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Interspecific variation in potential importance of planktivorous damselfishes as predators of Acanthaster sp. eggs
Citation
Cowan, Z-L and Ling, SD and Dworjanyn, SA and Caballes, CF and Pratchett, MS, Interspecific variation in potential importance of planktivorous damselfishes as predators of Acanthaster sp. eggs, Coral Reefs, 36, (2) pp. 653-661. ISSN 0722-4028 (2017) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2017 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
DOI: doi:10.1007/s00338-017-1556-y
Abstract
Coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster sp.)
often exhibit dramatic population outbreaks, suggesting that their local abundance may be
relatively unchecked by predators. This may be due to high concentrations of anti-predator
chemicals (saponins and plancitoxins), but the effectiveness of chemical deterrents in
protecting Acanthaster sp., especially spawned eggs,
from predation remains controversial. We show that planktivorous damselfishes will readily
consume food pellets with low proportions (≤80%) of eggs of crown-of-thorns starfish. However,
all fishes exhibited increasing rejection of food pellets with higher proportions of starfish
eggs, suggesting that chemicals in eggs of crown-of-thorns starfish do deter potential predators.
Interestingly, palatability thresholds varied greatly among the nine species of planktivorous
fish tested. Most notably, Amblyglyphidodon curacao consumed
food pellets comprising 100% starfish eggs 1.5 times more than any other fish species, and appeared
largely insensitive to increases in the concentration of starfish eggs. After standardising for size,
smaller fish species consumed a disproportionate amount of pellets comprising high proportions of
starfish eggs, indicating that abundant small-bodied fishes could be particularly important in
regulating larval abundance and settlement success of crown-of-thorns starfish. Collectively,
this study shows that reef fishes vary in their tolerance to anti-predator chemicals in
crown-of-thorns starfish and may represent important predators on early life-history stages.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Acanthaster, chemical defence, saponins, crown-of-thorns starfish, predation, pest control, coral reefs, outbreak, reef fishes |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Ecology |
| Research Field: | Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Coastal and estuarine systems and management |
| Objective Field: | Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in coastal and estuarine environments |
| UTAS Author: | Ling, SD (Dr Scott Ling) |
| ID Code: | 114852 |
| Year Published: | 2017 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 7 |
| Deposited By: | Ecology and Biodiversity |
| Deposited On: | 2017-03-01 |
| Last Modified: | 2018-04-18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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