Physical, biological and anthropogenic drivers of spatial patterns of coral reef fish assemblages at regional and local scales

Daniela M Ceccarelli; Richard D Evans; Murray Logan; Geoffrey P Jones; Marji Puotinen; Caroline Petus; Garry R Russ; Maya Srinivasan; David H Williamson

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166695

Physical, biological and anthropogenic drivers of spatial patterns of coral reef fish assemblages at regional and local scales

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Dec 15:904:166695. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166695. Epub 2023 Sep 1.

Authors

Daniela M Ceccarelli¹, Richard D Evans², Murray Logan³, Geoffrey P Jones⁴, Marji Puotinen³, Caroline Petus⁵, Garry R Russ⁴, Maya Srinivasan⁶, David H Williamson⁷

Affiliations

¹ ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia; Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia. Electronic address: d.ceccarelli@aims.gov.au.
² Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kensington, WA 6151, Australia; Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
³ Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia.
⁴ ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia; College of Science & Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
⁵ Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic System Research, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
⁶ College of Science & Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia; Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic System Research, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
⁷ ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.

PMID: 37660823
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166695

Abstract

Species abundance, diversity and community assemblage structure are determined by multiple physical, habitat and management drivers that operate across multiple spatial scales. Here we used a multi-scale coral reef monitoring dataset to examine regional and local differences in the abundance, species richness and composition of fish assemblages in no-take marine reserve (NTMR) and fished zones at four island groups in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia. We applied boosted regression trees to quantify the influence of 20 potential drivers on the coral reef fish assemblages. Reefs in two locations, Magnetic Island and the Keppel Islands, had distinctive fish assemblages and low species richness, while the Palm and Whitsunday Islands had similar species composition and higher species richness. Overall, our analyses identified several important physical (temperature, wave exposure) and biological (coral, turf, macroalgal and unconsolidated substratum cover) drivers of inshore reef fish communities, some of which are being altered by human activities. Of these, sea surface temperature (SST) was more influential at large scales, while wave exposure was important both within and between island groups. Species richness declined with increasing macroalgal cover and exposure to cyclones, and increased with SST. Species composition was most strongly influenced by mean SST and percent cover of macroalgae. There was substantial regional variation in the local drivers of spatial patterns. Although NTMR zoning influenced total fish density in some regions, it had negligible effects on fish species richness, composition and trophic structure because of the relatively small number of species targeted by the fishery. These findings show that inshore reef fishes are directly influenced by disturbances typical of the nearshore Great Barrier Reef, highlighting the need to complement global action on climate change with more targeted localised efforts to maintain or improve the condition of coral reef habitats.

Keywords: Boosted regression trees; Coral reef fish; Environmental drivers; Great Barrier Reef; Inshore coral reefs; No-take marine reserves.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anthozoa*
Australia
Biodiversity
Coral Reefs*
Ecosystem
Fishes
Humans