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Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Primacy of bottom-up effects on a butterflyfish assemblage

Susannah M. Leahy A B E , Garry R. Russ B C and Rene A. Abesamis B D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, and Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld 4878, Australia.

B ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

C College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

D Silliman University – Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management (SUAKCREM), 6200 Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines.

E Corresponding author. Email: susannah.leahy@gmail.com

Marine and Freshwater Research 67(8) 1175-1185 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF15012
Submitted: 13 January 2015  Accepted: 11 April 2015   Published: 1 September 2015

Abstract

The question of whether biological systems are maintained by top-down versus bottom-up drivers is a recurring one in ecology. It is a particularly important question to address in the management of coral reefs, which are at risk from a variety of anthropogenic stressors. Here, we explicitly test whether the abundance of different feeding guilds of coral-associated Chaetodon butterflyfishes are controlled by top-down or bottom-up drivers, and we assess the relative influence of all statistically significant drivers. We find that the abundance and species richness of Chaetodon butterflyfishes are predominately determined by bottom-up drivers. The abundance of corallivores is primarily driven by availability of branching and tabular live corals, whereas the abundance of generalists is most strongly influenced by a negative association with macroalgal cover. We also find evidence of weak top-down control on the abundance of corallivorous butterflyfish by gape-limited mesopredators, but no such effects on generalist butterflyfish. Our findings indicate that conservation of coral reefs for Chaetodon butterflyfishes must include management at a larger spatial scale in order to reduce the effect of coral reef stressors such as declining water quality and climate change, but should also include implementation of fisheries management tools in order to increase local herbivory.

Additional keywords: boosted regression trees, butterflyfish, Chaetodon, Coral Triangle, macroalgae, mesopredator.


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