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High refuge availability on coral reefs increases the vulnerability of reef-associated predators to overexploitation
Citation
Rogers, A and Blanchard, JL and Newman, SP and Dryden, CS and Mumby, PJ, High refuge availability on coral reefs increases the vulnerability of reef-associated predators to overexploitation, Ecology, 99, (2) pp. 450-463. ISSN 0012-9658 (2018) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2018 by the Ecological Society of America
DOI: doi:10.1002/ecy.2103
Abstract
Refuge availability and fishing alter predator‐prey interactions on coral reefs, but our understanding of how they interact to drive food web dynamics, community structure and vulnerability of different trophic groups is unclear. Here, we apply a size‐based ecosystem model of coral reefs, parameterized with empirical measures of structural complexity, to predict fish biomass, productivity and community structure in reef ecosystems under a broad range of refuge availability and fishing regimes. In unfished ecosystems, the expected positive correlation between reef structural complexity and biomass emerges, but a non‐linear effect of predation refuges is observed for the productivity of predatory fish. Reefs with intermediate complexity have the highest predator productivity, but when refuge availability is high and prey are less available, predator growth rates decrease, with significant implications for fisheries. Specifically, as fishing intensity increases, predators in habitats with high refuge availability exhibit vulnerability to over‐exploitation, resulting in communities dominated by herbivores. Our study reveals mechanisms for threshold dynamics in predators living in complex habitats and elucidates how predators can be food‐limited when most of their prey are able to hide. We also highlight the importance of nutrient recycling via the detrital pathway, to support high predator biomasses on coral reefs.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | coral reef modelling, fisheries, size spectrum, habitat complexity, overfishing, predation refuges, predator-prey interactions, productivity |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Ecology |
| Research Field: | Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments |
| Objective Field: | Assessment and management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems |
| UTAS Author: | Blanchard, JL (Professor Julia Blanchard) |
| ID Code: | 124875 |
| Year Published: | 2018 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 22 |
| Deposited By: | Ecology and Biodiversity |
| Deposited On: | 2018-03-15 |
| Last Modified: | 2018-11-14 |
| Downloads: | 53 View Download Statistics |
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