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Coral Reef Arks: An In Situ Mesocosm and Toolkit for Assembling Reef Communities

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Fish-derived nutrient hotspots shape coral reef benthic communities.

Andrew A Shantz, Mark C Ladd, Elizabeth Schrack

Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America

|February 26, 2016

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Schooling reef fish create nutrient hotspots, increasing coral growth and altering benthic communities. Protecting these fish is crucial for coral reef ecosystem health and restoration efforts.

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Area of Science:

Marine Ecology
Biogeochemistry
Coral Reef Ecology

Background:

Animal aggregations can create nutrient hotspots, influencing ecosystem processes and community structure.
Reef fishes, particularly Haemulidae (grunts), exhibit schooling behavior, potentially creating localized nutrient enrichment.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the capacity of grunt fish schools to form nutrient hotspots.
To assess the impact of these nutrient hotspots on benthic reef communities and coral growth.

Main Methods:

Tracking schooling locations of diurnally migrating grunts.
Measuring nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) delivery rates at fish aggregation sites versus control sites.
Quantifying herbivorous fish grazing rates and analyzing benthic community composition.
Monitoring coral growth rates at hotspot and control sites.

Main Results:

Grunt schools demonstrated high site fidelity, repeatedly using specific coral heads.
Nutrient hotspots showed significantly higher nitrogen (10x) and phosphorus (7x) delivery compared to non-schooling sites.
Herbivorous fish grazing rates were approximately 3 times higher at grunt-derived hotspots.
Benthic communities at hotspots had increased crustose coralline algae cover and reduced total algal abundance.
Coral growth rates were approximately 1.5 times greater at grunt hotspots due to nutrient subsidies.

Conclusions:

Schooling reef fish significantly mediate coral reef community structure through nutrient subsidies.
Overfishing of mesopredatory fishes like grunts can negatively impact ecosystem functions.
Management and restoration strategies should consider the role of aggregating fish, especially in areas with low topographic complexity or for coral restoration.