefs but suggest there is more to this relationship,” Muruga said.
“This highlights the need to look beyond the simple paradigm that more corals equals more fish and recognize the complex processes that structure and maintain coral reef communities,” Murga said.
More information:
Pooventhran Muruga et al, Meta-analysis reveals weak associations between reef fish and corals, Ecology and evolution of nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02334-7
Provided by James Cook University
Quote: More corals may not equal more fish on reefs (February 19, 2024) retrieved February 19, 2024 from
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