Mixed-species groups of herbivorous reef fishes show variable responses to ecosystem perturbations in the Lakshadweep Islands, India

Theo, AH and Shanker, K (2023) Mixed-species groups of herbivorous reef fishes show variable responses to ecosystem perturbations in the Lakshadweep Islands, India. In: Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 378 (1878). p. 20220095.

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Abstract

Herbivorous reef fishes provide a vital function in reef ecosystems by removing algae and making space available to coral recruits. The high abundance of herbivores in the reefs of the Lakshadweep islands has potentially aided in reef recovery and helped avoid a phase shift to an algal-dominated system, despite most areas having suffered massive coral losses. Mixed-species grouping in herbivores could potentially benefit both the participant species and the reef ecosystem by improving foraging efficiency. We examined the grouping propensity and species richness for three types of herbivore groups after a mass-bleaching event in 2010 and a mass recruitment event in 2015. The species richness and number of parrotfish groups, as well as the grouping propensity of common species, declined starkly across years, indicating that these groups may have formed in response to the mass-bleaching event, slowly diminishing as the reefs recovered. Conversely, large surgeonfish, which varied in richness and propensity across islands and aspect, are probably influenced by local processes. Small surgeonfish only increased in species richness and number in 2015, which may have been in response to the recruitment event. Thus, herbivorous fishes may respond differently to local ecosystem perturbations and play different roles in reef recovery. This article is part of the theme issue 'Mixed-species groups and aggregations: shaping ecological and behavioural patterns and processes'.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
Publisher:	NLM (Medline)
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to Royal Society Publishing.
Keywords:	animal; coral reef; ecosystem; fish; herbivory; India; island (geological); physiology, Animals; Coral Reefs; Ecosystem; Fishes; Herbivory; India; Islands
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited:	01 Jun 2023 05:47
Last Modified:	01 Jun 2023 05:47
URI:	https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/81546

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